Learn English – Difference between ‘has done wrong’ and ‘has been wronged’

passive-voicephrase-usage

Recently I came across the below statement in a quote.

"In a crisis when one has done wrong, wrong repentance is required. When one has been wronged, a vigorous defense must be mounted"

What is the difference between "has done wrong" and "has been wronged"?

Best Answer

Passive Voice: "one" as object of action

When one has been wronged, a vigorous defense must be mounted

In this sentence, the verb "to wrong", meaning "to do something bad to someone", is used in the Passive Voice.

Let's illustrate:

John wronged Jim. (Meaning: John did something wrong to Jim)

Here, the same verb is used in the active voice. Let's remodel to the passive voice:

Jim was wronged by John. (Meaning: John did something wrong to Jim; the verb is in the Passive Voice)

Here, the meaning is the same. We can change was to has been, shifting the tense from Past Simple to Present Perfect:

Jim has been wronged by John. (Meaning: John has done something wrong to Jim)

Finally, we can remove "by John", because the Passive Voice makes emphasis on what has happened to a person, and this makes the mention of the agent (John) less important:

Jim has been wronged. (Meaning: Someone has done something wrong to Jim)


Active voice: "one" as agent

In a crisis when one has done wrong, wrong repentance is required.

Here, the Active Voice is used. The meaning is: Someone ("one") has done something wrong, hence, a repentance is required.