The Category of Voice

the information focus in the sentence.
Voice (from Latin vox-vocis ‘a

faculty of speech’) is the grammatical category of the verb expressing parsing of the situation information structure as conceived by the speaker. It is a speaker-related category.
Different approaches to voice:
formal (traditional): two voices - H. Sweet, O. Jespersen, A.I. Smirnitsky, L.S. Barchudarov;
semantic: five voices - H. Poutsma, I.I. Ivanova;
V.Y. Plotkin’s: no voices.

well as aspect and phase) is based on the existence

of analytical forms within the system of the English verb, which are opposed to the unmarked forms (L.S. Barchudarov).
It is the opposition of the categorial forms of active and passive voice.
The active voice is unmarked. The passive voice is marked, analytical, has a discontinuous morpheme {be + -ed/n, etc.}.
Some verbs are not used in forms of passive voice: be, seem, become, appear, go*, come*, belong, consist, or used rarely, with certain semantic and contextual restrictions: sit, live, sleep, walk, jump, have, etc.
* is gone, is come are combinations of be + participle II.

the door.
non-active (not or not only the agent)
She broke her

leg (passive).
The concert began (middle).
John shaved himself (reflexive).
They kissed each other (reciprocal).

Passive Voice
intensive
the subject if the recipient of the action



(L.S. Barchudarov)

asked a question.
Middle voice
The door opened.
Reflexive voice
She dressed herself.
Reciprocal voice
They

met in the street.

Arguments against the semantic approach
The subject of the active verb is the agent in an overwhelming majority of cases.
Almost all meanings of the active form have an active component.
It is impossible to use an object with the preposition by in sentences with the active verb in passive meaning.

in OE and it did not appear in ModE due

to the absence of synthetic forms.
According to V.Y. Plotkin, a grammatical category may only be distinguished if it has the ‘synthetic basis’.
He is asked is an analytical combination with passive meaning.