PASSIVE

VOICE
 CONTENT SLIDE(S)
1. Lead-in 3
1.1. Междупредметна връзка: видове залози в българската и английската граматика 4
1.2. Пряко и непряко допълнение 5
1.3. Before we start... 6
7
1.3.1. Transitive/ intransitive verbs 8
1.3.2. Transitive verbs 9
1.3.3. Transitive verbs with both direct and indirect objects
2. Passive voice: usage 10-11
3. Passive voice: word order 12-13
4. Passive voice: formulation 14-15
4.1. Examples 16
5. Special cases in forming the passive voice 17
5.1. Средни (медиални) глаголи 18
5.2. Phrasal and prepositional verbs 19
5.3. (Im)personal passive constructions 20
5.4. Tenses in personal passive constructions 21
5.5. Transformations with (im)personal passive constructions 22
6. Rules to remember 23-24
Lead-in
Lead-in
 Междупредметна връзка:
видове залози в българската и английската граматика
 Залогът изразява отношението на глаголното лице към глаголното действие т.е. дали
глаголното лице върши или търпи действието. В зависимост от това отношение, глаголната
форма е:

 в деятелен (активен) залог, ако подлогът е извършител на действието или,

 в страдателен (пасивен) залог, ако подлогът не е извършител на действието.

Пример: Учениците посетиха музея. Деятелен залог

Музеят бе посетен от учениците. Страдателен залог

 Само преходните глаголи (т.е. тези, които изискват допълнение) могат да бъдат използвани в
страдателен залог!
 Пряко и непряко допълнение
 Допълнението е второстепенна част на изречението, която означава лице или предмет, пряко или
непряко засегнат от глаголното действие.

 Допълнението пояснява сказуемото в изречението и е част от групата на сказуемото.

 Допълнението отговаря на въпросите кого?, какво?, като към тези въпроси могат да бъдат
добавяни предлози (с кого, с какво, от кого, от какво и т.н.):

 Как откриваме прякото допълнение? - Какво/ кого + сказуемото + подлога = пряко

допълнение
Например: Какво получих вчера от Иван? – Покана.

 Как откриваме непрякото допълнение? – Предлог + какво/ кого + сказуемото + подлога =

непряко допълнение
Например: С кого излезе на разходка тя? – С приятели.
 Before we start...
 Voice: active & passive

 Main difference:
Active voice: the subject is the doer of the action
Passive voice: the subject is not the doer of the action

 Passive voice structure: be + past participle + by

 Only transitive verbs can have passive voice!

Voice - залог
Active/ passive voice – Деятелен/ страдателен залог
Direct object (Od) - пряко допълнение Voice is another tricky
Indirect object (Oi) – непряко допълнение homograph meaning:
The doer of the action – извършителят на действието 1) глас, 2) залог
 Transitive/ intransitive verbs
 A transitive verb is followed by an object:
She sells seashells.*

 By contrast, an intransitive verb doesn't take an object:

She sat there quietly.

Note that intransitive verbs cannot be put into the passive! Such verbs include:
arrive, come, die, exist, go, happen, live, occur, sleep, etc.

 Many verbs, however, can have both transitive and intransitive functions, so we
should be very careful when using them.

Transitive verb - преходен глагол (изисква допълнение)

Intransitive verb - непреходен глагол (няма допълнение)
* Тongue twister - скоропоговорка
 Transitive verbs

A transitive verb is one that is used with an object: a noun, phrase, or

pronoun that refers to the person or thing that is affected by the action of the verb.

In the following sentences, admire, maintain, face, and love are transitive verbs:
I admire your courage.
We need to maintain product quality.
I couldn’t face him today.
She loves animals.
 Transitive verbs
with both direct and indirect objects
 Some transitive verbs can take a direct object and an indirect object:

Give Pat gave me a book.

