172 CHAPTER 5
6b. The cake was eaten [by someone].To account for sentence 6, T-G grammar proposes a deletion rule that elimi-
nates the prepositional phrase containing the subject agent. We can say, there-
fore, that sentence 6 has undergone two transformations, passive and passive
agent deletion. The deletion rule appears as:
Agent Deletion Rule.NP 2 Aux + be -ed/en V by + NP 1fiNP 2 Aux + be -ed/en VIn many cases, passive agent deletion applies when we don’t know the agent
of an action or when we do not want to identify an agent. Consider sentences 7
through 10:
- The plot of the play was developed slowly.
- The accident occurred when the driver’s forward vision was obstructed.
- The family was driven into bankruptcy.
- Buggsy’s favorite goon was attacked.
In sentence 7, we may not know whether the slow plot development should
be attributed to the playwright or the director. In 8, the cause of the obstruction
may be unknown, but we can imagine a scenario in which someone would not
want to attribute causality, owing to the liability involved. Perhaps the obstruc-
tion occurred when the driver—a female, say—poked herself in the eye when
applying mascara while driving.
APPLYING KEY IDEASDirections: Produce diagrams for the following sentences. Remember: T-G
grammar requires two trees for any sentence that has undergone transformation.
- Maria was thrilled by the music in the park.
- Mrs. DiMarco was stunned by the news.
- The door was opened slowly.
- Fred was stung by a swarm of bees.
5.The nest had been stirred up deliberately.