PROFICIENCY COURSE IN ENGLISH

FACULTY OF ARTS

LEVEL _: 3

Using the Passive Voice

DEPARTMENT
ENGLISHOF ENGLISH
LANGUAGE LANGUAGE TEACHING
TEACHING UNIT

UNIVERSITY OF COLOMBO
Learnin~ Outcomes

At the e:,d of this module you will be able to :

❖ ld~ntify the passive voice used in a text which uses both active and passive sentence
structures.
❖ ldehtify why-the p_assive voice has been used , · 1· ·
' ' I '

❖ Use the passive voice constructions appropriately in a written text.

Prepared by - Shivanee llangakoon

Dulani Suraweera

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 Reading Task 01

Pre-reading activity (Pair Work)

Read the u~;e of the passage and the notes given on the margin of the passage.

Can you guess what the passage Is about?

Tick the most appropriate option .

a. Action of people
b. Events that have taken place
c. What people should do

Read the passage given below and answer the questions.

01.INTERNATIONAL COOPRERATION

The self - There were self sufficient economies in many countries In the past. The villagers produced their
_
sufficient requirements within the, village itself. In ancient Sri Lanka too there existed a simple economy
economy based on limited needs. If there was a surplus of goods produced at village level it was
that exchanged for some goods with others. With the passage of time, the needs of the people
prevailed in became complex with the rise in population . Consequently the demand for goods too
the past increased.

al
As a result of The productive activities of a country are determined by factors such as the geographic
of the
the exchange location, climatic conditions and the distribution of resources of that country. Because
factors mentioned above no country has the capacity to produce all its needs. Hence each
of goods
cooperation country started to produce goods that could. be produced easily in that country and to import
among the from other countries other goods needed by them. For instance, wheat grows well in the fertile
countries of loamy soils of the temperate region while paddy Is cultivated in the damp fertile soils of the
the world tropical lands. This results in an exchange of grains among the countries. Since essential food
was
items have to be exchanged among countries it l.ed to the promotion of cooperation among
promoted
them .

Dealings and relations developed among nations as a result of new discoveries in the Middles
Ages and exploratory activities. The relationships that developed particularly between the
European countries and the Eastern countries can be m~ntloned in this case. This was further
intensified with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Consequent to the Industrial
Revolution, there emerged a vast growth in production in the European countries. The raw
materials required for the production of goods had to be obtained from countries far away
from Europe. Moreover, a market was also needed to sell the goods produced. Consequently,
the Europeans were involved in a competition to conquer count ries of Asia, Africa and Latin
America. Many countries of Europe that succeeded in establishing colonies became countries
with developed economies. These countries which came to be known as developed countries
subsequently were able to reach a high level in ownership of capital and technological
knowledge . The countries which become their colonies had low economic levels. These
countries have to strive hard to develop themselves . Hence these countries which were

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 colonies ear!ier are now motivated to obtain technical know-how, capital and advanced
..,
machinery of developed countries.

Since the transfer of a advanced technology from developed industrialized countries was
AJ:''Jlication
possible, most of the developing countries have the opportunity of improving' their agricultural
of
advanced and industrial spheres to some degree. Further, cooperation among nations has made it
technoloi;iv possible to pffect a development in the fields of health, education, transport and
comr1 unication.

The The development of modern communication media too has helped in promoting international
dt>velopment cooperation. The internet which covers the entire world today can be' cited · as an example.
of
Countries of the world are connected with each other through the Internet whlle it has made it
communicati
possible to obtain information about what is happening in various countries as quickly as
un media has
possible. The media of communication helps in getting from other countries various assistance
heiped the
growth of and sL·pport required for their development. Accordingly we see that various countries of the
international world 1re connected to each other. On account of this situation, it has become impossible for
cooperation any country or nation or an individual to stand alone in ·isolation

You are aware however, that natural disasters occur very often in some countries of the world.
The occurrence of earthquakes, flo9ds, droughts and famines can be cited as examples. The
significance of international cooperation is clear from the fact that during such disasters
. . .
International Organizations as well as de"'.eloped countries in the world come forward to give
not only mater.ial aid such as foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, clothing and milk foods but _ also
medical treatment t o those affected countries. Nevertheless, on occasions when this
cooperation was not forthcoming, it seems that such countries had to experience great
hardship. The break down of the exchange of foodstuffs and commodities between regions
where conflicts occur are examples. Likewise, a certain commodity produced in one country is
capable of disturbing many countries of the world. Petroleum is one such commodity.
Petroleum has become an essential item in the present day world. Also it is produced only in a
few countries. A crisis situation has emerged in the economic pattern of many count ries of the
world as a result of raising petroleum prices organized by petroleum producing countries.

