The Passive Voice

Form: to be (in the appropriate tense) + Past Participle (V3)

In English, the topic or the subject matter is commonly placed in the beginning of the
sentence, and new information about the subject is normally at the end.

In an Active sentence the Agent (the person or thing that performs the action) usually comes
first and is the Subject of the sentence.

Ex. Manchester scored the first goal.

Subject (Agent) Verb (Action) Result (new information)

This sentence is mainly about Manchester.

In a Passive sentence, the Result or the new information comes first and is the subject of the
sentence.

Ex. The first goal was scored by Manchester.

Result (new information/Subject) Passive Verb (Action) Agent

This sentence is mainly about the goal.

Reasons for Using Passive Forms

-We choose between Active and Passive because of the topic we are talking about, especially
when reporting information. The passive voice is used to focus on new information.

-the Agent is unknown or obvious

Ex. I was born in 1921.

Coffee will be served after the meal.

The meeting has been changed to Thursday.

A cure hasn’t been found yet.

-the Agent is people or things in general

Ex. Certain verbs cannot be used in the continuous tenses.

-to avoid “you” in orders and rules

Ex. All applications must be handed in before the end of the week.

-to make a statement more impersonal

Ex. It’s generally recognized that smoking is bad for one’s health.

This work can’t be completed overnight.

Fees must be paid in advance.

-in scientific or factual writing when the focus is usually on events, achievements, etc. rather
than Agents.

Ex. Vaccination had been pioneered 200 years earlier.

The liquid is heated to a temperature of 100o C.

Passive Forms
We use the passive with almost all tenses in the English language.

Present Tense Simple – am/are/is + V3

Ex. No meat is served here.

Important subjects are discussed every lunch time.

Present Tense Continuous – am/are/is + being + V3

Ex. This matter is still being considered.

Every effort is being made to end the strike.

Past Tense Simple – was/were + V3

Ex. I was helped by them during that difficult period.

The school was built by the local government.

The date for talks was announced later.

Past Tense Continuous – was/were + being + V3

Ex. When we arrived at the stadium the national anthem was being played.

Everyone was being checked while all this happened.

Future Tense Simple - shall/will + be + V3

Ex. You will be examined by a top specialist.

!!!!!! Future Tense Continuous – no passive form

Future Perfect Continuous – no passive form

Present Perfect Simple – has/have + been + V3

Ex. A new stadium has been built in London.

This issue has been frequently approached.

!!!!!! Present Perfect Continuous – no passive form

Past Perfect Continuous – no passive form

Past Perfect Simple – had + been + V3

Ex. The work had been finished by the end of 1999.

By the time I got there the songs had already been selected.

Future Perfect Simple – shall/will + been + been + V3

Ex. In the next ten years, full equality will have been achieved for women.

We use passive forms with Modal Verbs.

-in the present form - mVb + be + V3

Ex. The house must be cleaned.

This project can be finished soon.

-in the perfect form - mVb. + have +been + V3

Ex. They should have been forced to sign the contract.

This car could have been stolen by thieves.

We use passive forms with Infinitives.

-in the present form - to be + V3

Ex. There is so much to be done.

He wants to be taken seriously.

-in the perfect form - to have + been +V3

Ex. I was pleased to have been awarded the first prize.

We use passive forms with Gerunds.

-in the present form - being + V3

Ex. I enjoy being pampered.

Being paid monthly, I find annual taxes hard to pay.

-in the perfect form - having + been + V3

Ex. She recalled having been taken there when she was young.

Having been stung by bees, she is now afraid of all insects.

We use passive forms with the expression “to be going to” – am/are/is going to be + V3

Ex. The factory is going to be closed.

The Agent
In most passive sentences we are not interested in who or what performs the action. We are
interested in the action itself, who or what is affected by the action, or what is the result of it.
In fact, only about 20% of passive sentences mention the Agent.

Ex. The window has been broken again.

We mention the agent when we think that piece of information is important, especially if we
want to say more about it, for example with a Relative Clause.

