why the sentence use ”make” but not ”be made” ?

2008-08-23 6:06 am
This was not an easy decision to make and we've tried to keep these increases as low as possible while protecting as many of our customers as we can.

In my understanding, we should write "decision to be made" .... but the newspaper use "active voice"

回答 (2)

2008-08-23 5:01 pm
✔ 最佳答案
先與你談談兩個例子:
a)There is nothing to do.
b)There is nothing to be done
在a)句中nothing為do的受詞,但若改為被動語氣(b),nothing乃成為to be done意思上的主詞。
表示動作的抽像名詞,我們可以隨意用於主動或被動的意思。不定詞在古代英語中被視為名詞,且至今仍然承受名詞性質,因此也有主動及被動的兩種形式,兩者的意思沒有什麼分別,但現在被動的意思,現趨向多用主動形式表示,如:
There is nothing to fear( or to be feard)
There is no time to lose( or to be lost)
但要留意,下例意思不同
There are many sights to see (= worth seeing) in England.(在英國有許多值得遊覽的名勝)
There are many sights to be seen(=that can be seen) in England.(在英國可以看見許多名勝)

希望幫到你!
2008-08-23 6:27 am
用中文解釋可能較易理解.

原文可譯作:這是個不易作出的決定...
你當然可以寫作:這是個不易被作出的決定,但上面一句的寫法明顯較佳.
英文也一樣,你當然可以寫" ...decision to be made", 但文法上"...decision to make”也行得通,這個寫法也較佳.這種句式其實在英文中很常見,譬如:There is something to eat. 你不一定要寫作:There is something to be eaten.


收錄日期: 2021-04-12 00:04:53
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