Question

1. I made the boy carry my bag.
2. The boy is made to carry my bag.

(#2 is the passive voice of #1. By the way why is 'to' added before "carry" in #2?)



English - Writeacher, Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 8:33pm
One is not exactly the passive of the other. The verb "made" is what you are making passive.

Take a look at these sentences:

John ate a hamburger. <~~active
The hamburger was eaten by John. <~~passive

Try again.



English - Writeacher, Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 8:33pm
Active:

The boy carried my bag.



Passive:

My bag was carried by the boy.
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Thank you. I corrected some.

1. I made the boy carry my bag.
2. The boy was made to carry my bag by me.

(#2 is the passive voice of #1. By the way why is 'to' added before "carry" in #2?)

Answer 1

Both 1 and 2 are grammatically correct. Clearly, 1 is the better sentence.

The word "to" is with "carry" because "to carry" is an infinitive completing the meaning of the verb "made" in the passive.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm#infinitives In #1, "to" is simply omitted.