VOICE

VOICE

Using the active and passive voice

An active sentence like I drank two cups of coffee has the subject first (the person or thing that does the verb), followed by the verb, and finally the object (the person or thing that the action happens to).
So, in this example, the subject is I, the verb is drank and the object is two cups of coffee.
But, we don't always need to make sentences this way. We might want to put the object first, or not say who did something, for lots of reasons (see the explanation further down the page).
In this case, we can use a passive, which puts the object first: for example, two cups of coffee were drunk. We can add by me if we want, but it isn't necessary.

How to make the Passive in English

We make it by putting the verb 'to be' into whatever tense we need and then adding the past participle.
(For regular verbs, we make the past participle by adding 'ed' to the infinitive - play becomes played,)

tense	active	passive
present simple	I make a cake	A cake is made (by me)
present continuous	I am making a cake	A cake is being made (by me)
past simple	I made a cake	A cake was made (by me)
past continuous	I was making a cake	A cake was being made (by me)
present perfect	I have made a cake	A cake has been made (by me)
pres. perf. continuous	I have been making a cake	A cake has been being made (by me)
past perfect	I had made a cake	A cake had been made (by me)
future simple	I will make a cake	A cake will be made (by me)
future perfect	I will have made a cake	A cake will have been made (by me)

Practice with these exercises

Verbs with two objects

Some verbs that have two objects can make two different passive sentences: For example: ‘give’ - Active: He gave me the book / He gave the book to me.
You can choose either of the two objects to be the subject of the passive sentence.
Passive: I was given the book (by him)/ The book was given to me (by him)
Other verbs like this are: ask, offer, teach, tell, lend, promise, sell, throw. Try an exercise about this here

When should we use the Passive?

1. When we want to change the focus of the sentence:
• The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo DA Vince. (We are more interested in the painting than the artist in this sentence)
2. When who or what causes the action is unknown or unimportant or obvious or ‘people in general’:
• He was arrested (obvious agent, the police).
• My bike has been stolen (unknown agent).
• The road is being repaired (unimportant agent).
• The form can be obtained from the post office (people in general).
3. In factual or scientific writing:
• The chemical is placed in a test tube and the data entered into the computer.
4. In formal writing instead of using someone/ people/ they (these can be used in speaking or informal writing):
• The brochure will be finished next month.
5. In order to put the new information at the end of the sentence to improve style:
• Three books are used regularly in the class. The books were written by Dr. Bell. (‘Dr. Bell wrote the books’ sound clumsy)
6. When the subject is very long:
• I was surprised by how well the students did in the test. (More natural than: ‘how well the students did in the test surprised me')

ACTIVE and PASSIVE VOICE Active and Passive Voice When to use the Passive Voice Facts about Passive Voice Verb with two objects Passive Voice + basic modal forms

1. Active and Passive Voice

An idea can be expressed in two different ways. We can do it by using a verb to indicate whether the subject performs an action (active voice) or receives the action (passive voice). Active voice: The verb is in the active voice when the subject does the action. EXAMPLE: A cat ate the fish. (Subject: cat / Verb: ate / Object: fish) Here, the doer of the action is a cat and the verb "ate" is in the active voice. The object comes after the verb. Passive voice: When action is done to the subject, the verb is in the passive voice. The previous object (fish) is now used as the subject. EXAMPLE: The fish was eaten by a cat. (Verb: eaten / Subject: fish) Here, action is done to the subject and the verb "was eaten" is in the passive voice. The subject comes before the verb. In changing a sentence, as above, from active voice to one in the passive voice, we make the object of the active voice sentence the subject of the passive voice sentence. The verb used in a passive voice sentence is formed by adding the past participle to "to be" (am, is, are, was, were, has been, have been, will be, etc.) Passive verbs have the same tenses (simple present tense, present continuous tense, present perfect tense, etc.) as active verbs. Only verbs which take on an object can be changed to the passive. (Example: He runs away. This sentence has no object, so it's not possible to turn it into a passive sentence.) When we choose passive sentences, we use the preposition 'by' to show who or what does or has done the action (as shown above: The fish was eaten by a cat.) We use 'by' only when we have to.

