[Grammar] They made lots of cars in Korea

[Venus.jam]

Hi,

I wonder if both of the following ways are correct in making the sentence below passive:

"They made lots of cars in Korea"

1. A lot of cars are made in Korea by them.
2. A lot of cars are made by them in Korea.

Of course, the first one sounds to be natural to me.

 

[emsr2d2]

It's not really natural in either the active or the passive.

Lots of cars are made in Korea.

If it has already been established that "they" refers to a specific company, it would more natural to say "They manufacture lots of cars in Korea".

Out of curiosity, why did you want to change your original sentence into the passive?

 

[Venus.jam]

It's not really natural in either the active or the passive.

Lots of cars are made in Korea.

If it has already been established that "they" refers to a specific company, it would more natural to say "They manufacture lots of cars in Korea".

Out of curiosity, why did you want to change your original sentence into the passive?

Excuse me, so you mean that the verb "made" should be replaced with "manufactured". Right?
So, are both of the following passive forms correct and natural?

1. Lots of cars are manufactured in Korea by them.
2. Lots of cars are manufactured by them in Korea.

My problem is with the correct place of "them". I think both are correct, but I doubt whether they are natural as well.
Does it really matter where to write "them"? I mean is there any specific rule for that?
Well, the original sentence that I faced with in a course book was "They make lots of cars in Korea" and the passive form of the sentence was asked from the students. Sometimes, I face with some sentences in students' course book like the one mentioned here which makes me wonder if they are correct and natural as well. I'd like to know every delicate point in English.

 

[emsr2d2]

[STRIKE]Excuse me,[/STRIKE] Do you mean that the verb "made" should be replaced with "manufactured"? [STRIKE]Right? [/STRIKE]

So (no comma here) are both of the following passive forms correct and natural?

1. Lots of cars are manufactured in Korea by them. Grammatical but very unnatural.
2. Lots of cars are manufactured by them in Korea. Grammatical. Less unnatural than the first one.

My problem is with the correct place of "them". I think both are correct, but I doubt whether they are natural as well.
You're right to have doubts. They're not natural, even though they're correct.

Does it really matter where to write "them"? I mean is there any specific rule for that?
If you can come up with some natural examples, we'll be happy to tell you what the correct/natural word order is.

[STRIKE]Well,[/STRIKE] The original sentence that I [STRIKE]faced with[/STRIKE] found in a course book was "They make lots of cars in Korea" and the students were asked for construct the passive form of the sentence. [STRIKE]was asked from the students.[/STRIKE] Sometimes, I [STRIKE]face with[/STRIKE] find [STRIKE]some[/STRIKE] sentences in students' course books, like the one mentioned here, which [STRIKE]makes[/STRIKE] make me wonder if they are correct and natural as well.

I'd like to know every delicate point [STRIKE]in[/STRIKE] about/of English.

Note my changes and comments above. I have noticed you have a tendency to start sentences with "Excuse me". That's not natural in written English. You might say it to me if you want to stop me in the street and ask me a question, or ask me to get out of your way, but it really doesn't work on the forum. You also like to construct questions by writing a statement and then adding "right?" at the end. Again, you'll hear that a lot in spoken English but it's good practice here on the forum to get into the habit of constructing questions in the standard interrogative form.

As I have indicated above, it's hard to identify the natural word order of two unnatural sentences. Many course books and text books are full of interminable and pointless "active to passive" exercises. If I were you, I would concentrate on other, more important, aspects of the English language first.

 

[Venus.jam]

Note my changes and comments above. I have noticed you have a tendency to start sentences with "Excuse me". That's not natural in written English. You might say it to me if you want to stop me in the street and ask me a question, or ask me to get out of your way, but it really doesn't work on the forum. You also like to construct questions by writing a statement and then adding "right?" at the end. Again, you'll hear that a lot in spoken English but it's good practice here on the forum to get into the habit of constructing questions in the standard interrogative form.

As I have indicated above, it's hard to identify the natural word order of two unnatural sentences. Many course books and text books are full of interminable and pointless "active to passive" exercises. If I were you, I would concentrate on other, more important, aspects of the English language first.

Hi,

What's the difference between "made" and "manufactured"? Why "made" does not sound natural in this context but "manufactured" does?

 

[Matthew Wai]

See the definition of 'manufacture' at http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/manufacture_1?q=manufacture

 

[Rover_KE]

Active: 'Hyundai make lots of cars in Korea'.
Passive: 'Lots of cars are made in Korea by Hyundai.'

Active: 'They make lots of cars in Korea' (unspecified subject meaning 'people').
Passive: 'Lots of cars are made in Korea' (no need for 'by them' or 'by people).

 

[Venus.jam]

Hi,

'Hyundai make (or makes?) lots of cars in Korea'.

What about manufactured? What is the difference between made and manufactured?
I'm confused. Which one should be used in making the above mentioned sentence passive, made or manufactured?

 

[GoesStation]

'Hyundai make (or makes?) lots of cars in Korea'.

What about manufactured? What is the difference between made and manufactured?
I'm confused. Which one should be used in making the above mentioned sentence passive, made or manufactured?

Either one is possible. Manufacture is more formal, but make is fine.

I agree with others that making nice active-voice sentences into dull passive-voice ones is a pointless exercise.

 

[Venus.jam]

Oh, so I'd misunderstood it at first. I thought that using "made" in the passive voice is unnatural and "manufactured" should be used instead. Yes. I do agree that some exercises are just written to help learners learn how to make passive sentences without considering the fact that some of them actually become unnatural. Now, I got it.