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passive voice
where is the position of by+agent in passive voice.
Is this position right: adverb of place + by agent + adverb of time??
Jul 20, 2015 11:10 AM
Answers · 1
1
Adverb order is very flexible in English.
I tried out a few examples to see which sound natural.
1) The bread was eaten in the kitchen by the cat yesterday.
-Correct and natural
2) The bread was eaten by the cat in the kitchen yesterday.
-Correct and natural. "The cat in the kitchen" could be misinterpreted as "the cat which was in the kitchen" though.
3) The bread was eaten by the cat yesterday in the kitchen.
-Correct and natural. Emphasis is on "in the kitchen".
4) The bread was eaten yesterday in the kitchen by the cat.
-Correct, but a bit awkward.
5) The bread was eaten in the kitchen yesterday by the cat.
-Correct, but a bit awkward. Strong emphasis is on "by the cat".
6) The bread was eaten yesterday by the cat in the kitchen.
-Correct, but "the cat in the kitchen" would be interpreted as "the cat which was in the kitchen", otherwise it'd sound awkward.
You could also put "yesterday" at the beginning of the sentence and it'd sound just as natural. It'd be awkward, but technically correct, if you tried the same thing with "in the kitchen".
July 20, 2015
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Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English, Vietnamese
Learning Language
Chinese (Mandarin), English
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