Kim Erich

Contents:
1. Meaning & Usage
2. Passive Voice of Verb Tense
3. Passive Voice of Modal Verb Phrases
4. Passive of infinitives, Gerunds, Participles
5. The Stative Passive

Question to consider:
1. What is passive voice?
2. When do we use passive voice?
3. What are the differences between active & passive voice?

1. Meaning & Usage

Passive Voice is to emphasize the action mainly the verb and the object of a sentence rather than
subject. This means that the subject is either less important than the action itself or that we don’t
know who or what the subject is.
The passive voice is often used in formal texts. Switching to the active voice will make your
writing clearer and easier to read.
2. Passive Voice of Verb Tense
Present
am, is, are + past participle
Present Progressive
am, is, are being + Past Participle
Past
was, were + past participle
Past Progressive
was, were being + past participle
Present Perfect
have, has been + past participle
Kim Erich

Past Perfect
had been + past participle
Future
will be + past participle
Future Perfect
Will have been + past participle
Example :

The teacher taught the students. (Active)

The students are taught by the teacher. (Passive)

Someone cleaned my room yesterday.

My room was cleaned by someone yesterday.

Mr. Daro will finish the group assignment on Friday.

The group assignment will be finished on Friday.

3. Passive Voice of Modal Verb Phrase

In general, we follow this structure to use modal verbs in the passive voice:
Modal verb + be + past participle
And we follow this structure to use modal verbs in the past passive voice:
Modal verb + have been + past participle
Note***: modal verbs are verbs such as can, could, or should

4. Passive of Infinitives, Gerunds, and Participle.

I. Passive Voice with infinitive
The infinitive passive voice is used after the modal verbs normally followed by an infinitive.
Present
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To be + Past Participle
Perfect
To + have been + past participle
Example:
He wants to be promoted next year.
II. Passive Voice with gerunds
Gerund are use after the preposition and verbs normally followed by a gerund.
Present
Being + Past Participle
Perfect or Past
Having + been + Past participle
III. Participial phrases in the passive voice
Present
Base form + -ing + past participle
Perfect or past
Having been + Past participle

5. Stative Passive
Stative verb describes the state rather than the action itself.
 Thoughts and opinions: agree, believe, doubt, guess, imagine.
 Feelings and emotions: dislike, hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish.
 Senses and perceptions: appear, be, feel, hear, look, see, seem, smell, taste.
 Possession and measurement: belong, have, measure, own, possess, weigh.
All of these stative verb can be used in stative passive. It is formed by the to be + stative verb +
past participle.
Example:
I am satisfied with his work.
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It was relieved ever since she finished her exam.

They have been tired after the match ended.
I am so exhausted with the work after the long day.

Exercise 1
Fill in the correct form of passive voice.
Present
All of the participants in the race ............... (invite) to the awards ceremony.
Present progressive
Application for part time jobs................. (accept) from now until the end of the month.
Past
Volkan told me that the correct............... (cancel), so I did not go.
Present perfect
Do you know whether or not the package .............. (send)?
Past Perfect
The officer announced that the suspects ............ (arrest) for the crime.
Future
Stanley does not have to buy a plane ticket; it............. (take care of) by his assistant.
Future Perfect
By the time I get home, I hope that the dishes.......... (wash) by my roommates.
Modal
I’m afraid that the date........... (might, change).
Infinitive
Johnson expects........... (lay off) next month.
Gerund
Mariln did not anticipate............ (be charge) a late fee for the library book.
Participial phrases
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................(be applaud) so warmly by the audience, the piano player began to play even more
enthusiastically.
Answer :
1. Are invited
2. Are being accepted
3. Was cancelled
4. has been sent
5. had been arrested
6. will be taken care of
7. will have been washed
8. to be laid off
9. being charged
10. might be changed
11. could be postponed
12. being applauded

References:
I. https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-grammar/
passive-voice/#:~:text=The%20passive%20voice%20is%20used,the
%20subject%20of%20the%20sentence.
II. https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/
stative-verbs

III. https://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/activepassive.html

IV. Writing Clearly Grammar for Editing by Janet Lane and Ellen Lange

(Main book)