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Athimni Consolidation 4th Form Sciences

The passive voice
Form

The passive of an active tense is formed by putting the verb to be into the same tense as the active verb
and adding the past participle of the active verb. The subject of the active verb becomes the agent of
the passive verb. The agent is very often not mentioned. When it is mentioned, it is preceded by by and
placed at the end of the clause: This tree was planted by my grandfather.

Examples: (provide the passive/ active form of the following sentences)

Active Passive
We keep the butter here
The window was broken
People have seen wolves in the streets
They are repairing the bridge
The injured player was being carried off the field
You must/should shut these doors

Uses

A- When it’s not necessary to mention the doer of the action as it is obvious
e.g. the rubbish hasn’t been collected * the streets are swept every day * your hand will be X-rayed
B- When we don’t know who did the action
e.g. the minister was murdered * my car has been moved!
C- when we are more interested in the action than the person who does it.
e.g. the house next door has been bought * a new public library has been built.

Practice: Put the following into the passive voice

1- You should open the wine about three hours before you use it

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2- Previous climbers had cut steps in the ice

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3- Somebody has cleaned my shoes and brushed my suit

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4- We use this room only on special occasions

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5- In some districts, farmers use pigs to find truffles

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6- I’ve bought a piano. They are delivering it this afternoon (don’t change the first sentence)

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