The passive

Be+ past participle

 Active website

They launched the

Passive launched

The website was

Characteristics of the passive

Who does the action is unknown or not important The unique science museum was opened in 1969 The sentence is formal Shows will be staged at 11.00 a.m. To make important information stand out Additional IMAX tickets may be purchased at the Admissions Desk

 In signs and notices, the verb be is sometimes left out Museum ticket-holders (will be) admitted for free Let becomes be allowed to; make + object + bare infinitive becomes be made + to infinitive We were allowed to mix our own music tapes We mention who does the action with by Find out how it feels to de shaken by an earthquake

We use the passive when:

We want to focus on the action The computer has been repaired. We dont know who does the action The museum was opened in 2005 We want to make the important information stand out Tickets are being sold over the internet When we want to emphasise the importance of the person doing the action Romeo and Juliet was written by Shakespeare

Forms of the passive

Present simple: Hundreds of computers are sold every week Present continuous: The research is being done in the laboratory Past simple: The first film was shown in Paris Past continuous: The robots were being programmed to play football Future: One day human footballers will be beaten by robots Present perfect simple: The game has been tested Past perfect simple: The window had been broken