| 词组 | progressive passive |
| 释义 | progressive passive Jane Austen in a letter (8 Feb. 1807) wrote "Our Dressing-Table is constructing on the spot " If she were writing today she would say "Our dressing-table is being constructed on the spot...." The verb phrase is being constructed is an example of what is referred to as the progressive passive—a passive verb construction that indicates an ongoing process. Today no one thinks twice about the progressive passive, but a century ago it was the source of considerable controversy. The construction was widely apprehended as new in the 19th century and a number of 19th-century commentators—George Perkins Marsh 1859, Alford 1866, Richard Grant White 1870, for instance—objected to it. (Hall 1917 lists several other lesser-known grammarians too.) It was apparently just coming into widespread use in the early 19th century; White claimed that it started with Southey in 1795; Fitzedward Hall 1873 found examples from 1779. Hall, who called the construction the imperfect passive, wrote extensively on the subject, and his numerous examples seem to have turned the tide in favor of accepting the construction. Ayres 1881, for example, reprints an entire 10-page article by Hall. J. Lesslie Hall 1917 may have had the last word on the subject. He found examples from the 15th century and from the early 17th century; it was his opinion that this construction had been long available but did not come into common use until the later 18th century. Since Hall 1917, no one has had much to say about it. It is good to know that some old usage issues do fade away at last. |
| 随便看 |
英语用法大全包含2888条英语用法指南，基本涵盖了全部常用英文词汇及语法点的翻译及用法，是英语学习的有利工具。