◄ Mix 1 | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 | #7 | #8 |

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[Mix (1) #7]

Task (1): Search for can solve and can be solved in the corpus. Sort concordance by keyword and give an example of each expression.
Task (2): Look at the second hit in the case of can solve and the fourth in the case of can be solved and comment on the difference in form and meaning between the two.
Task (3): What function do by-phrases in the can be solved-search have?



Suggested answer:
(1) Examples of can solve and can be solved from the corpus:
...then we can solve the problem only by altering that state...
None of the problems of the colonial world can be solved by petty-bourgeois nationalist leaderships...

(2) In the example with can solve the VP is in the active voice, the modal auxiliary can is the operator of the head verb solve. The Subject he will perform the action of solving all the problems of life. In the example with can be solved the VP is in the passive voice, the modal auxiliary can and the primary verb be are operators of the head verb solve. the passive voice is recognised by a form of be in combination with the past participle (i.e. solved). In this case there is also a problem to be solved, but it does not say anything about who will do it. The problem is the Subject of the clause.

(3) In hits number 2 and 4, the by-phrases have the function of agent by-phrase, characteristic of sentences in the passive voice. The by-phrase tells us who or what has performed the action. In hits number 1 and 3 the by-phrases have the function of adjuncts of manner, i.e. they tell us how the problem can be solved.

Internet Grammar of English
Terminology: active voice, passive voice, modal auxiliary, subject, VP, adjunct

Last updated 4 October 2023, SOE
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