Ex. I remember being taken to the fair by my father, who rarely showed any interest in
such things.

The survivors were picked out of the water by a cruise liner which had heard their
distress call.
Most frequently the Agent is introduced with the preposition “by” but sometimes “with” or
“in” may be used instead.

Ex. The victim had been killed with a bread knife.

The streets were covered in snow.

The airport was surrounded with/by soldiers.

The body was covered in/with/by flies.

Verbs with Two Objects

Verbs that have two objects (usually a person and a thing) in the Active Voice usually have
two passive forms because either of the objects can become the new subject.

Ex. Active = They gave the award to an unknown actress.

D.O. I.O.

Passive 1 = The award was given to an unknown actress.

Passive 2 = An unknown actress was given the award.

Active = She sent us a message.

I.O. D.O.

Passive 1 = A message was sent to us.

Passive 2 = We were sent a message.

-It is more common for the person to be made the Subject of the passive verb.

Ex. Active = Jane taught him all the Spanish he knows.

D.O. I.O.

Passive 1 = He was taught all the Spanish he knows by Jane.

Passive 2 = All the Spanish he knows was taught to him by Jane. (clumsy)

-in the Passive Voice we usually add the preposition “to” or “for” before the Indirect Object.

Ex. A note was handed to the minister. (Active= They handed the minister a note.)

A slice of cake was cut for him. (Active = She cut him a slice of cake.)
-Verbs: allow, ask, cause, forgive, deny may be used in the Passive without a preposition
before the Indirect Object.

Ex. Permission was refused him.

All their sins were forgiven them.

Access was denied him.

-some verbs are followed by two nouns but the second is not really an object so we only have
one passive variant in this case. We can check this if it can be replaced by an adjective.

Ex. Active = They declared him President.

D.O.

Passive = He was declared President.

Active = The doctor declared him dead.

D.O.

Passive = He was declared dead.

-some verb phrases with two objects cannot be used in the passive at all.

Ex. The book earned him a fortune.

Let me wish you good luck!

I bear him no ill will.

-with verbs: to explain and to suggest, the Indirect Object cannot become a Subject in a
Passive variant.

Ex. Active = They explained them a new procedure.

I.O. D.O.

Passive1 = A new procedure was explained to them.

Passive 2= They were explained a new procedure.

 Active = They suggested us a new method.

I.O. D.O.

Passive 1 = A new method was suggested for us.

Passive 2 = We were suggested a new method.

Infinitives after Certain Verbs

The verbs make, see, help, hear and let have different patterns in the active and the passive
voice.

Active = Vb. + Object + Infinitive

Passive = Passive Vb. + to-Infinitive

Ex. Active = They made us pay for each ticket.

Passive = We were made to pay for each ticket.

Active = The police saw the burglar enter the house.

Passsive = The burglar was seen to enter the house.

Active = She helped me finish the decorations on time.

Passive = I was helped to finish the decorations on time.

Active = They heard him complain about the service at the restaurant.

Passive = He was heard to complain about the service at the restaurant.

-We cannot use the verb ”let” in the passive voice. We have to replace it with the verb “to be
allowed to/to be permitted to”.

Ex. Active = They let the prisoner go free.

Passive = The prisoner was let to go free.

Passive = The prisoner go was allowed to/was permitted to free.

 Active = My parents let me see her.

Passive = I was let to see her.

Passive = I was allowed to/was permitted to see her.

-We can use the verb “let” in fixed phrases like: to let loose, to let down.

Ex. The dog was let loose.

The children were badly let down.

Impersonal Constructions
After verbs referring to mental processes or after reporting verbs such as: agree, allege,
announce,appear,assume,believe,calculate,claim,consider,decide,declare,discover,estimate,e
xpect,fear, feel, hope, know, presume, propose, recommend,report, seem, show, suggest,
suppose, suspect, think , understand we mainly use two passive reporting patterns.

