English Grammar Online

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 
Dictionary auf Deutsch
(/en/dictionary) (https://www.ego4u.de/de/cram-up/grammar/passive)

 Cram Up  (/) › Cram Up › Grammar (/en/cram-up/grammar) › Passive

Voice
 Grammar
(/en/cram-
up/grammar)
Passive Voice
 Writing (/en/cram-
up/writing)
 Vocabulary
(/en/cram-
up/vocabulary)
 Tests (/en/cram- Use of Passive
up/tests) Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It
 Study Tips is not important or not known, however, who or what
(/en/cram- is performing the action.

up/learning) Example: My bike was stolen.

 Daily English In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my
(/en/cram-up/daily- bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.
english)
Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than
 Read On active voice, as the following example shows:
Example: A mistake was made.
 Countries
(/en/read- In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was
on/countries) made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have made
a mistake.).
 Animals/Sports
(/en/read-
Form of Passive
on/animals)
Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd
 Literature
column of irregular verbs (/en/cram-
(/en/read- up/grammar/irregular-verbs))
on/literature)
Example: A letter was written.

 Business When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note

 Communication the following:

(/en/business- the object of the active sentence becomes the subject

of the passive sentence
english/communication)
the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past
 Grammar
participle)
(/en/business-
the subject of the active sentence becomes the object
english/grammar) of the passive sentence (or is dropped)
 Business-Info
(/en/business- Examples of Passive
english/infos) Tense Subject Verb Object

 Chill Out Simple Active: Rita writes a letter.

 Games & Riddles Present

Passive: A letter is written by Rita.
(/en/chill-
Simple Past Active: Rita wrote a letter.
out/games)
 E-Cards (/en/chill- Passive: A letter was written by Rita.
out/ecards)
Present Active: Rita has written a letter.
 Take On Perfect
Passive: A letter has been written by Rita.

 Calendar 2020 Future I Active: Rita will write a letter.

(/en/take-
Passive: A letter will be written by Rita.
on/calendar?2020)
Hilfsverben Active: Rita can write a letter.
 Teach In
Passive: A letter can be written by Rita.
 Cultural Studies
(/en/teach- Examples of Passive
in/cultural-studies) Tense Subject Verb Object
 Lessons (/en/teach-
Present Active: Rita is writing a letter.
in/lessons)
Progressive
Passive: A letter is being written by Rita.

Past Active: Rita was writing a letter.

Progressive
Passive: A letter was being written by Rita.

Past Perfect Active: Rita had written a letter.

Passive: A letter had been written by Rita.

Future II Active: Rita will have written a letter.

Passive: A letter will have been written by Rita.

Conditional I Active: Rita would write a letter.

Passive: A letter would be written by Rita.

Conditional II Active: Rita would have written a letter.

Passive: A letter would have been written by Rita.

Passive Sentences with Two Objects

Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in
passive voice means that one of the two objects
becomes the subject, the other one remains an object.
Which object to transform into a subject depends on
what you want to put the focus on.

Subject Verb Object 1 Object 2

Active: Rita wrote a letter to me.

Passive: A letter was written to me by Rita.

Passive: I was written a letter by Rita.

As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does

not sound very elegant. That’s why it is usually
dropped.

Personal and Impersonal Passive

Personal Passive simply means that the object of the
active sentence becomes the subject of the passive
sentence. So every verb that needs an object
(transitive verb) can form a personal passive.
Example: They build houses. – Houses are built.

Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally

cannot form a personal passive sentence (as there is
no object that can become the subject of the passive
sentence). If you want to use an intransitive verb in
passive voice, you need an impersonal construction –
therefore this passive is called Impersonal Passive.
Example: he says – it is said

Impersonal Passive is not as common in English as in

some other languages (e.g. German, Latin). In English,
Impersonal Passive is only possible with verbs of
perception (e. g. say, think, know).
Example: They say that women live longer than men. – It is
said that women live longer than men.

Although Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal

Passive is more common.
Example: They say that women live longer than men. –
Women are said to live longer than men.

The subject of the subordinate clause (women) goes to

the beginning of the sentence; the verb of perception
is put into passive voice. The rest of the sentence is
added using an infinitive construction with 'to' (certain
auxiliary verbs and that are dropped).
Sometimes the term Personal Passive is used in English
lessons if the indirect object of an active sentence is to
become the subject of the passive sentence.

Exercises

Exercises on Passive (Form)

* Exercise on Passive with Simple Present (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises)
* Exercise on Passive with Simple Past (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises?02)
* Exercise on Passive with Present Perfect (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises?03)
* Exercise on Passive with Future I (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises?04)

Exercises on Passive (Active → Passive)

* Exercise on Passive with Simple Present (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises?simple-present)
* Exercise on Passive with Simple Past (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises?simple-past)
* Exercise on Passive with Present Perfect (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises?present-perfect)
* Exercise on Passive with Future I (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises?future-1)
* Exercise on Passive with Auxiliary Verbs (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises?05)
* Mixed Exercise on Passive with Passive (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises?06)
* Sentences with 2 Objects (Indirect Object, Personal
Passive) (/en/cram-up/grammar/passive/exercises?07)
(neu)
* Sentences with 2 Objects (Direct Object) (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises?08) (neu)
* Personal Passive (verbs of perception) (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises?09) (neu)

* Exercise on Passive with Present Progressive (/en/cram-

up/grammar/passive/exercises?present-progressive)
 Exercise on Passive with Past Progressive (/en/cram-
* up/grammar/passive/exercises?past-progressive)

* Exercise on Passive with Past Perfect (/en/cram-

up/grammar/passive/exercises?past-perfect)
* Exercise on Passive with Future II (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises?future-2)
* Exercise on Passive with Conditional I (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises?conditional-1)
* Exercise on Passive with Conditional II (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises?conditional-2)

Exercises on Passive (Active or Passive)

* Exercise on Simple Present (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises?simple-present-2)

* Exercise on Simple Past (/en/cram-

up/grammar/passive/exercises?simple-past-2)
* Exercise on Present Perfect (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises?present-perfect-2)

* Exercise on Future I with will (/en/cram-

up/grammar/passive/exercises?future-will-2)
* Exercise – The Statue of Liberty (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises?text01) (neu)
* Exercise – Portal Dolmen (/en/cram-
up/grammar/passive/exercises?text02) (neu)
* Summary – The Fellowship of the Ring (/en/cram-
up/writing/summary/exercises), part 2 (/en/cram-
up/writing/summary/exercises?ex02), part 3 (/en/cram-
up/writing/summary/exercises?ex03)

Grammar in Texts
* Show Passive Voice in „The Canterville Ghost“ (/en/read-
on/literature/canterville-ghost?
param=part1&mark=passive)
* Grammar Exercise on „Washington, DC“ (/en/read-
on/countries/usa/tour/washington#exercises)
* Show Passive Voice in „History of Snowboarding“
(/en/read-on/animals/snowboarding?
param=&mark=simpapassiv)

Tests on Passiv
* Tenses Active and Passive (/en/cram-up/tests/hadrians-
wall)

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