Active voice vs.

passive voice
Mr.Zaki Badr
Teacher Trainer
IELTS Teacher
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• My name is Zaki Badr. I am an online English instructor .

• I am a native-like English speaker with a pure American
accent.
• I have been teaching English since 2011.
• ---------------
• English teaching certificates that I got :
• *TESOL Certificate, Arizona State University, USA,
December 2018.
• *TEFL, Teacher Record, China.
• TEFL, London Teacher Training College, OFQUAL regulated,
London, June 2021.
• Other certificates from Cambridge and Pearson
• The link to the Certificates:
• https://bit.ly/MyCertificates1
TESOL holder
TEFL Holder (Teaching English as a Foreign Language)
Active or passive
Use 1 of Passive
Passive voice is used when the focus is on the
action. It is not important or not known, however,
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: A 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.).
Use 1 of Passive
when the main topic of the sentence isn’t who did the
action.
Ex:-

Television was invented in the 1920s by John Logie Baird.

The main topic here is television – we aren’t particularly

interested in ‘who’.

Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

In English we tend to put the most important thing at the
start of the sentence.
Use 2 of Passive
..more in written English than in spoken English.

War and Peace was written by Tolstoy.

You often see the passive in textbooks.

The mixture is heated to 500˚C.

Scientific texts especially use the passive.
 Am,is,are
(Present)

Verb to be Was,were
(Past)

Been
(Perfect)
 How to form
the passive ?

TheThe
cake was eaten
children by the
ate the children.
cake. (Active)(Passive)

Verb inVerb in simple

simple past
past tense object
Object
subject
Active passive

Step 2: Step 3:
Step 1:
Move the object to What is the verb
Identify the
become the new tense in the
subject,verb,
subject of the active sentence?
and object.
sentence
 Form of Passive
Subject + verb to be + Past Participle (3rd column
of irregular verbs)

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)
Form of Passive
A letter is written (by Rita).

Am,is,are Past
Subject (Present participle By someone
simple) (P.P) is optional

A letter is being written (by Rita).

Am,is,are+Being
Subject Past participle By someone
(Present
(P.P) is optional
continuous)
Form of Passive
A letter was written by Rita.

Past
Subject Was,were participle By someone
(Past simple) is optional
(P.P)

The letters were being written by Rita.

Was,were+Being Past participle By someone

Subject (Past continuous) (P.P) is optional
Form of Passive
The letters have been written by Rita.

Past
Subject Has/have+been By someone
participle
(Present perfect) is optional
(P.P)

I have been being treated like dirt (by Rita).

Has/have+been+
being Past participle By someone
Subject (Present perfect (P.P) is optional
continuous)
Form of Passive
The letters had been written by Rita.

Past
Subject had+been By someone
participle
( Past perfect) is optional
(P.P)

I had been being treated like dirt (by John).

had+been+being
Past participle By someone
Subject (Past perfect
(P.P) is optional
continuous)
Form of Passive
The horses will be taken to the stable by Rita.

Past
Subject will+be By someone
participle
( future simple) is optional
(P.P)

At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes will be being washed (by John).

Will be+being
Subject Past participle By someone
(future
(P.P) is optional
continuous)
Form of Passive
The project will have been completed before the (by Zaki).
deadline

will+have+been Past By someone

Subject participle
( future perfect) is optional
(P.P)
 Tense Subject Verb Object
Simple Active: Rita writes a letter.
Present Passive: A letter is written by Rita.

Simple Active: Rita wrote a letter.

Past Passive: A letter was written by Rita.

Present Active: Rita has written a letter.

Perfect Passive: A letter has been written by Rita.

Future Active: Rita will write a letter.

simple Passive: A letter will be written by Rita.

Modal Active: Rita can write a letter.

verbs Passive: A letter can be written by Rita.
 Tense Subject Verb Object
Present Active: Rita is writing a letter.
Progressive Passive: A letter is being written by Rita.
(Continuous)

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 Active: Rita will have written a letter.

Perfect Passive: A letter will have been written by Rita.

Conditional Active: Rita would write a letter.

I Passive: A letter would be written by Rita.

Conditional Active: Rita would have written a letter.

II Passive: A letter would have been written by Rita.