Cambridge Grammar of English Hardback with cd-rom a comprehensive Guide

PASSIVES WITHOUT AN AGENT PHRASE

482

General

482a

Passives frequently occur without an agent phrase and are called agentless

passives. There are a number of reasons why such a choice might be made. The

entity responsible for an action may not be known or may not be considered

relevant, or may simply be obvious. 

The agentless passive enables focus to fall on the process. What is or is not

done, or what happens, is important:

Swimming in the lake 

is prohibited.

The interview 

is being televised tonight.

The town 

was rebuilt after the war.

Five of us 

were sacked for no reason.

Applications 

should be received by Friday June 23rd.

Taxes 

will have to be put up again.

It was agreed that no action needed to be taken.

There were twenty people arrested.

Get

-passives occur more frequently with no agent phrase than be-passives:

She’s been a bit nervous ever since we 

got burgled.

He 

got conscripted into the army and had to go to Belgium.

798 | The passive

Cambridge Grammar of English

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Reference to the agent(s) may be omitted in order to deflect possible criticism,

because it may be embarrassing/inappropriate to mention the agent, or because it

may be necessary to omit such reference:

I’m sorry. It seems that your forms 

got mislaid.

I

’ve been told that she is unreliable.

Students 

will be penalised for late submission of assignments. 

We would like a new approach 

to be worked out.