1) It + Passive Vb. + “that” Clause

2) Subject + Passive Vb. + “to”-Infinitive

Ex. Active = They say the president is unwell.

Impersonal Passive 1 = It is said that the president is unwell.

Impersonal Passive 2 = The president is said to be unwell.

Active = They report that she is living in a rented house in Malibu.

Impersonal Passive 1 = It is reported that she is living in a rented house in Malibu.

Impersonal Passive 2 = She is reported to be living in a rented house in Malibu.

Ex. It has been alleged that she married her third husband last week.

She is alleged to have married her third husband last week.

It is known that she has been working on a new book.

She is known to have been working on a new book.

 It is said that the book is based on her experiences in the Far East.

The book is said to be based on her experiences in the Far East.

With some of the above verbs we can use the Infinitive instead of a “that” Clause.

Ex. It was agreed to buy the company for $500 million.

It is hoped to find a solution to the problem soon.

It is planned to move our headquarters to Japan.

-We can use “seem” and “appear” to give information without stating categorically that we
know it to be true. They can be used in two patterns.

1) It + seem/appear + “that” Clause

2) Subject + seem/appear + “to”-Infinitive

It seems that she is upset.

She seems to be upset.

It appears that she is crying.

She appears to be crying.

It seems that I made a mistake.

I seem to have made a mistake.

It appears that his car has been stolen.

His car appears to have been stolen.

We can make the statement more tentative with the use of “would”.

Ex. It would seem the problem has been solved.

I would appear to have misplaced by wallet.

Causative Constructions
-We can use get and have in both the active and the passive voice when we talk about making
other people do something for us.

Active = get + Person + “to”- Infinitive (BE)

have + Person + Short Infinitive (AE)

The meaning is to cause or order somebody to do something.

Ex. I will get my assistant to bring you the other pair of shoes.

I will have my assistant bring you the other pair of shoes.

I’ll get the waiter to bring you the menu.

I’ll have the waiter bring you the menu.

Shall I get my secretary to send you the details?

Shall I have my secretary send you the details?

Ex. Have him call everybody and announce the meeting.

Could you please get him to talk to a lawyer?

Passive = get/have + Object + V3

The meaning is to arrange for somebody else to do something.

Ex. I will get/have the other pair of shoes brought to you.

I’ll get/have the menu brought to you.

Shall I get/have the details sent to you ?

Ex. I had to get/have my jacket cleaned after the party.

You must go and get/have your photo taken for your new passport.

I’ll get/have those copies made for you immediately.

I need to have/get my hair cut as soon as possible.

I’ll have/get you killed if you don’t obey my orders!

She’s getting/having her teeth fixed.

You ought to have /get your blood pressure checked more often.
-We use the structure have + Object + V3 in order to describe unpleasant things that happen
to us, often misfortunes. Get is much less common than have in these situations.

Ex. My car was stolen.

I had my car stolen.

His car was broken into last night.

He had his car broken into last night.

His application for citizenship has been turned down.

He has had his application for citizenship turned down.

-Sometimes it is only the context that can identify the precise meaning of a statement.
(causative vs. misfortune )

Ex. They had their fence pulled down.

Meaning 1 = They employed somebody to pull it down. (causative)

Meaning 2 = The fence was pulled down without their planning or knowing it.
(misfortune)

We’ve had the bricks removed.

Meaning 1 = We arranged for somebody to remove the bricks. (causative)

Meaning 2 = Somebody has stolen our bricks. (misfortune)

-sometimes we may use “get” instead of “to be” in Passive sentences.

Ex. They got punished by the principal for making so much noise.

Lucky Johnny got promoted/chosen/elected/appointed yesterday.

My dog got run over by a van last week.

-“get” with the meaning become is often used in collocations with past participle forms (V3).

Ex. get dressed/married/used to/suck/lost/caught/burned/involved.

The meaning of these phrases can be active or passive.

Ex. I got dressed as quickly as I could. (active)

They got caught by the police. (passive)