CUMHURİYET UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF LITERATURE
ENGLISH- FRENCH - TURKISH
TRANSLATOR AND TRANSLATION DEPARTMENT
I. SEMESTER - FIRST EDUCATION

ENGLISH GRAMMAR

HOMEWORK SUBJECT
Passive & Impersonal Passive

COURSE RESPONSIBLE

EYÜP GÜNDÜZ

Prepared By

BEYDA DÖRTTEPE
2019195046
 PASSIVE VOICE

Passive voice is a construct used to emphasize a work or action (verb) or object in a

sentence rather than the subject. A sentence is turned into a passive structure if the person
doing the action is unknown, the person doing the action is not important, if the action is
important or if it is desired to be emphasized.

To make a sentence passive, the verb must be transitive, that is, a verb that takes an object.
The verb "to be" is used to make a sentence passive and the formula is: subject + finite form
of to be + past participle.

- Active: Ancient Romans built the Colosseum.

- Passive: The Colosseum was built by Ancient Romans.

The majority of passive sentences in English do not include explicit agents to indicate
exactly who performed the actions; however, if agents exist; and they can be indicated, if
need be, by a prepositional phrase beginning with by.

- The milk was spilled on the floor.

- The Mahmoud Khalil museum was built by an Egyptian politician of the same name.

A verb can have two possible passive voices when it takes two objects: a direct object
and an indirect object. Normally, it is the indirect object (the object that appears first in an
active sentence) which becomes the subject of the passive sentence. We can however
also use the direct object as the subject.

- Active: Her husband has given the painting to the gallery.

Passive:  The painting has been given to the gallery by her husband.   
Passive: The gallery has been given the painting by her husband.

Simple Present Tense

am / is / are + V3

- Standardized self-reported screening instruments are used to assess symptoms of

anxiety, depressive disorders, and trauma- or stressor-related disorders (TSRD) as a
result of the pandemic.
- Joe Biden is elected as the president of the United States.

Present Continuous Tense

am / is / are + being + V3

- Nearly half of the potential vaccines are being developed by firms and research
groups in China and the United States.
- Donations are being collected for the earthquake victims in Izmir.

Present Perfect Tense

have / has been + V3

- The evil eye amulet has been believed throughout history to be a powerful talisman in
most cultures and religious beliefs, that the eye figure repels evil.
 - The date of the meeting has been announced by the President.

Simple Past Tense

was / were + V3

- 'Guernica' was painted by Picasso in 1937.

- The speech of the President was translated by the translator in the conference
simultaneously.

Past Continuous Tense

was / were + being + V3

- The conversation between the suspects were being recorded.

- The damaged ship was being towed when the towline broke.

Past Perfect Tense

had + been + V3

- The house had been damaged by the time the firefighters arrived in the scene.
- I couldn’t attend the training because my leg had been broken last week.

Future Tense (will)

will + be + V3

- When the boss has overcome the crisis, a new factory will be opened by him.
- From now on, we will be forbid the casual clothes and the employees will wear the
work uniforms.

Future Tense (going to)

am / is / are going to + be + V3

- According to the schedule, the new metro line is going to be completed in June.
- The exam results are going to be announced on Wednesday.

Future Perfect Tense

will have + been + V3

- People hope that by 2030, new techniques will have been improved to fight against
illnesses.
- By 2030, petrol-powered cars will have been banned by Germany.

Present Modals

modal + be + V3

- The manual had better be read carefully before attempting to operate the new
washing machine.
 - Books and stationery items can now be bought online since the launch of our e-
commerce sites.

Perfect Modals

modal + have + been + V3

- This house of cards could have been fallen over if the person who built it hadn't been
so careful.
- All of these stamps might have been collected by a famous collector.

Passive Voice with Get

Passive voice can also be created with the Get + V3 structure. This form is common in
colloquial language. It is used to describe actions that develop out of control, accidental,
unexpected, negative and unusual.

- She got demoted for pulling out of a million dollar-deal which could save the
company.
- The cashiers don’t get supervised properly, so they have started to steal some of the
money.

SOME NOTES

- Although some verbs take an object, they can never be made passive in terms
of meaning. These are usually "stative verbs" (like, love, belong, involve, owe,
etc.) or "non-progressive verbs".
Example: The baby resembled his father clearly from the day he was born.

- Perfect Continuous Tenses cannot be used with passive voices.

Example: By the next month, the gardener will have been being taking care of this
garden for fifty years.

- Especially in written language, there are phrases that gain meaning in the "verb
+ preposition" structure that is used with a passive voice. These are:
be aimed at, be applied to, be found in, be regarded as, be used as, be referred
to (as), (can/could) be seen as, be based on, be considered as, be related to, be
known as, be thought as etc.
Example: The new law will be applied directly to all employees right after it is
published on the national newspaper.

