Passives

 Amy plays the violin. A

 The Beatles composed a lot of famous songs. A
 The company has hired 200 new technicians. A
 A company driver will meet you at the airport. A
 The company is owned by an American multinational. P
 Dynamite was invented by Alfred Nobel. P
 The reckless driver has been fined. P
 You will be arrested. P

In English (as in Dutch, French, German, …) we use both active (A) and passive (P) sentences.
To explain the difference between active and passive sentences and the verb forms, we need
to look briefly at how a sentence fits together.
Most sentences have three main parts: a subject, a verb (or a group of verbs) and an object.
SUBJECT VERB(S) OBJECT
Alfred Nobel invented dynamite.
The company Owens Ltd. has hired 200 new technicians.
Dynamite was invented by Alfred Nobel.
200 new technicians have been hired by the company Owens Ltd.

By Alfred Nobel and by the company Owens Ltd. may not actually be considered objects in
English grammar; but they are in Dutch (handelend voorwerp). So, to help us with our
explanation, we will call them objects in English as well.
Subject Verb(s) Object

Alfred Nobel invented dynamite.

The company Owens Ltd. has hired 200 new technicians.

In ACTIVE SENTENCES like

Alfred Nobel (S) invented (V) dynamite (O) or The company (S) has hired (V) 200 new technicians (O):
 the subject (onderwerp) is the person, group or thing that performs the action of the main verb;
 the (main) verb says what the subject does (or which action the subject performs); and
 the object (lijdend voorwerp) is the person, group or thing that the action is done to.
 
Of course, there will usually be lots of other words as well.
For example: Alfred Nobel, a famous Swedish inventor, invented dynamite in the 1860s.
But the subject, verb and object are still there.
Subject Verb(s) Object
Dynamite was invented by Alfred Nobel.
200 new technicians have been hired by the company Owens Ltd.

In PASSIVE SENTENCES,
Like Dynamite (S) was invented (V) by Alfred Nobel (O) or
200 new technicians (S) have been hired (V) by the company Owens Ltd. (O)
 the original object (lijdend voorwerp) has become the subject (onderwerp);
 the (main) verb says what happens to the subject; and
 the original subject has become (/can become) an object (by + …) (handelend voorwerp).
 
Note that the verb forms have changed somewhat:
invented > was invented
has hired > have been hired
Passive verb forms are necessary because this time the person (…) that performs the action is no
longer the subject of the sentence.
In Engels 2, we will only focus on how you make passive sentences or also how you change
active sentences into passive ones, and passive sentences into active sentences.

subject verb object

subject <- object past participle subject -> object

verb
auxiliary preposition
verb
From active to passive: verb forms
Active sentence Verb forms
Tense Main verb
The computer generates the order. Simple present GENERATE

Passive sentence Verb forms

Tense Main verb
The order is generated by the computer. Simple present GENERATE

The passive verb forms consist of:

 be, expressing the right tense; and
 the past participle (PaPa) of the main verb.
So, when changing active sentences into passive sentences,
• the tense does NOT change but is expressed only by be;
• the main verb is no longer part of the tense.
SOME MORE EXAMPLES
Alfred Nobel invented dynamite. Simple past & INVENT
Dynamite was invented by Alfred Nobel.

The company Owens Ltd. has hired 200 new technicians. Present perfect & HIRE
200 new technicians have been hired by the company Owens Ltd.

A company driver will meet you at the airport. Will + infinitive & MEET
You will be met at the airport by a company driver.

Jupiler is developing a new low-alcohol lager. Present continuous & DEVELOP

A new low-alcohol lager is being developed by Jupiler.

