THE PASSIVE VOICE

1 Forming passive verbs

Forming passive verbs: to make a verb passive, use a form ‘to be’ (e.g., am, is,
are, was, were, has been, have been, will be) and the past participle of the main
verb (e.g., mailed, corrected, taught, surprised).

Study passive verb forms:

ACTIVE PASSIVE
(be + past participle)
Dr. Gray helps Tom. Tom is helped by Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray is helping Tom. Tom is being helped by Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray has helped Tom. Tom has been helped by Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray helped Tom. Tom was helped by Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray was helping Tom. Tom was being helped by Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray had helped Tom. Tom had been helped by Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray is going to help Tom. Tom is going to be helped by Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray will help Tom. Tom will be helped by Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray can help Tom. Tom can be helped by Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray should help Tom. Tom should be helped by Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray ought to help Tom. Tom ought to be helped by Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray must help Tom. Tom must be helped by Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray has to help Tom. Tom has to be helped by Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray may help Tom. Tom may be helped by Dr. Gray.
Dr. Gray might help Tom. Tom might be helped by Dr. Gray.

Exercise 120. Change the sentences from active to passive.

1. The headmaster signed the letter yesterday morning.

2. Our secretary checks the mail every morning.
3. The committee is considering that proposal right now.
4. My cat didn’t kill the neighbor’s bird.
5. Help! A dog is biting the jogger.
6. Our Department will complete that project next year.
7. Will the company distribute the announcements?
8. An artist wrote that interesting article about London.
9. His boss has already transferred him to another department.
10. Nowadays a large number of people speak English language.
11. Didn’t they return those books to the library?
12. The Government hasn’t changed that regulation yet.
13. Miss Peters wrote all of the reports for Mr. Johnson.
14. Bad weather has delayed Flight 202 from Chicago.
15. Many scholars have translated that famous Greek epic.

2. Transitive and intransitive verbs

A transitive verb is a verb that is followed by an object:
Active Passive
S V O
a) Bob mailed the letter. The letter was mailed by Bob.
b) Mr. Lee signed the check. The check was signed by Mr. Lee.
c) They have written a composition A composition has been written by
them.

An intransitive verb is a verb that is not followed by an object:

Active Passive
S V
a) An accident happened.
b) James came to my party. not possible
c) I slept well last night.

Exercise 121. Change the sentences into passive if possible.

1. Jack walked to school yesterday. ___________________________________

2. We stayed in a hotel. ____________________________________________
3. Sam has broken the window. ______________________________________
4. The leaves fell to the ground. ______________________________________
5. I slept at my friend’s house last night. _______________________________
6. The Adams are going to go to the seaside. _____________________________
7. The second baseman caught the ball. __________________________________
8. That book belongs to me. ___________________________________________
9. The airplane arrived twenty minutes late. _______________________________
10. The lecturer announced a quiz. _______________________________________
11. I agree with George. _______________________________________________
12. Do you agree with me? _____________________________________________
13. Dick went to the doctor’s office. _____________________________________
14. Many people saw the accident. _______________________________________
15. An accident happened at the corner of the street. _________________________

8.3. Using the “by phrase”

The “by phrase” is used in passive sentences when it is important to know who
performs an action:
This sweater was made by my aunt.

The “by phrase” is not used when it is not known or not important to know
exactly who performs an action:
That sweater was made in Korea. (by someone)
Spanish is spoken in Columbia. (by people)
That house was built in 1940. (by someone)
Rice is grown in many countries. (by people)

Exercise 122. Change the sentences from active to passive. Include the “by
phrase” only if necessary.

1. Mr. Smith built that house twenty years ago.

2. Do people speak Spanish in Peru?
3. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
4. When did someone invent the wheel?
5. People sell hammers at a hardware store.
6. People use hammers to pound nails.
7. The president of our company cancelled the meeting.
8. Someone has cancelled the soccer game.
9. Charles Darwin wrote ‘The Origin of Species’.
10. Someone serves beer and wine at that restaurant.
11. Has anyone ever hypnotized you?
12. Something confused me in the class yesterday.
13. Something embarrassed me yesterday.
14. Someone has changed the name of that street.
15. Someone established Red Cross in 1864.
16. When did someone establish this school?
17. No one will collect the garbage tomorrow.
18. Did my directions confuse you?
19. My grandmother made that table.
20. People held the 2008 Summer Olympics in China.

Exercise 123. Change the sentences from active to passive. Include the “by
phrase” only if it contains important information.

