Passive Voice

Passive Voice

■ Active voice: subject + verb + object

– Peter kissed Anna.
■ Who is the subject? Peter
■ Who is the agent (performer of the action)? Peter
■ Who is the object of the action? Anna
 Passive Voice

■ Passive voice: subject + verb

– Anna was kissed by Peter.
■ Who is the subject? Anna
■ Who is the agent? Peter

■ In passive voice, the object of an active verb

becomes the subject of the passive verb. Therefore,
only transitive verbs are used in the passive voice.
 Passive Voice

■ Very often, the subject of the active verb will appear

in the passive sentence after the word “by”. The
word that follows by is called “the agent”.
– Jane was rescued by the safeguard.
– The car was fixed by a mechanic.

■ We use passive voice when we want to focus on the

person or thing that receives the action, rather than
on the agent.
 Passive Voice

■ Form of the passive voice: verb to be in the

appropriate tense + past participle of main verb
– My purse was stolen yesterday.
– Matthew and Hayley are assisted by their mother.
– Our furniture is being moved tomorrow.
 Passive Voice

■ Tense forms of the passive voice:

Tense Active Passive

Simple present Peter kisses Anna. Anna is kissed by Peter.

Present progressive Peter is kissing Anna. Anna is being kissed by Peter.

Simple past Peter kissed Anna. Anna was kissed by Peter.

Past progressive Peter was kissing Anna. Anna was being kissed by Peter.

Present perfect Peter has kissed Anna. Anna has been kissed by Peter.
 Passive Voice

■ Tense forms of the passive voice:

Tense Active Passive

Past perfect Peter had kissed Ann. Anna had been kissed by Peter.

Future simple Peter will kiss Anna. Anna will be kissed by Peter.

Anna is going to be kissed by

Be going to Peter is going to kiss Anna.
Peter.
Anna will have been kissed by
Future perfect Peter will have kissed Anna.
Peter.
 Passive Voice

■ The present perfect progressive, the past perfect

progressive and the future perfect progressive are
rarely used in the passive voice.
■ Rewrite the sentences using the passive voice.
– Jane made the dessert.
– The boss is calling a meeting.
– Michael and Tom were painting the wall.
– I always help my brother.
– You bought a new pair of shoes.
– The judge has punished him.
– He fixed his bicycle.
– The maid is cleaning the windows.
– The tiger was attacking the duck.
 Passive Voice

■ Rewrite the sentences using the passive voice.

– Jane made the dessert.
– The dessert was made by Jane.
– The boss is calling a meeting.
– A meeting is being called by the boss.
– Michael and Tom were painting the wall.
– The wall was being painted by Michael and Tom.
 Passive Voice

■ Rewrite the sentences using the passive voice.

– I always help my brother.
– My brother is always helped by me.
– You bought a new pair of shoes.
– A new pair of shoes was bought by you.
– The judge has punished him.
– He has been punished by the judge.
 Passive Voice

■ Rewrite the sentences using the passive voice.

– He fixed his bicycle.
– His bicycle was fixed by him.
– The maid is cleaning the windows.
– The windows are being cleaned by the maid.
– The tiger was attacking the duck.
– The duck was being attacked by the tiger.
■ Rewrite the sentences using the passive voice.
– Jason had fed the dog when his mother arrived.
– I will fix the cabinet.
– He is going to play the piano tonight.
– By the time his mother arrives, Jason will have fed
the dog.
– They will buy a new car soon.
– I had lost my keys before I went to the concert.
– I will have finished my homework by the time she
gets home.
– You are going to help your brother.
 Passive Voice
■ Rewrite the sentences using the passive voice.
– Jason had fed the dog when Ms. Smith arrived.
– The dog had been fed by Jason when Ms. Smith arrived.
– I will fix the cabinet.
– The cabinet will be fixed by me.
– He is going to play the piano tonight.
– The piano is going to be played by him tonight.
– By the time Ms. Smith arrives, Jason will have fed the dog.
– By the time Ms. Smith arrives, the dog will have been fed by
Jason.
 Passive Voice
■ Rewrite the sentences using the passive voice.
– They will buy a new car soon.
– A new car will be bought by them soon.
– I had lost my keys before I went to the concert.
– My keys had been lost before I went to the concert.
– I will have finished my homework by the time she gets
home.
– My homework will have been finished by the time she gets
home.
– You are going to help your brother.
– Your brother is going to be helped by you.