前兩三期談過了被動語態的變法及在什么情況下要用被動語態。

這里要談的是：如何處理某些句子的被動語態。

先看看雙賓語句子如何變成被動語態。

大家知道，英語有些句子含有兩個賓語：直接賓語和間接賓語。例如：

“The crowd gave the guest a warm welcome ”里，就有雙賓語。一個是直接賓語“a warm welcome” ;另一個是間接賓語“the guest”。

在變成被動語態時，其中一個賓語要成為主語。在一般情況下，我們多以間接賓語為主語，直接賓語留在原位，如：

“The guest was given a warm welome by the crowd ”。

但是，如果重點在直接賓語，直接賓語便要變成被動語態的主語，如：

“We will offer any capable applicant a competitive salary.”要變成：

“A competitive salary will be offered to any capable applicant.”

接著，讓我們看看名詞分句如何變成被動語態，例如：

“People generally feel that social workers are offering valuable services for the public.”這句子可以“it ”作為主語，然后，把名詞分句移到句子后頭去：

“It is generally felt that social workers are offering valuable services for the public.”

另外一種變法是把名詞分句的主語轉為被動句的主語，接著把名詞分句的動詞變成不定式動詞：

“Social workers are generally felt to be offering valuable services for the public.”

最后，談談怎樣把不帶“to”的不定式動詞變成被動語態。例如：

“We saw them go out”和“He made her work”這兩句話里， “go out”和“work” 不帶“to ”，但是當它們變成被動句時，“ to ”出現了：

“They were seen to go out.”和“She was made to work.”

在結束本文之前，順便指出中英文句子結構的一個差異，就是中文含有被動意義的句子，不一定要用“被”字，但在譯成英文時，卻要變成被動語態。例如：

①燈關掉了：The light was turned off (不是：The light turned off)

②會議延期舉行：The meeting will be put off. (不是：The meeting will put off)

③這件事必須保密：This matter should be kept secret.(不是：This matter should be secret)

④發展計劃提早完成：The development project was completed before schedule.

⑤我們學校去年建造了一個新的電腦室： Last year, a new computer room was built in our school.

⑥在舊社會，婦女是受輕視的：In the old society,women were looked down upon.