The passive construction: [be2 [PERF3 [V]]]
In Cognitive Grammar auxiliaries are not viewed as ‘purely grammatical’ elements but represent an extension from the other uses of that verb. This means that they receive a semantic characterisation, as does the participial morphology. According to Langacker, the morpheme PERF3, which gives rise to what we will call the passive participle (the ‘past’ participle that occurs in passive constructions like be betrayed), imposes a construal upon the construction whereby a TR-LM reversal is effected. In order for this to be possible, the content verb must have both a TR and a LM, which means it must be a transitive (or ditransitive) verb. The morpheme PERF3 (e.g.-ed in betrayed) is both phonologically and conceptually dependent and has a schematic PROCESS as its TR, which in turn has a schematic TR and LM. The autonomous content verb (e.g. betray) elaborates the schematic PROCESS of PERF3. The resulting construction [PERF3 [V]] (e.g. betrayed) is headed by PERF3, and, as a participle, has the status of an ATEMPORAL RELATION that specifies the TR-LM reversal characteristic of a passive construction. According to Langacker, the passive participle morpheme PERF3 belongs to a network of PERF morphemes that have related yet distinct meanings. We have already seen that PERF4 is the perfect participle morpheme that occurs in perfect constructions, to which we return below. Langacker proposes that PERF1 is the form found in stative adjectival constructions like (4). This form is related to intransitive verbs.
Of course, the verb break can also be transitive (e.g. George broke Lily’s heart), but the fact that we can say Lily’s heart broke shows that it can also be intransitive. The fact that PERF1 combines with intransitives means that, unlike the passive PERF3, this form does not involve any TR-LM reversal, because intransitive verbs do not specify an independent LM. In contrast, the form that Langacker calls PERF2 also participates in stative adjectival constructions but is related to transitive verbs and does effect a TR-LM reversal:
It is because PERF2 relates to transitive verbs that we interpret Lily as the LM of the transitive verb betray and his cowardice as the TR. As a result of the TR-LM reversal Lily occurs here elaborating the TR of the atemporal relation betrayed and his cowardice need not be present in the construction.
Turning to the other key component of the passive construction, the passive auxiliary be2, this also occurs in a network of related yet distinct uses of the same verb, which profiles a schematic imperfective PROCESS. The basic from of be, which Langacker calls be1, functions as the copula, which (as we saw in Chapter 17) construes a NOMINAL or simple ATEMPORAL RELATION as a PROCESS. According to Langacker be1 also functions as the progressive auxiliary, which construes a complex ATEMPORAL RELATION as a PROCESS. When the passive auxiliary be2 combines with the passive participle containing PERF3, its role is also to construe an ATEMPORAL RELATION as a PROCESS.
