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The first European to discover America is kwown
to be Columbus.

In this sentence, Why "to be" used?

2007-01-19 12:55:53 · 4 answers · asked by Iamman 1 in Society & Culture Languages

4 answers

This sentence has the passive structure X is known to be Y. The corresponding active sentence would be Z knows that X is Y. When this sentence is passivized, the direct object is actually the subordinate clause "that X is Y", a whole clause, so you have two options: "That X is Y is known", or, as in the sentence you cite, "X is known to be Y". The first type of passivization is fairly straightforward, you move the entire direct object clause (that X is Y) into subject position and mark the verb as a passive (BE plus past participle). The second type of passivization is a little more complicated. You move the subject of the subordinate clause (X) into subject position. But that leaves only a partial sentence in the subordinate clause (that __ is Y) because there is no longer a subject present. Therefore you must mark that partial subordinate clause with "to" rather than "that" and take the tense off of the verb, leaving an infinitive verb (be). So you end up with X is known to be Y.

2007-01-19 14:19:55 · answer #1 · answered by Taivo 7 · 0 1

because the person used the verb phrase "is known" you have to use the adverbial phrase "tobe Columbus"

And the sentance is wrong - The Viking Eric the Red set foot on north america before 1000 AD

2007-01-19 13:07:02 · answer #2 · answered by startrektosnewenterpriselovethem 6 · 2 1

Leif Erickson

2007-01-19 13:09:46 · answer #3 · answered by holleemerry 1 · 0 1

i think of it extremely is solid somebody has raised this factor by way of fact i actually beleive that historic past will repeat itself. we'd have yet another Columbus of the destiny who will circulate into the destiny historic past books for looking yet another inhabitable planet. Likewise, punishments of old for criminals will additionally make a comeback. back interior the Victorian situations, Transportation to AUstralia replaced into deemed a WORSE punishment via criminals themselves than the death penalty!!! So i think of prisons would be made on different inhabitable planets and transportation to those planets will replace right into a clean and terrible punishment - you're in the international on your guy or woman, without society + it extremely is impossible to come again living house and something might desire to take place to you without you being waiting to do something approximately it. and that i'm specific that if we do are available in the time of "clever" existence that's no longer as progressed as us, the probability is we are able to kill it to take over their planet/land. it extremely is what we did with the negroes as quickly as we first entered Africa and it extremely is what we did with the interior sight people as quickly as we first entered usa. and that i will see it happening back. no longer by way of fact we nevertheless carry those comparable perspectives, yet only that as a human race, we are able to be so crushed to locate yet another hospitable planet which will in all probability be wealthy in organic factors that i think of this could propose we are able to revert back to our anal way of killing any variety of risk to us, maximum of that's oftentimes a techniques much less progressed than ourselves besides.

2016-12-16 08:45:16 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

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