The passive voice

CONTENTS
1. The passive
2. Passive modals
3. Causative forms
4. Auxiliary passive
5. Impersonal reporting
6. Passive infinitive and passive gerund
 USES
1. We want to focus on the action, not the people who do the action.
● Spanish Education Law has been amended.
● His father was hit by a taxi.
● The car was sold by her uncle.

2. We don’t know who exactly does the action.

● My wallet has been stolen.
● In the future, a lot of money will be spent on sending humans to Mars.
● Velcro, penicillin and the microwave were invented by accident.

3. It is obvious or understood who did the action.

● The robber has been arrested.
● My house was built ten years ago.
● The patient was treated immediately.
 PASSIVE STRUCTURE
Subject + verb + object

NASA uses these computers

Subject + to be + past participle + (by agent)

These computers are used by NASA

 Paul teaches the students.
Subject verb object

The students are taught by Paul

Subject verb object
 ACTIVE PASSIVE

Present Simple Catch(es) Am/are/is caught

Present Continuous Am/are/is catching Am/are/is being caught

Past Simple Caught Was/were caught

Present Perfect Has/have caught Has/have been caught

Future Simple Will catch Will be caught

The police caught the robber at the airport → The robber was caught at the airport.

The police have caught the robber at the airport →The robber has been caught at the airport.

The police will catch the robber at the airport → The robber will be caught at the airport.
 IMPORTANT NOTES
▪ We use “by” (+ person / thing) or “with” (+ thing) to show WHO or WHAT
does the action if this information is important.

Mr. Wang was arrested by the police officer at his factory.

The cake is covered with icing sugar.

▪ Passive form is not possible with intransitive verbs (arrive, leave, smile)
and not very typical with stative verbs (to belong, to believe, to want, to
have...:
Lou escaped from the their house ⇏ *Their house was escaped...(wrong)

I have a car ⇏ *A car is had by me (wrong)

Mary wants a new shirt ⇏ *A new shirt is wanted by Mary (wrong)

 -BY-
▪ We use “by” when:

1. New information is given by the agent: The radio was invented by Marconi.
2. The agent is not a human: Usually cars are built by robots.
3. The agent is well known:The goal was scored by Messi.

▪ We DON’T use “by” when:

1. When the agent is unknown: The dress was designed in Paris.

2. The agent is unimportant or clear: Milk is added to the batter and beaten.
3. It is better not to mention the agent: The government admitted that errors were made
during the COVID-19 pandemic.
4. To avoid repetition: Waka Waka was sung by Shakira. It was performed at the World
Cup.
PASSIVE MODALS
● It can be used in the PRESENT and PAST PERFECT TENSES.

MODAL VERBS + BE + PAST PARTICIPLE

This essay must be done quickly.

MODAL VERBS + HAVE BEEN + PAST PARTICIPLE

This essay must have been made easily.

 PASSIVE CAUSATIVE: TO HAVE/GET SOMETHING DONE

▪ We use “to have/get something done” when we ask someone else to do

something for us.

I had my car repaired.

I got my hair cut.

Notes:
● Get is slightly more informal.

● We can include the agent with by: We’ll get a family photo taken by a professional.
Passive causative: to have something done
AUXILIARY PASSIVE

With verbs with TWO OBJECTS we can use a passive construction with HAVE (but it’s
not causal).

She gave me flowers. > I was given flowers > Flowers were given to me.
> I had flowers given (to me).

They bought Sarah’s phone. > Sarah’s phone was bought.

> Sarah had her phone bought.
IMPERSONAL REPORTING

A) subject + passive of reporting verb + `to´ infinitive.

"Many animals are thought to have died".

B) It + passive of reporting verb + that + clause.

Some reporting verbs can be made impersonal with the personal pronoun it and the
passive voice when the agent (the doer) of the action is unimportant, unknown or
obvious.

-It is thought that many animals have died.

IMPERSONAL REPORTING

USED VERBS:
believe, calculate, claim, consider, discover, estimate, expect, feel, guess, hope, know, prove,
report,rumour,say, show, think or understand.

INFINITIVE FORMS:

1) Simple: To read (leer).

2) Continuous: To be reading (estar leyendo).

3) Perfect: To have read (haber leído)

4) Perfect continuous: To have been reading (haber estado leyendo)

Reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbpAP2Eeqs0
PASSIVE INFINITIVE AND PASSIVE GERUND
The passive gerund in present
● I remember being taken to the hospital.
● I hate being spoken to as if I’m a child.

The passive gerund in past

● He showed no signs of having been warned.
● The notice, having been written in small letters, was not clearly visible.
PASSIVE INFINITIVE AND PASSIVE GERUND
CHECK THE DIFFERENCE:

→ He denied being married. (the passive gerund being refers to the same time as denied: He denied
that he was married.)

→ He denied having been married. (the perfect gerund having been refers to a time before denied: He
denied that he had been married.)

→ He complained of having been unjustly accused. (passive perfect gerund: He complained that they
had unjustly accused him.)ñ
PASSIVE INFINITIVE AND PASSIVE GERUND
INFINITIVE
Passive perfect infinitive: to have + been + past participle

● This sonnet seems to have been written by Shakespeare. (passive perfect infinitive)
● Luis is driving around in a new car. He appears to have been given a raise.
● Luis is lucky to have been given a raise. I don’t know how he still has a job.
● They are believed to be lovers. (=now)
● They are believed to have been lovers. (=in the past)
● She is thought to be living in Brussels. (=now)
● She is thought to have been living in Brussels (=from the past till now)
PRACTICE