PASSIVE VOICE

RULES
Look at this sentence:

I drank two cups of coffee.

This is an active sentence and it has the subject first, followed by the verb, and
finally the object

But, we don't always need to make sentences this way. We might want to put the
object first, or perhaps we don't want to say who did something. In this case, we can
use a passive, which puts the object first:

Two cups of coffee were drunk (we can add 'by me' but it isn't necessary)
 structure
OBJECT + verb ‘to be’ + main verb in PAST PARTICIPLE

CONJUGATED

ACTIVE They make medicines

present simple subject verb object

PASSIVE Medicines are made (by them)

present simple object ‘to be’ verb subject
present p.participle
 structure
OBJECT + verb ‘to be’ + main verb in PAST PARTICIPLE

CONJUGATED

ACTIVE We prepared a surprise

past simple subject verb object

PASSIVE A surprise was prepared (by us)

past simple object ‘to be’ verb subject
past p.participle
We make the passive by putting the verb 'to be' into whatever tense we need + past participle. For regular
verbs, we make the past participle by adding 'ed' to the infinitive. So 'play' becomes 'played'

Tense Active Passive

present simple I make a cake. A cake is made (by me).
present continuous I am making a cake. A cake is being made (by me).
past simple I made a cake. A cake was made (by me).
past continuous I was making a cake. A cake was being made (by me).
present perfect I have made a cake. A cake has been made (by me).
past perfect I had made a cake. A cake had been made (by me).
future simple I will make a cake. A cake will be made (by me).
future perfect I will have made a cake. A cake will have been made (by me).
 UOE part 4
passives

For questions in PART 4, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning
to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use
between two and five words, including the word given
The company employs 5 people.
ARE

are employed
5 people…………………………… by the company
Someone will attend to you later.
BE

will be attended
You .................................................... later by someone
They have postponed the tennis match and it will not take place until July
PUT

has been put off until July.

The tennis match ....................................................

Postpone = put off (phrasal verb)

A local took them to the lake
TAKEN

were taken to the lake

They .................................................... by a local.
 PASSIVE MODALS
We use modal verbs–verbs like can, could, should…–to talk about things such as ability,
possibility, permission, or obligation. And we use the passive voice to focus on the object of an
action rather than the doer of the action.

There are two ways of doing passive modals.

1. modal + be + past participle

Active Verb Passive Verb Example

can see can be seen That painting can be seen in the Louvre.
should do should be done The work should be done on time.
would sell would be sold The tickets would be sold there if possible.
might finish might be finished It might be finished by next week.
must pay must be paid Employees must be paid on the last day of the month.
has to stop has to be stopped That machine has to be stopped every night
1. modal + have been + past participle

Active Verb Passive Verb Example

could have done could have been done It could have been done by John.
should have finish should have been finished The work should have been finished
yesterday.
might have lost might have been lost It might have been lost when we were
travelling
 UOE part 4
passive modals

For questions in PART 4, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning
to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use
between two and five words, including the word given
He doesn’t work here anymore. It’s possible that he was fired.
MUST

must have been

He doesn’t work here anymore. He …………………………….fired.
You all have to finish this project by the end of this week.
HAS

has to be finished
This project …………………………….by the end of this week.
You have to find your passport or you won’t be able to travel.
HAS

has to be found or you won’t be able to travel.

Your passport ………………………..
Someone should have cleaned the house before the guests get there.
HAVE

should have been cleaned before the arrival of the guests.

The house …………………………………….
PERSONAL AND IMPERSONAL WITH
REPORTING VERBS
REPORTING OPINIONS
We use the personal and impersonal passive to express other people's opinions.
It reports what an unspecified group of people say or believe

We usually do this by using reporting verbs (including say, think, believe, know,
etc.) preceded by the dummy subject "it", as in:

It is said that….

it is thought that…

it is believed that…

etc.
 IMPERSONAL PASSIVE
STRUCTURE:
It + passive structure + that clause
(‘to be’ + past participle)

CONJUGATED

ACTIVE People believe that he lied in court

subject verb that clause

(impersonal) PASSIVE It is believed (that) he lied in court

passive structure that clause

‘to be’ verb

present p.participle
PERSONAL PASSIVE We can use the personal passive, for emphasis.
We put the emphasis on the subject.
STRUCTURE:
Subj (that clause)+ passive structure + to infinitive
(‘to be’ + past participle)

CONJUGATED

subject
ACTIVE People believe that he lied in court
subject verb that clause

(personal) PASSIVE He is believed to have lied in court

subj passive to
structure infinitive

‘to be’ verb

present p.participle
ACTIVE : People say he is English

It is said that he is English

impersonal passive: ......................................................

He is said to be English
personal passive: ......................................................
ACTIVE : People say women live longer than men.

It is said that women live longer than men

impersonal passive: ......................................................

Women are said to live longer than men.

personal passive: ......................................................
ACTIVE : People expect that taxes will be raised next year

It is expected that taxes will be raised next year

impersonal passive: ......................................................

Taxes are expected to be raised next year.

personal passive: ......................................................
 UOE part 4
passive with reporting verbs

For questions in PART 4, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning
to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use
between two and five words, including the word given
We understand she doesn’t like football.
UNDERSTOOD

understood that she doesn’t like football

It is .......................................................
It is said that children are afraid of ghosts.
ARE

are said to be afraid

Children .............................................. of ghosts.
It is said that these herbs are good for you.
ARE

are said to be good

This herbs .............................................. for you.
The police assume that the arrested man has killed three people.
ASSUMED

assumed that the arrested man

It is ................................................................has killed three people.
People say that he got married in Germany.
HAVE

to have got married in Germany

He is said ..........................................
They say he was studying very hard for his exam..
WAS

he was studying very hard for his exams.

It is said that ...................................................
CAUSATIVES
HAVE and GET
We use a causative verb when we want to talk about something that someone
else did for us.
It means that the subject caused the action to happen, but didn't do it themselves.
Maybe they paid, or asked, or persuaded the other person to do it.
Look at the next sentences:

ACTIVE I cleaned my house. (This means I cleaned it myself).

ACTIVE A cleaner cleaned my house. (This means I paid sb to do it).

CAUSATIVE I had my house cleaned (This means I paid sb to do it).

Causative is also used when someone does something to us

CAUSATIVE He had his wallet stolen (He didn’t ask sb to rob him).
HAVE vs. GET
The two most used causative verbs are have and get as.

This verb is the one conjugated. It shows the tense of the sentence.

HAVE = formal I had my bike fixed

GET = informal I got my bike fixed

Have / get something done
STRUCTURE:
Subj. + causative verb + object + past participle
(have / get)

CONJUGATED

ACTIVE The hairdresser cut her hair

subject verb object
(past)

CAUSATIVE She got her hair cut

subj object verb
(Receiver p.participle
of action)
causative
verb
conjugated to past simple
Have / get something done
STRUCTURE:
Subj. + causative verb + object + past participle
(have / get)

CONJUGATED

ACTIVE The mechanic will fix our car next week

subject verb object
(future)

CAUSATIVE We will get our car fixed next week

subj object verb
(Receiver p.participle
of action)
causative
verb
conjugated to future simple
 ACTIVE : The dentist cleaned my teeth.

I had/got my teeth cleaned

Causative: …………….......................................................
 ACTIVE : A thief stole their car.

They got/had their car stolen

Causative: …………….......................................................
 ACTIVE : A stilist is doing Lisa’s nails

Lisa is having/getting her nails done

Causative: …………….......................................................