Amor al otro y egocentrismo

The percentage of verb forms in Figure 4.2 shows that VVI forms (infinitives) are more favoured compared to the VVG (forms). This is also true in the study by Granger and Paquot (2008) where it was found that the VVI forms generate more frequency than the VVG forms. Table 4.7 reveal common verbs for the highest frequency of VVI and VVG forms respectively.

Table 4.7 Verbs in Infinitives and Gerunds

VVI (Infinitive) Frequency VVG (Gerund) Frequency

use 20 use 37

construct 18 make 28

produce 9 construct 26

The data shows that there are two verbs (use, construct) which are most frequently employed in both the VVI and VVG forms. As noted by Conti (2011), non-native writers especially, find the choice of the infinitive and the gerund as an ‘arduous grammar point’. The findings from this study brings forth the old age question about whether to use the infinitive or the gerund for complements. Further analysis is performed through an examination of the concordance line for the verb, use.

Infinitive of use Gerund of use

The essay analysis showed that only seven students attempted to use more than 10% of the newspaper wordlist in their writing.

According to the study, the professionals are not able to practice using the language.

They appear to have good understanding in parts of speech and are able to use the words correctly in elaborating their ideas.

The purpose of the advertisement is to enable the consumers to believe on the impact of using the products based on the positive language used.

Previous studies (Conti, 2011; Arseneau & Duffley, 2016) have noted that for certain purposes for the verb, use, the infinitive forms and gerund are generally interchangeable.

4.3.4 Passive and active voice

As discussed in the previous chapters, the use of the passive voice is generally seen as the convention in academic writing and much more common in academic prose although it is also noted that many academic writers are also partial to the active voice because it is more direct and concise (Biber et al., 1999). For example, a study of Indonesian learners’ theses by Yannuar et al. (2014) shows that the active voice is used more frequently (64%) compared to the passive in the analysis of stance verbs (such as suggest, expect, show, predict and report). However, it must be noted that the rest of the stance verbs (36%) are constructed in the passive voice. In this study, the percentage of usage of both voices is almost equal. The percentage of the passive voice is calculated based on the occurrence of VVN forms while the active voice is identified by the use of

VVB, VVZ and VVD forms (refer to Figure 4.2) which amount to 31% and 32% respectively.

Biber et al. (1999) notes that both voices can be employed interchangeably, in which case the authors may choose a voice that can fulfil a certain purpose in discourse functions. In other words, both voices are useful and necessary and that academic writers need to equip themselves with the skills and the knowledge to apply both voices appropriately. The passive voice is constructed by placing the verb-to-be in the same tense as the active verb and replacing the active verb with the past participle form. The choice to use the passive voice also contributes to a greater frequency of the VVN form. Biber et al. (1999) remarks that academic writers are more partial to the active voice as they convey a direct and concise message while both voices are still considered useful and necessary in the academic context as they serve different purposes that could reflect the writers’ intent. Example 4.4 shows the concordance lines using the passive voice.

Example 4.4

1) Such variety has not reached a stabilised form of use accepted by all the members in the speech community

2) The women will also try to look beautiful and gorgeous like what has been depicted by the models in the television.

In both the examples, the passive voice is constructed by placing the verb-to-be in the same tense as the active verb. The active verb is changed into the past participle form. This method is often utilized to switch the subject of the verbs to become the agent of the passive verb. In many cases, the agent is introduced by using the preposition by.

As a rule of thumb, the passive voice is employed when the writer deems that the action is more important than the agent. This situation often occurs particularly in academic prose, reports and processes.

However, the more common reason to use the passive voice is to avoid mentioning the agent altogether. The agents in these instances are often the authors themselves, when, in the spirit of anonymity and conventionality chose the passive construct to avoid any reference to themselves. For these reasons, the use of the passive voice is generally considered as the ‘academic discourse convention’. Example 4.5 illustrates instances where the passive voice is employed in order to avoid mentioning the author.

Example 4.5

1) At the same time, such limitations cannot be avoided without incurring certain cost.

2) These guidelines are a limitation to the framework as some of the categories in the surface structure taxonomy cannot then be applied.

As mentioned previously, native writers tend to use the active voice more in their constructs despite their conventionalised use in academic writing. The frequent use of the passive voice could also indicate some cultural elements at play. Further discussion regarding cultural impact on academic writing will be discussed in Chapter 5.