Discharge in active vs passive voice?

Kookie

2018-05-07 1:43 am

1.) Those who rely on certified public accountants expect them to discharge their responsibilities with integrity, objectivity, due professional care and a genuine interest in serving the public.
2.) The special representative is discharged from any responsibility and will have no further duties with respect to the matter or with respect to any party,...

請問上述兩句，discharge 的意思該是 "履行" 或 "解除" 職責? 又該如何判斷?

回答 (1)

Duncan

2018-05-07 4:26 am

✔ 最佳答案

You may find your answer in dictionaries.

"discharge", as a verb, has several meanings.
1. 意思是 "履行"
- transitive
- somebody/something "discharge" something (~duties/responsibilities/obligations)
- to perform a task, especially an official one [from Cambridge dictionary]

2. 意思是 "解除" (允許…出院; 允許…退伍; 解僱)
- transitive; usually in passive voice
- somebody/something "discharge" somebody (from something) (~hospital/prison/court/*job related terms*)
- to give somebody official permission to leave a place or job; [from Oxford dictionary]

The MAIN difference between 1 & 2 is :
the word "responsibilities", among other abstract nouns such as duty and obligation, is the direct object of the verb "discharge" in sentence 1, whereas, "responsibility", among other job-related terms, is the object of the preposition "from" immediately following the passive of "discharge" in sentence 2.

👍 2 👎 1