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SENTENCE PATTERN ANALYSIS OF ACTIVE AND PASSIVE CONSTRUCTIONS IN A NEWS ARTICLE: A TRANSFORMATIONAL–GENERATIVE GRAMMAR PERSPECTIVE ON “DEADLY STROMS RAVAGE ASIA, KILLING MORE THAN 600”

*Devi meilia permata sari  -  English Education Program, Fakultas keguruan dan ilmu pendidikan, Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Lampung, Indonesia
Aisyah Kusuma Wardani  -  english education program, fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Lampung, Indonesia
Abdul Syukur  -  English Education Program, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Lampung, Indonesia
Sigit Wibowo  -  English Education Program, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Lampung, Indonesia
Eny Maulita Purnama Sari  -  English Education Program, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Lampung, Indonesia

Citation Format:
Abstract

Abstract: This study uses Noam Chomsky's Transformational–Generative Grammar to examine
phrase patterns in a news item, with an emphasis on the distribution of active and passive
constructs at the surface structure level. The information came from an Egypt Independent news
item headlined "Deadly Storms Ravage Asia, Killing More Than 600 with Hundreds Missing."
This study used a qualitative descriptive method to identify 40 sentences that were carefully
categorized into passive patterns (S–V–O–Actor and S–V–C–Actor) and active patterns (S–V–O,
S–V–O–C, and S–V–C). A thorough analysis of how syntactic structures are implemented in news
discourse and how surface sentence patterns represent the communicative objectives of
journalistic writing is made possible by this classification.
The results show that active sentence structures predominate in the news story under analysis,
with the S–V–O pattern occurring most frequently, followed by the S–V–C pattern, and the S–V–
O–C pattern occurring less frequently. This dominance implies that direct reporting of events and
actions is given priority in the news content, making it simple for readers to identify agents,
procedures, and impacted businesses. Passive constructs, on the other hand, are less common and
are mostly employed to highlight victims, results, or effects of events rather than the agents. This
is consistent with journalistic techniques to preserve neutrality and concentrate on impact. These
results are in line with Abdul-Munem's (2025) research, which contends that active voice
constructs are more common than passive ones in news writing because they offer efficiency,
clarity, and immediacy. From a transformational generative standpoint, the preference for active
surface structures shows that thw communicative demands of conveying factual occurrences
functionally inspire and affect syntactic choices in new discourse.

Keywords: Keywords: active and passive voice, news discourse, sentence structure, transformational generative grammar

Article Metrics:

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