2. When to use the Passive Voice

We use the active voice whenever we can. We use only the passive voice: When we don't know who performs the action; EXAMPLE: The bank was broken into last night. When we know or it is important to know who performs an action. EXAMPLE: This painting was done by my grandmother. When the action itself is more important than the doer. Example: siblings were tragically killed in a road accident. When we are interested only in what happens rather than who or what did it. Example: the giant snake was killed in that village. When we choose not to name the one who performs the action. Example: the work was poorly done. When it is not important to know who does, or did the action; EXAMPLE: All these wares were imported from Hong Kong. When we don't want to take responsibility for something; EXAMPLE: The matter is currently dealt with by someone. When we wish to emphasize the person or thing acted on rather than the one who does it. EXAMPLE: John was presented with a bravery award yesterday.

3. Facts about Passive Voice

Note the following: As evidenced above, in converting a sentence in active voice to a sentence in the passive voice, the object of the active voice sentence becomes the subject of the passive voice sentence. EXAMPLE: He drew the picture. / The picture was drawn by him. Sentences in the passive voice do not make sense if the "doers" are not mentioned. EXAMPLE: "The match was won." ('doers' left out) as opposed to "The match was won by Liverpool" A transitive verb is a verb that has an object that comes after it and so can be changed into the passive voice. EXAMPLE: "Lee throws a ball." can be changed to "A ball is thrown by Lee". An intransitive verb is a verb that does not have an object following it and so cannot be changed into the passive voice. EXAMPLE: Lee walks away. (INCORRECT: Lee was walked away.) The passive voice is often used to evade responsibility by people or organizations. EXAMPLE: The report was lost by somebody. (Who is that 'somebody'?) EXAMPLE: All workers are encouraged to work overtime. (Encouraged by whom?) Notices often use the passive voice. EXAMPLE: Customers are advised to leave all their belongings here. An active sentence when changed to a passive sentence conveys the same meaning. The only difference is that the object in an active sentence is repositioned to become the subject in a passive sentence, and the subject in the active sentence becomes the object in the passive sentence. We need to be sure of what we are saying. If we are not sure of our facts, we can exercise caution by saying: It is said that he is the culprit. / He is said to be the culprit. It is possible to use 'get' instead of 'to be', especially so in our everyday conversation. EXAMPLE: I got cheated by the salesman. / They think he will get beaten in the race.

4. Verbs with two Objects

A verb can have two objects – a person and a thing. Such a verb can have two possible passive voices. EXAMPLE: Active: The salesman shows Nick a new computer. / The salesman shows a new computer to Nick. Passive: Nick is shown a new computer. Passive: A new computer is shown to Nick. EXAMPLE: Active: We lent Bob some money. / We lent some money to Bob. Passive: Bob was lent some money. Passive: Some money was lent to Bob.

5. Passive Voice + Basic Modal Forms

Basic modal forms can be used in the passive voice by combining: modal + to be/to have been + past participle: EXAMPLE: will I will write it will be written may I may write it may be written may have I may have written it may have been written, etc. We form the passive voice with the verb 'to be' and the past particle. The passive forms are: Simple present tense EXAMPLE: The letter is written by her. (Active: She writes the letter.) Present continuous tense EXAMPLE: The letter is being written by her. (Active: She is writing the letter.) Present perfect tense EXAMPLE: The letter has been written by her. (Active: She has written the letter.) Simple past tense EXAMPLE: The letter was written by her. (Active: She wrote the letter.) Past continuous tense EXAMPLE: The letter was being written by her. (Active: She was writing the letter.) Past perfect tense EXAMPLE: The letter had been written by her. (Active: She had written the letter.) Simple future tense EXAMPLE: The letter will be written by her. (Active: She will write the letter.) Future perfect tense EXAMPLE: The letter will have been written by her. (Active: She will have written the letter.) Infinitive: EXAMPLE: The letter has to be written. (Active: She has to write the letter.) Modals: EXAMPLE: The letter will/may be written. (Active: She will/may write the letter.) Note: The present perfect continuous, the past perfect continuous, the future continuous, and the future perfect continuous tenses are not normally used in the passive voice.