Is there a difference between these two sentences?
A very long letter was written to him
He was written a very long letter
Thanks a lot!
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This question falls into the pattern of "What is the difference between X & Y?" You may be interested in this post for advice about how you can improve such questions: ell.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/439/…– MarcInManhattanJul 18 at 16:45
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No difference in meaning, but the second one should include "TO". "He was written to a very ....."– yunusJul 18 at 16:53
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3@yunus - No - that would mean that someone wrote him to a letter!– Kate BuntingJul 18 at 17:44
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@KateBunting, Longman dictionary shows "write to", LETTER [intransitive, transitive] to put words in a letter to someone. And here is an example from the dictionary: "I’ve written to my MP, and to the city council."– yunusJul 18 at 19:21
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@yunus And those examples don't include the direct object "letter" because "write" is intransitive in that example. You're wrong, and Kate is right.– gotube ♦Jul 19 at 1:31
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1 Answer
The ultimate meanings are approximately the same, even though the two sentences have been organized differently. Grammatically, "letter" is the object, "he/him" is the indirect object.
Both use the passive voice and obscure the identity of the writer. The clearest and most understandable phrasing is the active construction. "Bresson wrote him a very long letter." It's even tempting to say "You should prefer the active voice. Don't use the passive voice this way unless you have a compelling reason to do so". But in fact, understanding and applying the passive voice is necessary in many situation.
