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Cited by 651

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 2 of the 2 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Constraints on the agentless passive

Weiner, E. Judith, Labov, William·1983·Journal of Linguistics

Abstract

This paper is a quantitative study of the factors that determine the selection of passive constructions over active ones by English speakers. By examining a large body of passives used in spontaneous speech, together with the sentences that show an opposing choice, we are able to throw light on the crucial question of which syntactic and which semantic features of the environment act to constrain the choice and whether syntactic or semantic factors predominate in this case. In the course of the analysis, we will also have something to say about the social factors that have been reported to determine the use of the passive.

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Metadata

Authors
Weiner, E. J., & Labov, W.
Venue
Journal of Linguistics
Published
1983-03
Volume
19
Issue
1
Pages
29-58
ISSN
  • 0022-2267 (ISSN-L)
  • 1469-7742
OpenAlex
W2082533220
Cited by
651
References
2
FWCI
35.35
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Constraints on the agentless passive. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1017/s0022226700007441
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Weiner, E. J., & Labov, W. (1983). Constraints on the agentless passive. Journal of Linguistics. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022226700007441

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