Mar 10, 2010 14:23
14 yrs ago
English term

Who was this paper written by?

Non-PRO English Other Other Passive Voice
This is a translation from Russian into English offered as a key to excercises on Passive Voice. (http://njnj.ru/exer/exer_passive.htm)

Is it technically possible to make such a question?
Responses
5 +19 Yes
Change log

Mar 11, 2010 23:02: Cilian O'Tuama changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (3): Polangmar, B D Finch, Cilian O'Tuama

When entering new questions, KudoZ askers are given an opportunity* to classify the difficulty of their questions as 'easy' or 'pro'. If you feel a question marked 'easy' should actually be marked 'pro', and if you have earned more than 20 KudoZ points, you can click the "Vote PRO" button to recommend that change.

How to tell the difference between "easy" and "pro" questions:

An easy question is one that any bilingual person would be able to answer correctly. (Or in the case of monolingual questions, an easy question is one that any native speaker of the language would be able to answer correctly.)

A pro question is anything else... in other words, any question that requires knowledge or skills that are specialized (even slightly).

Another way to think of the difficulty levels is this: an easy question is one that deals with everyday conversation. A pro question is anything else.

When deciding between easy and pro, err on the side of pro. Most questions will be pro.

* Note: non-member askers are not given the option of entering 'pro' questions; the only way for their questions to be classified as 'pro' is for a ProZ.com member or members to re-classify it.

Responses

+19
3 mins
Selected

Yes

It's a perfectly normal English construction. Some people don't like ending sentences with a preposition (although it has been a feature of English for centuries), so it would also be possible to say "By whom was this paper written", but that sounds rather old-fashioned nowadays.
Peer comment(s):

agree Jack Doughty : Though I would use the "old-fashioned" form myself, or make it active: Who wrote this paper?
1 min
agree Kim Metzger
2 mins
agree English2Korean : Yes, see the question section at http://eslau.ca/lesson/unit43.php
2 mins
agree Michael Beijer
2 mins
agree Stephanie Ezrol
7 mins
agree Andrea Cigliola (X)
15 mins
agree Yasutomo Kanazawa
16 mins
agree David Knowles : despite the fact that logic might suggest "whom was ..."//Not all the examples in your reference sound natural in English, though they are probably grammatically correct.
17 mins
agree Ildiko Santana : also agree w/ Jack
25 mins
agree Armorel Young : Yes, it's always possible: Who was this question asked by? Who was this house built by?
26 mins
agree Oliver Lawrence : and contrived avoidance of ending sentences with a preposition is precisely the sort of English up with which I will not put :)
31 mins
agree Suzan Hamer : And with Jack; I'd say "Who wrote this paper?" Yeah Oliver, you and (allegedly) Churchill...
35 mins
agree British Diana : Whose submission wouldn't be agreed with? Who was this suggestion supported by? Why not, indeed!
53 mins
agree jccantrell
55 mins
agree Polangmar
1 hr
agree Rolf Keiser
1 hr
agree Paula Vaz-Carreiro : I love "By whom was this paper written", and I have no problem with ending sentences with a preposition :-)
2 hrs
agree gabiomelka
22 hrs
agree Cilian O'Tuama : A preposition is not always a bad word to end a sentence with.
1 day 8 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks a lot. The examples offered by other participants are also very helpful."
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search