The court should not have released him from prison. Should + perfect infinitive (have + PaPa)
He should not have been released from prison by the court. & RELEASE
Your turn
First, on a sheet of paper, note down the tenses and main verbs of ALL the following active sentences.
 Trump will meet Kim later this year. Will + infinitive MEET
 They select a new candidate every year. Simple present SELECT
 She bought the iPhone in Hong Kong last year. Simple past BUY
 They have built a new cage for the lions at Olmen Zoo.perfect BUILD
Present
 Our students may have seen the offender when the police arrested him outside Bank Tube station.
May + perfect infinitive SEE & simple past ARREST
 The Germans had almost defeated the allies when they sent small boats from Britain to rescue
them. Past perfect DEFEAT & simple past SEND

 The King awarded a medal to all Olympic athletes

Simple last February.
past AWARD

Then, click to check your answers.

Finally, make the sentences passive before you check the answers on the next slide.
 Trump will meet Kim later this year. Will + infinitive MEET
Later this year, Kim will be MET by Trump.
 They select a new candidate every year. Simple present SELECT
Every year a new candidate is SELECTED (by them).
 She bought the iPhone in Hong Kong last year. Simple past BUY
Last year the iPhone was BOUGHT by her in Hong Kong.
 They have built a new cage for the lions at Olmen Zoo. Present perfect BUILD
At Olmen Zoo, a new cage for the lions has been BUILT.
 Our students may have seen the offender when the police arrested him outside Bank Tube station.
May + perfect infinitive SEE & simple past ARREST
The offender may have been SEEN by our students when he was ARRESTED by the police ….
 The Germans had almost defeated the allies when they sent small boats from Britain to rescue them.
Past perfect DEFEAT & simple past SEND
The allies had almost been DEFEATED by the Germans when small boats were SENT from Britain …
 The King awarded a medal to all Olympic athletes last February. Simple past AWARD
A medal was AWARDED to all Olympic athletes by the King last February.
Notes
 The King awarded a medal (DO) to all Olympic athletes (IO) last February.
The King awarded all Olympic athletes (IO) a medal (DO) last February.
A medal was AWARDED to all Olympic athletes by the King last February.
All Olympic athletes were AWARDED a medal by the King last February.

In English, not only the direct object (DO - lijdend voorwerp) of the active sentence but also the
indirect object (IO - meewerkend voorwerp) can become the subject of the passive sentence!
This is not possible in Dutch (and French or German).

 Lots of postmen get BITTEN by dogs.

The painting got DAMAGED when a visitor tried to touch it.
I’m always getting CHOSEN for the unpleasant jobs.
In informal English, get can sometimes be used instead of be to make passives; be is always OK.

 It is SAID that he was a spy in World War II.

It is REPORTED that more than ten thousand people have already died from Corona in Italy.
It was once BELIEVED that chocolate could cure a stomach ache.
These it + passive structures are often used in news reports. In Dutch, we would use er
A short note on changing passive sentences into active ones.
 This matter (S) will be considered by us (O) shortly. (Passive)
We (S) will consider this matter (O) shortly. (Active)
 The riot (S) was stopped by the police (O). (Passive)
The police stopped the riot. (Active)
 The mine (S) had to be closed [by ?] (O). (Passive)
They/The authority had to close the mine. (Active)
 The workers (S) are paid £200 (O) a week [by ?] (O).
They/Management pay(s) the workers £200 a week.
Passive Active
subject Direct (or indirect) object

object (by + …) if expressed subject

Tense of be
Past participle of main verb Main verb in the tense/construction of be
Which is better active or passive sentences?
Most of the time, active sentences are better because
 they are more common;
 they are more direct;
 they focus on the person or thing performing the action.

Passives often
• make writing more long-winded (= too wordy).
• make writing less lively.

But sometimes we do prefer passive sentences, e.g. when

• we want to emphasise the action: A new drug has been developed.
• who or what performed the action is not important: The streets are cleaned daily.
• we do not know who performed the action: Yesterday, a bus shelter was vandalised in town.
• we want to make something less hostile: This bill has not been paid (passive) is softer than You have
not paid this bill (active).
• we want to avoid the blame: A mistake was made (passive) rather than We made a mistake (active).