Passive (0)

 
 
 
 
 
 
The Passive Voice 
 
Table of Contents 
 
 
The Passive Voice.................................................................................2 
Tenses in the Passive Voice................................................................2 
Modal Verbs and Future in the Passive Voice .................................3 
The Passive with ’get/have’ ................................................................4 
When to use the Passive .....................................................................5 
Verbs with two objects ........................................................................5 
The Passive with ’by/with’..................................................................6 
Talking about what other people say................................................6 
 
The Passive Voice 
  
The subject is the starting point of the sentence, the thing we are talking 
about. The new information about the subject comes at the end of the 
sentence. When the subject is the person or thing doing the action , then we 
use an active verb : 
 
 
Bell  invented  the telephone . 
When the subject is not doing the action, but something is happening or 
being done to it, or the action is directed at it, then we use a passive verb . 
 
 
The telephone was invented by Bell. 
NB! The  object  of an active sentence becomes the subject of a passive 
sentence. The doer of the action is indicated by a by phrase . When the doer 
of the action is not important , the ’by phrase’ is omitted: 
Active:  
Someone  locks the office every evening . 
Passive:  
The office is locked  every evening. 
  
Tenses in the Passive Voice 
  
 A passive verb is the verb be in the right tense + a Past Participle (PP) 
  
•   Present Simple : am/are/is + PP  
The office is locked every evening. 
   
•  Past Simple: was/were + PP 
My car was stolen  last night .  
 
•  Future Simple: will be + PP 
  No 
disciplinary 
action 
will be taken against you. 
 
•  Present Continuous : am/are/is being + PP  
The house is being painted at the moment. 
  
 
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•  Past Continuous: was/were being + PP  
The bridge  was being repaired when I was there last month . 
  
•  Present Perfect Simple: have/has been + PP  
Sarah  has been invited to the party . 
  
•  Past Perfect Simple: had been + PP  
The room  had been cleaned   before I arrived . 
 
•  Future Perfect Simple: will have been + PP 
 The room will have been cleaned by the time you arrive .  
 
Negatives and  questions  are formed in the same way as in active sentences . 
  When 
was your car stolen? 
 
 
I  haven ’t been invited to any of his parties. 
  
NB! The rules for choosing tenses in the Passive are the same as in the 
Active Voice (e.g. to talk about something that is in progress now, we use 
the Present Continuous). 
  
Modal Verbs and Future in the Passive Voice 
  
We use be + Past Participle after will, be going to, can, must, have to, 
should, etc. 
 
 
This door  must be kept locked. 
           
This job can’t be done. 
  The 
new 
shop  
will be opened next week. 
  
It can also be used after some other structures (want to, would like to, 
going to). 
I don’t want to be disturbed. 
  
 He’s going to be interviewed on Friday .  
 
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  Jane  
would like to be elected the President of the Student  
Union. 
 
We can use have been + Past Participle after modal verbs to talk about the 
past events that did not take place . 
We should have been told  about the dangers. 
 
 
The Passive with ’get/have’ 
  
In informal English , we sometimes use get instead of be in the Passive, 
especially when we talk about things that happen by accident or 
unexpectedly. 
get + Past Participle 
  My 
flat 
got burgled when I was on holiday . 
 
 
He got killed in a plane crash. 
  
Have (get) something done can be used to talk about something we 
arrange for somebody else to do for us. 
          
have (get) + object + Past Participle 
I am  having  a garage   built  at the moment. 
You should have your eyes  tested. 
I would like to get my eyes checked. 
Compare : 
Active: I am building  a garage at the moment. (I myself) 
Passive: I’m having a garage built at the moment. (somebody else) 
  
It can also be used to talk about something unexpected or unpleasant that 
happens to someone. 
I had my leg  broken  in a football match. 
Kate had her wallet stolen in the bus yesterday . 
 
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When to use the Passive 
  
1) when we do not know who or what does something or it does not add any 
information. 
My car was stolen last night. (I do not know who stole the car) 
 The 
criminal 
has  finally  been arrested. (by the police ) 
  
2) when we are not interested in who or what does something or it is not 
important. 
This factory  has been painted twice. (It is not important who did it.) 
  
3) when we do not want to say who or what does something.  
Active:  
I made a mistake. 
Passive:  
A mistake was made. 
  
4) when we are speaking about a thing (an inanimate object) and not about 
its author (when we want to emphasize the  result  of the action or the action 
itself, not the doer of the action ) 
‘ Hamlet ’ was written by Shakespeare . It is one of the most often-
performed plays . 
Refugees were given permission to stay in the country  by the 
Swedish government . 
 
  
Verbs with two objects  
  
Some verbs (give, tell , show, send, pay, offer , teach, etc.) can have two 
objects. 
Active:  
Someone gave Joe the money . 
         Passive 1:   Joe was given the money. 
         Passive 2:   The money was given to Joe. 
  
 
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The Passive with ’by/with’ 
  
In a passive sentence, we sometimes mention the  agent  (the person or thing 
doing the action) when it is important.  
Use    
by + person 
The radio was invented by Marconi. 
with + instrument  
 
 
The tin was opened with a knife . 
Compare: 
I was hit by an old lady . (agent) 
I was hit with an umbrella . (instrument) 
with + material  to talk about materials or ingredients 
The cake was made with dried fruit. 
          
The safe was blown open  with dynamite. 
  
Talking about what other people say 
 
When we talk about what other people say, believe, etc., we can use two 
possible passive forms . 
Compare:  
Active:  
People say that Mr Ross is a millionaire . 
Passive 1:   It is said that Mr Ross is a millionaire. 
Passive 2:   Mr Ross is said to be a millionaire. 
It is used in formal style with verbs such as: say, think, believe, consider , 
know, claim, report, expect , understand, etc. 
 
When the action is in the past, we use the “Perfect Infinitive ”  
(to have + PP) 
The fire  is believed to have started  last night. 
It was thought  that two prisoners  had escaped. 
Two prisoners were thought to have escaped. 
 
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