Passive Voice

Part 1

Passive Voice
We use this form:
When the doer is unknown or not
important.
To focus on the action rather than on the
doer.
When we write in formal contexts.

October 20,
2014

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Passive Voice: Examples

The patient was released about a week
ago.
The class was repainted about three
months ago.
We are not required to go to church every
Sunday.
Students are not allowed to bring mobile
phones.
The new Preschool will be used soon.
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October 20,
2014

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Passive Voice: Form

Passive voice constructions have the following
elements:
The patient was released about a week ago.
subject

BE+verb in past participle

* Where BE is the part of the verb that carries the

TENSE:
The patient will be released in a week.
The patient cannot be released until this Friday.
The patients are released every Friday after noon.
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October 20,
2014

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Passive Voice from Active Voice

When you change voice, DO NOT change the tense.
Present remains present, future remains future, etc.
A janitor cleans (present) this class every day
This class is cleaned (present passive) every day.
The teachers will correct (future) our exams in a week.
Our exams will be corrected (future passive) in a week.
Adele has released (present perfect) a new album
A new album has been released (present perfect
passive) by Adele.
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October 20,
2014

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Passive Voice from Active Voice (2)

Pay attention to negatives:
The janitor does not clean this class every
day
This class is not cleaned every day.
The teacher didnt correct our exams last
Monday.
Our exams were not corrected last Monday.

October 20,
2014

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Still confused?

October 20,
2014

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Passive Voice from Active Voice YOUR TURN

In your notebooks, change these sentences to passive voice:
1. Pollution affects the environment in many ways.
2. The greenhouse effect causes serious climate changes
around the globe.
3. Most countries ratified the Kyoto Protocol in November
2001.
4. Leonardo DiCaprio listed several environmental issues in
his Earth Day speech.
5. People are using too much freshwater nowadays.
6. Some farmers are overusing chemicals in their crops
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October 20,
2014

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CONTINUED
7. Europe was consuming too much oil when the economic crisis broke
out.
8. Environmentalists were saving endangered species after the oil spill.
9. Climate changes have caused the rise of temperature in many areas.
10.Deforestation has destroyed some rainforest ecosystems.
11.In the 19th century scientists still had not invented the hydrogen
technology.
12.Global warming will affect specific regions in different ways.
13.The discovery of a cheap and non-polluting car would improve the
world economy.
14.Genetic engineering can pose serious threats.

October 20,
2014

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CONTINUED
15.People should separate all household waste.
16.Factories mustnt dump toxic chemicals into rivers and
lakes.
17.Factories might decrease chemical discharges if they
wanted.
18.Pollution is going to contaminate all our drinking water.
19.A hybrid gas-electric car is going to solve many
economic and environmental problems.
20.Many factories in Arequipa pollute our air and water.

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October 20,
2014

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MORE
Now, try these more challenging ones:
1. They have installed an extra large refrigerator so that
they can keep the new additional supplies of food
fresh.
2. They feed the seals at the zoo twice a day, but they
wont feed them but once this week.
3. Anyone with the smallest intelligence could understand
the instructions the head principal gave last Friday.
4. Children couldnt have done all this damage if a
teacher had supervised them.
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October 20,
2014

G. Castelo