THE PASSIVE VOICE

Fran SantosFco. Javier Palero

2ºE

WHEN DO WE USE IT?

USED WHEN THE FOCUS IS ON THE ACTION. WE DON’T KNOWN OR IT’S NOT IMPORTANT WHO OR WHAT IS PERFORMING THE ACTION

Ex:My bike was stolenFocus on the actionDon’t know who stole the bicycle

*If we want to say who or what causes the action, we use by.

SOMETIMES, IT’S MORE POLITE TO USE PASIVE INSTEAD OF ACTIVEEx:

A mistake was madeInstead of saying “You made a mistake”, we don’t blame anyone

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ACTIVE AND PASIVE

When we use an active verb, we say what the subject does:• My grandfather was a builder. He built this house

in 1935.• It’s a big company. It employs two hundred

people. When we use a passive verb, we say what happens

to the subject:• This house is quite old. It was built in 1935.• Two hundred people are employed by the

company.

FORM:

The objective of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence

The subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive one (or it’s eliminated)

Be (is/was etc.) + past participle (done/cleaned/seen etc.)

VERBAL TENSES

PRESENTACTIVE

PRESENT SIMPLE

I write a letter

He writes two letters

PRESENT CONTINOUSSomebody is cleaning the

room at the moment

PASSIVE

PRESENT SIMPLE

A letter is written by me

Two letters are written by him

PRESENT CONTINOUS

The room is being cleaned at the moment

PAST

ACTIVE

PAST SIMPLE

I wrote a letter

PAST CONTINOUSSomebody was cleaning

the room when I arrived

PASSIVE

PAST SIMPLE

A letter was written by me

PAST CONTINOUSThe room was being

cleaned when I arrived

PERFECT TENSES

ACTIVE

PRESENT PERFECT

I have written a letter

PAST PERFECTI had written a letter

PASSIVE

PRESENT PERFECT

A letter has been written by me

PAST PERFECTA letter had been written

by me

FUTURE SIMPLE (WILL) AND OTHER MODAL VERBS

ACTIVE PASSIVE•I will write a letter•I can write a letter•I could write a letter•I may write a letter•I might write a letter•I should write a letter•I must write a letter•I have to write a letter•I ought to write a letter

•A letter will be written•A letter can be written•A letter could be written•A letter may be written•A letter might be written•A letter should be written•A letter must be written•A letter has to be written•A letter ought to be written

BE GOING TO

ACTIVE I’m going to write

a letter

PASSIVE A letter is going to

be written

I DON’T LIKE BEING…The passive of doing/seeing etc. is being

done/being seen etc. Active: I don’t like people telling me

what to do.Passive: I don’t like being told what to

do.

Steve hates being kept waiting.

WE USE GET…

You can use get instead of be in the passive: There was a fight at the party, but nobody got hurt. I’m surprised Liz didn’t get offered the jobYou can’t use get when things don’t happen: Jill is liked by everybody Very little was known about him

Used mainly in informal spoken English. Some expressions:

Get married Get dressed Get lost Get changed

REPORTING INFORMATION

We can use the passive form of reporting verbs to give ideas or opinions without saying exactly where the ideas come from.

Verbs typically used in the passive voice for this purpose include:• Assume-Believe-claim-Consider-feel-hope-report-say-

think. We can use it + passive (that)+ active clause, where it is

the impersonal pronoun that does not refer to a real subject (like in It’s raining) It is said (that) most computer users are women It is thought (that) most computer users surf the net.

We can use passive + t + infinitive. Most computer users are said to be women.

We can use there + passive + to + infinitive (usually be). There are believed to be more than 600 species of trees

per hectare in tropical rain forests. We can use passive + perfect infinitive, which indicates

that the event has already occurred The president is known to have been involved in the

incident.

OTHER FORMS

TO HAVE/GET SOMETHING DONE

Subject +have/get + object + past participle. We use this construction to say that the subject arranges for something to be done by someone else.

The same construction is used to say that something is done to a person or thing belonging to the subject of have/get.

Although both structures can be used in the above examples, there are some differences in meaning when using have/get something done.

We use have something done to imply that the subject of the sentence is not responsible for or has no control over what it happens

I had my passport stolen while I was away

She had her wisdom teeth taken out last year.

However, get can also be used in sentences like these in informal spoken English. We also tend to use have to focus on the result of an action.

I will have the report finished by tomorrow morning We use get something done to imply that the subject of

the sentence causes something to happen (perhaps accidentally) or they are to blame for it.

I will get the letters sent out to you first class

WON’T HAVEWon’t have + object + present participle/past participle. This can be used to say that we will not allow someone to do something, or something to happen.I won’t have you watching TV all day.She won’t have her holiday ruined by

them.

WANT IT DONEWant + object + past participle. This can be used to say that we would like someone to do something or we would like something to happen.I want the report finished by next Monday.Put your car in my garage. We don’t want it damaged in the street.

EXERCISES:

Rewrite the sentences in passive voice.

1. They wear blue shoes.

 Blue shoes are worn by them.

Rewrite the sentences in passive voice.

2. I have opened the present

The present has been

opened by me.

Rewrite the sentences in passive voice.

3.Did he send the letter? 

Was the letter sent by him?

Rewrite the sentences in passive voice.

4. You ought to wash the car.

  The car ought to be washed by you

Rewrite the sentences in passive voice.

5. Sheila is drinking a cup of tea.

 A cup of tea is being drunk by Sheila.

Rewrite the sentences in passive voice.

6. Jane will buy a new computer. 

A new computer will be bought by Jane.

Rewrite the sentences in passive voice.

7. We would have painted the walls green. 

The walls would have been painted green by us.

Rewrite the sentences in passive voice.

8. He was not feeding the dogs.

The dogs were not being fed by him.

Rewrite the sentences in passive voice.

9. Had she solved the problem?

 Had the problem been solved by her?

Rewrite the sentences in passive voice.

10. They will not have trusted him.

 He will not have been trusted by them.