active vs. passive voice

[Combs, Richard]

Ned Bedinger wrote:
 
> If I set up a display(n) of my wares at the Saturday flea 
> market, I can also say (and be generally understood) that my 
> wares are displayed(v,i) at the flea market. This usage and 
> construction sounds right to my ear, and is just too commonly 
> encountered to be a big dumb mistake made with a transitive 
> verb. English (the living language) seems to allow it.

Actually, it's _correct_ usage of a transitive verb. In the phrase "my
wares are displayed," the actor is omitted (passive voice) and "my
wares" is the _object_ of the action. 

But thanks for playing! ;-)

Richard


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Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
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rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-777-0436
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