- The Get + V3 structure may not always be passive. In some cases, it can be
used as a "verb, adjective". Some of these structures are:
get dressed in, get washed, get engaged / married / divorced, get started, get
lost, get prepared, get hurt, get acquired (with), get bored (with), get worried
(about)
Example: Elizabeth has got engaged to a very vulgar but rich man with whom she
could never be happy.
 - The "Need + V+ing" structure also has a passive meaning. The object of an
active sentence is brought to the beginning of the sentence and passive
meaning is formed with the "Need + V+ing" structure.
Example: My room needs painting.

- Past participle form of the verb cannot work as a finite verb without an auxiliary
verb. When a past participle comes without an auxiliary verb, it generally works
as an adjective in the sentence. Some of these are:
bore, amaze, petrify, interest, annoy, confuse, relax, shock, thrill, etc.
Example: The teacher was annoyed that the students could not understand her
instructions after repeating it for five times.

- There can be used as an agent in passive voices.

Example: There was said to be a massive financial crisis at the time of war.

TIME ACTIVE PASSIVE

Simple Present He steals the car. The car is stolen.
Present Continuous He is stealing the car. The care is being stolen.
Present Perfect He has stolen the car. The car has been stolen.
Simple Past He stole the car. The car was stolen.
Past Continuous He was stealing the car. The car was being stolen.
Past Perfect He had stolen the car. The car had been stolen.
Future (will) He will steal the car. The car will be stolen.
Future (going to) He is going to steal the car. The car is going to be stolen.
Future Perfect He will have stolen the car. The car will have been stolen.
Present Modals He might steal the car. The car might be stolen.
Perfect Modals He might have stolen the car. The car might have been
stolen.

IMPERSONAL PASSIVE
If a sentence is formed with the ‘main clause+ that clause’ structure, it can be transformed
into passive structure in two different ways. Verbs such as understand, estimate, expect,
acknowledge, know, consider, think, claim, suspect, suppose, allege, believe, report, say,
declare, etc. are frequently used with this structure.
Example:
- Many people believe that Mother Teresa was a saint for all the sacrifice she made to
the mankind.
- First way (it + passive reporting verb + (that) + clause): It is believed that Mother
Teresa was a saint for all the sacrifice she made to the mankind.
- Second way (subject + passive reporting verb + to infinitive): Mother Teresa is
believed to have been a saint for all the sacrifice she made to the mankind.
Present ‘be’ (am, is, are)
- Active: People believe that he is the hero of the town.
Passive 1: It’s believed that he is the hero of the town.
Passive 2: He is believed to be the hero of the town.
Simple Present Tense
- Active: Our neighbors say their son hates going to the dentist.
Passive 1: It is said that our neighbor’s son hates going to the dentist.
Passive 2: Our neighbor’s son is said to be hate going to the dentist.
Future Tense (will / be going to)
- Active: People expect the oil prices will decrease after the election.
Passive 1: It is expected that the oil prices will decrease after the election.
Passive 2: The oil prices are expected to decrease after the election.
Past ‘be’
- Active: They report that the actor was a salesman before.
Passive 1: It is reported that the actor was a salesman before.
- Passive 2: The actor is reported to have been a salesman before.
Simple Past Tense
- Active: People believe that they did not use antibiotics so frequently many years ago.
Passive 1: It believed that people did not use antibiotics so frequently many years
ago.
- Passive 2: Antibiotics are believed not to have been used so frequently many years
ago.
Present Perfect Tense
- Active: They suppose that Jack has won the race.
Passive 1: It is supposed that Jack has won the race.
- Passive 2: Jack is supposed to have won the race.
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
- Active: The minister declares that he is participating in the elections.
Passive 1: It is declared that the minister is participating in the elections.
- Passive 2: The minister is declared to be participating in the elections.
Past Continuous Tense
- Active: My parents suspect I was listening them.
- Passive 1: It is suspected that I was listening to my parents.
- Passive 2: I am suspected to have been listening to my parents.
 TIME ACTIVE PASSIVE
Present ‘be’ People believe she is a 1) It is believed that she
doctor. is a doctor.
2) She is believed to be
a doctor.
Simple Present Tense She works every day. 1) It is believed
Future Tense
Past ‘be’
Simple Past Tense
Present Perfect Tense
Present Perfect
Continuous Tense
Past Continuous Tense
 EXERCISES
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11) We believe that Nathan was telling the truth when he was, in fact, lying.
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EXERCISE 1

Choose the correct option.

1) According to Freud, all people go through certain stages in their childhood and their futures
are shaped by … behaviour patterns they are exposed to during them.
a) however b) whoever c) wherever d) whenever e) whichever
2) Lucia hasn’t still made up her mind about … she is going to go to learn French. She has a
limited budget, so Paris seems too expensive.
a) whatever b) whichever c) however d) wherever e) whoever
3) … there is going to be an earthquake is uncertain under any circumstance, so we must
always be prepared for it.
a) wherever b) however c) whoever d) whatever e) whichever
4) … has seen the accident should come forward and tell the police what he has seen, otherwise
we will never learn whose mistake it was.
a) wherever b) whenever c) whoever d) however e) whatever
5) The waiter recommended us the calamari saying that they could cook it … we liked and it was
their specialty.
a) whenever b) however c) whomever d) wherever e) whoever