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Girdhari Borado
Need help in changing 'Sit down!' into passive voice!
Hi friends! Is it possible to change a sentence into passive voice if it's an imperative sentence cum an intransitive verb ? For example, "Sit down!" - It's an imperative sentence cum an intransitive verb. Will really appreciate your answer!
Jun 28, 2014 8:05 PM
Answers · 14
4
The trouble is that the subject and is implied: "(You must) sit down!". . .but there is no object.
If it were "Sit down on the chair!" I guess you could say. . .
The chair must be sat on by you!
But I would never, ever say something like that. . .it just sounds awful to my ears.
Also. . . I wouldn't use "cum" in an English post. . . it's the same word as a sexual term in English. Google it.
I knew what you meant so it didn't bother me, but it's not a good mistake to make. It's the kind of thing I'd want someone to tell me, if I was making a mistake like it in German or French.
June 28, 2014
3
Intransitive verbs can't be used changed into the passive, because by their nature they have no object. The only way you could base a passive construction on an imperative such as 'Sit down, children!' would be something like 'The children were told to sit down'.
June 28, 2014
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Girdhari Borado
Language Skills
English, Hindi
Learning Language
English
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