What is imperative in passive?

[Steve88]

What is imperative in passive?

Can ”open your book” to change from active voice to passive voice?

Thanks

[Alan]

Hi Steve,

This is realistically not possible, I would say because the imperative is essentially asking for something to be done. The passive however describes what has been done or what is going to be done.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Indirect Speech

[MrPedantic]

The passive imperative is quite rare, as it contains an apparent contradiction: we are commanding someone or something to be the patient in an action, e.g.

1. Be broken by the next person to pick you up.

— a malicious magician to a Ming vase.

"Get" + participle can form a kind of passive imperative:

2. Go and get checked out by your doctor.

These can be transformed thus:

3. The next person will break the vase / The vase will be broken by the next person.
4. His doctor will check him out / He will be checked out by his doctor.

Best wishes,

MrP

[Alan]

Hi,

Thanks for that. You have reminded me of that popular expression used when you want someone to go away: Get lost! And then of course there are the really vulgar ones that are best left in obscurity as far as this site is concerned.

Alan
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English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story Phrasal Verbs/go

[MrPedantic]

Hello Alan,

I wondered about "get lost", but was not sure whether it was a passive construction (it sounds awkward if we add an agent, for instance).

Best wishes,

MrP