Understanding Passive Voice in English: Correcting ‘People like to play tennis here.’

英語

In English, transforming sentences from active to passive voice is an essential skill, especially when the focus shifts from the subject performing the action to the object receiving the action. The question at hand asks about the correct way to rewrite the sentence ‘People like to play tennis here.’ in passive voice. Let’s explore the issue and clarify the correct answer.

What is Passive Voice?

Passive voice is a grammatical construction where the object of an action becomes the subject of the sentence. In contrast to the active voice, where the subject performs the action, the passive voice focuses on the recipient of the action. Understanding how to form passive voice correctly is key to mastering English grammar.

Analyzing the Given Sentence

The sentence ‘People like to play tennis here.’ is in the active voice. The subject ‘People’ is performing the action ‘like,’ and the object ‘to play tennis’ is what is liked. In passive voice, the focus should shift to the object of the verb, which is ‘to play tennis.’

Correct Passive Voice Formation

When transforming this sentence into passive voice, we need to follow the rules of passive construction. The correct passive form of ‘People like to play tennis here.’ is: ‘Tennis is liked to be played here.’

This structure is valid because ‘tennis,’ the object of the active sentence, becomes the subject of the passive sentence. ‘Is liked’ is the passive verb, and ‘to be played’ remains in its infinitive form. The focus is now on ‘tennis,’ which is the object being liked.

Why ‘To play tennis is liked here’ is Incorrect

The alternative sentence ‘To play tennis is liked here’ is grammatically incorrect. In this structure, the infinitive ‘to play tennis’ cannot function as the subject of the sentence. Passive constructions generally do not work well with infinitive forms as the subject. Therefore, this version does not adhere to the rules of English grammar.

Conclusion

The correct passive voice construction for ‘People like to play tennis here.’ is ‘Tennis is liked to be played here.’ This form adheres to the rules of passive voice, where the focus shifts to the object of the action. Understanding the mechanics of active and passive voice is crucial for mastering English grammar and writing.

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