Though such problems have come up, cooperation among countries is essential for the
l'lternational
progress of man. Due to rapid population growth, the complex nature of the needs, and the
cooperation is
limitation in the means of fulfilling those needs, it is difficult for any country to exist in
essential for
isolation. Working with mutual cooperation and· coexistence will give a. support to achieve
the progress of
mankind. development. It is owing to the cooperation among nations that many countries in the world
have reached high levels in socio economic status as well as in the cultural sphere. A number of
International Organizations with the aim helping the countries in the world are functioning
worldwide.

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(l) Read the passage on International Cooperation. Find the sentenc es in the
passive voice
and fill the table given below.

Verbs in the Passive

.· ' ' .'
Tense Subject Agent
V1lcE,
..

'

'

- - • ..

' . ~

' '

'
'
'

-·

: ,

(2) Look at the table you comple ted and answer the following questio ns.

a. How many passive sentences had an.agent?

b. Why do you think some sentences do not have an agent?

c. Why do you think some of the sentences have an agent?

d. What kinds of nouns did you list in the subject column?

(3) Write the main ideas expressed in this passage. You may need to use
the passive voice.

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 y

3) Use of Passive
Passive voice is 1.sed when the focus is on the action. It is not important or unknown who or
what is performing, the action.

Example: My bike was stolen.

In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however,
who did it.

Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example
shows:

Example: ,\ mistake was made.

In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You
have made a mistake.).

Form of Passive
Subject+ finite form of to be+ Past Participle

Example: A letter was written.

When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:

• the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
• the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
• the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is
dropped)

Examples of Passive t; U U <)<)

Tense Subject Verb Object

. p Active: Rita writes a letter.
Simp1e resent ·p . A
assive: 1etter is written by Rita.
Active: Rita wrote a letter.
Simple Past
Passive: A letter was written by Rita.
Active: Rita has·written a letter.
Present Perfect p .
assive: A 1etter has been written by Rita.
Future I Active: Rita will write a letter.
Passive: A letter will be written by Rita.
Active: Rita can write a letter.
Passive: A letter can be written by Rita.

s
I'"

Examples of Passive
Te... se Subject Verb Object
Present Active: Rita is writing a letter.
Progressive Passive: A letter is being written by Rita.
. Active: Rita was writing a letter.
Past Progressive p . A
was being written by Rita.
asszve: 1etter
Active: Rita had written a letter.
Past Perfect by Rita.
Passive: A 'Jetter had been written
Active: Rita will have written a letter.
Future II ·by Rita.
Passive: A letter will have been written
Active: Rita would write a letter.
Condition~( I
Passive: A letter would be written by Rita.
Active: Rita would have written a letter.
Conditional II
Passive: A letter wouid have been written by Rita.

Passive Sentences with Two Objects w,:,ouo

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 tome.
Passive: A letter was written tome 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.

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Example: he says - it is said , -; .

Impersonal P,aslive is not as cornm~n ~ English as_ in so1;11~ other languages ~e.g. German, .
Latin). In English, 'mpersonal Passive 1s only possible with verbs of perception (e.g. _say, think,
~~ '

Example: They say that women live longer than men. - It is said that womenlive longer than
men.

Although Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.

Example: They say that women live lqnger than men. - Women are said to live longer than men.
I

The subjec, 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

Group work.

3) Get into groups and discuss the following,

A) The changes which have occurred in Sri Lanka since .t he end of 30 year civil war.
Speculate and predict what changes will occur in the future.

B) A production process (e.g. How cars are manufactured)

Write a report on one of the above. Get feedback from other groups.

4) Do you know in what situations each active tense is used? Copy and complete
the table given below. You may use a grammar book or the Internet to find
relevant information.

ITense type