Passive with the verb "depend on"

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Howard Sage - 16 Apr 2004 01:39 GMT

Discussing the sentence below today, a class, studying how to use and
apply the passive voice, was confused by the following sentence:

Your answer depends on how you yourself were raised by your
family and
educated by your society.

What would be the passive version of this sentence considering
"depends" as the main verb?

A possible *theoretical* version seems to be "How you yourself were
raised is depended on for your answer." However, that sentence is
awkward, unnatural, and apparently unused.

Thank you in advance.

Howard Sage
hsage@hunter.cuny.edu

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Einde O'Callaghan - 16 Apr 2004 06:41 GMT

> Discussing the sentence below today, a class, studying how to use and
> apply the passive voice, was confused by the following sentence:
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> raised is depended on for your answer." However, that sentence is
> awkward, unnatural, and apparently unused.

I don't think a passive structure is possible here (or perhaps at all
with "depend on") and the insertion of a preposition "for" that isn't in
the original sentence in front of teh subject of the active sentence
just makes things worse.

Regards, Einde O'Callaghan

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Irma - 16 Apr 2004 14:40 GMT

>> Discussing the sentence below today, a class, studying how to use and
>> apply the passive voice, was confused by the following sentence:
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>
>Regards, Einde O'Callaghan

Are there verbs that you can use in passive voice and others that you
can't use in this voice? or

Does the use of passive voice depend on the context?

Thanks.

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Einde O'Callaghan - 16 Apr 2004 18:50 GMT

>>>Discussing the sentence below today, a class, studying how to use and
>>>apply the passive voice, was confused by the following sentence:
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
>
> Does the use of passive voice depend on the context?

Well intransitive verbs have no passive form because they have no object
that can become the subject of the passive sentence. Some verbs with
prepositional verbs can be made passive but by no means all - which ones
can become passive seems to be purely idiomatic (at least I can see no
rule - not even a rule of thumb).

Regards, Einde O'Callaghan

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Irma - 16 Apr 2004 21:22 GMT

>Well intransitive verbs have no passive form because they have no object
>that can become the subject of the passive sentence. Some verbs with
>prepositional verbs can be made passive but by no means all - which ones
>can become passive seems to be purely idiomatic (at least I can see no
>rule - not even a rule of thumb).

I really didn't know it.

Thanks Einde :-)

Irma.

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Robert Zhang - 16 Apr 2004 13:20 GMT

> Your answer depends on how you yourself were raised by your
> family and
> educated by your society.
>
> What would be the passive version of this sentence considering
> "depends" as the main verb?

How about this:

It's your answer that how ... is depended on.

Nonsence, too.

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John Ramsay - 16 Apr 2004 16:51 GMT

> Discussing the sentence below today, a class, studying how to use and
> apply the passive voice, was confused by the following sentence:
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> Howard Sage
> hsage@hunter.cuny.edu

Idiomatic, I guess. English does use the
phrase, 'your answer is dependent on...'

Seems to substitute the adjective form of depend
for PP.

Curiously enough synonyms don't work too well either.

eg 'Your answer relies on ...' does not morph into
an acceptable passive.

Same applies in reverse. 'Your answer is influenced by'
is an acceptable passive but the active form doesn't work.

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Discussion Groups / ESL Teaching / April 2004

Passive with the verb "depend on"