Word order: by-agent

[Gromit]

Hello,

I'd like to know whether there is a strict word order for by-agents in passive sentences that contain a verb + infinitive.

My students had to deal with a task about verb patterns and had to rewrite the sentence
"The government were motivated by the election results to change the Visa Law."
using encourage.

They either wrote
The election results encouraged the government to change the Visa Law.
or used the passive:
The government were encouraged by the election results to change the Visa Law.

or

The government were encouraged to change the Visa Law by the election results.

I'd prefer the version where the by-agent directly follows encourage.[/i]

[Mister Micawber]

I agree with you here. There is no strict rule, although I think that the agent phrase generally follows the direct object (I was elected chairman by the rest of the board). Clarity will be the determiner.
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Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's