1. Jane is reading this novel. _________________________________________

2. Someone is building a new house on Elm Street.
_______________________________________________________________
3. Mr. Smith Construction Company is building a new sky-scraper in our residential
area. ______________________________________________________________
4. We can’t use our study-room today, because someone is painting it.
_______________________________________________________________
5. The students couldn’t use the language lab yesterday because someone was fixing
the equipment. ______________________________________________________
6. Someone is repairing our TV in the sitting-room.
________________________________________________________________
7. Someone is organizing a student trip to the art museum.
_______________________________________________________________
8. A doctor can prescribe necessary medicine to you.
________________________________________________________________
9. Mr. Hook must sign this report. _______________________________________
10. People cannot sell beer to minors. _____________________________________
11. Someone has to send this letter by special delivery. ________________________
12. All of the students must do the assignment. ______________________________
13. For the best results, people should plant potatoes in early June.
_________________________________________________________________
14. The secretary has already typed the letters. She typed them yesterday.
_________________________________________________________________
15. People have to place stamps in the upper right-hand corner of an envelope.
_________________________________________________________________

Exercise 124. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb (active or
passive) in parentheses.
1. Yesterday our lecturer __________ (arrive) five minutes late.
2. Our mail __________ (deliver) before noon every day.
3. The morning papers _________ (read) by over 200, 000 people every day.
4. That’s not my coat. It __________ (belong) to Louise.
5. Everyone __________ (shock) by the terrible news yesterday.
6. Last night my TV program _________ (interrupt) by a special news bulletin.
7. Almost everyone _________ (enjoy) the lecture last night.
8. Mr. Harris __________ (divide) the class into two sections tomorrow.
9. The letter “b” in the word “comb” __________ (pronounce, not). It is silent.
10. Mr. Wilson ___________ (borrow) the money from me two weeks ago.
11. No much __________ (say) about the matter since that time.
12. When I ___________ (arrive) at the airport yesterday, I _________ (meet) by my
cousin and a couple of her friends.
13. A new house __________ (build) next to ours next year.
14. Radium ___________ (discover) by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898.
15. A: ___________ (you, pay) your electric bill yet?
B: No, I haven’t, but I’d better pay it today. If I don’t, my electricity
___________ (cut off) by the power company.
Exercise 125. Use the correct voice (active or passive) and the correct tense of the
verb in parentheses.
1. English _________ (teach) in the secondary schools of almost every nation.
2. That proposal __________ (consider) by the experts right now.
3. The accident __________ (happen) right here at 6:30 last night.
4. This letter _________ (have to mail) today. It’s important.
5. Ms. Johnson __________ (teach) at our University since 2004.
6. A second coat of paint ___________ (spread) over the surface tomorrow.
7. My friend __________ (write) to me about it several times now.
8. Davis __________ (promote) to the rank of sergeant last week.
9. Listen to this! I think this news __________ (surprise) you!
10. These letters _________ (can mail) at the corner. There’s a mailbox there.
11. That event __________ (occur) shortly after the meeting last week.
12. All the students ___________ (bring) guests to the party tomorrow night.
13. Millions of people ___________ (visit) Stonehenge every year.
14. Less than half of the cans of paint __________ (use) up to now.
15. A new textbook __________ (publish) by that company next year.

Exercise 127. Use the correct voice (active or passive) and the correct tense of the
verb in parentheses.

A. Thieves brake in at the Royal Gallery

Last night thieves ________1 (break into) the Royal Gallery and ________2
(get away) with paintings worth over a quarter of a million pounds. The break-in
_______3 (happen) around 11:00 o’clock in the evening, but _______4 (discover,
not) until the early hours of the morning. At present it _______5 (know, not) how
the thieves _______6 (get into) the building, though a security guard _______7
(help) the police with their enquiries.

B. Ship goes down at sea near the Sussex coast.

A ship _______1 (go down) at sea off the south coast of England following
an explosion in its engine room. The ship ________2 (carry) a cargo of wood and
_______3 (head) for Liverpool. The fire _______4 (spread) rapidly and _______5
soon (be out of control). However, all the crew _______6 (pick up) safely by the
rescue services.

C. Three men break out of Brixton prison

Three men _______1 (break out) of Brixton prison this morning. They
_______2 (overpower) a prison officer and _______3 (escape) by climbing over the
wall. They _______4 (see) making off in a red car that _______5 (wait) for them
outside the prison. One of the men _______6 (pick up) later by the police, but the
other two men ________7 (be) still on the run. Police _______8 (warn) the public not
to approach these men, as they may _______9 (arm) and dangerous.

D. Severe weather cuts off towns in the north

Severe weather conditions in the north of England _______1 (cut off) several
towns and villages. Many roads _______2 (be) impassable due to heavy falls of
snow. Supplies of food _______3 (flow) into some villages by helicopter.