Buy Can I buy you a drink?
Pass Paul passed her a cup of coffee.
Make Shall I make us some lunch?
Sell Jenny was trying to sell me her car.
Take We took Maria some flowers and wine.
Show Show me your holiday photos.
Offer The company has offered him a job.
Leave Leave me a message and I’ll get back to you.
Wish Everyone wished us all the best.
Lend Could you lend me £20?
Cost Ben’s mistake cost him his job.
 Passive
Passive
voice:usage
voice: usage
In general, you‘d better use the active voice. In some cases, though, passive voice can be perfectly acceptable:

 The doer is unknown:

The cave paintings were made in the Stone Age. [we don’t know who made them]
 The doer is irrelevant:
An experimental solar power plant will be built in the Australian desert.
[We are not interested in who is building it.]
 The doer is implied: [teacher student; builder building; doctor patient, etc...]
This church was built in the 13th century.
 You want to be vague about who is responsible:
Mistakes were made. [common in bureaucratic writing!]
 You are talking about a general truth:
Rules are made to be broken. [by whomever, whenever...]
 You want to emphasize the person or thing acted on:
His best friend has been expelled from school for bullying his peers.
Insulin was first discovered in 1921 by researchers at the University of Toronto.
The Covered bridge in Lovech was built by Kolyo Ficheto.
 You are writing in a scientific genre that traditionally relies on passive voice, such as lab reports or
scientific research papers:
The sodium hydroxide was dissolved in water. This solution was then titrated with hydrochloric acid.
(Натриевият хидроксид беше разтвoрен във вода. След това този разтвор беше титруван със солна
киселина.)
Passivevoice:
Passive voice:
wordorder
word order
 Word order
be + past participle + by

The (in)direct object of the active voice becomes the grammar subject in the passive voice sentence.
It is then followed by the auxiliary verb be (conjugated in the same tense as the verb in the active
voice) + the past participle of the main verb in the active voice + by (oт). Note that in a passive
sentence, we often omit the doer of the action completely.
Active voice:
Jane sent him an invitation. him – Oi (непряко допълнение На кого?)
an invitation – Od (пряко допълнение Какво?)
Passive voice:
1. An invitation was sent to him by Jane.
2. He was sent an invitation by Jane.

him He
Passivevoice:
Passive voice:
formulation
formulation
 Formulation:
Formulation:
be++past
be pastparticiple
participle++by
by
 Тhe auxiliary verb be should be conjugated in the same tense as the verb in the active voice. It
is translated into Bulgarian which makes it easier to understand the passive structure:

Pronouns Present Past Future Future in Present Past Future Future Present Past Modality;
Simple Simple Simple the past Perfect Perfect Perfect Perfect in continuous continuous be going to
the past
I am was will be would be have been had been will have would have am being was being can be/ can‘t have been
been been could be/ have been
You are were will be would be have been had been will have would have are being were being must be/ have been
been been may be/ have been
He, she, it is was will be would be has been had been will have would have is being was being might be/ have been
should be/ have been
been been have/ has to be
We, you, are were will be would be have been had been will have would have are being were being need (to) be
they been been am (are, is) going to be
 Examples:

1. After the earthquake, aid was sent to the people of Haiti.

2. The electricity was cut off because the bill hadn’t been paid.
3. Penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928.
4. Statements are being taken from all the witnesses at this moment.
5. Whales must be protected by an international ban on whaling.
6. Both weddings were catered by Good Taste.
7. A Picasso was stolen from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
8. Was this washing machine made in Germany?
9. Tea is grown in China.
10. When we reached the airport, we found that all the flights had been cancelled due to the storm.
11. The fax won’t be sent until tomorrow morning.
12. The soundtrack of a movie is always added after the filming is finished.
 SpecialCases
Special Cases
in
in
FormingPassive
Forming Passive
Voice
Voice
 Средни (медиални) глаголи
 Характерно за тези глаголи в българския език е, че действието е свързано със самия субект като
негов носител, ограничено е в полето на субекта, не излиза извън него и затова тези глаголи са
задължително непреходни. Средните глаголи  са получени в резултат на словообразуване; при
тях се и си са словообразователни форманти, лишени повече или по-малко от значение, но
превръщащи глагола в непреходен. Средните глаголи обикновено  нямат форми със
страдателно причастие.

 В тази категория попадат глаголи, в които глаголното лице е неодушевен обект, който е засегнат от
някакво действие. Причинителят не е представен, поради което засегнатият обект се представя като
псевдодеятел: Прозорецът се затвори; Чашата се счупи... В тази група глаголите се образуват
само със се.
И ако такива изречения са в деятелен залог на български език,
то в английския език те са в страдателен залог!

Сравнете: Млякото се вари. Деятелен залог

The milk is being boiled. Страдателен залог

ННнНапример:
 Phrasal and prepositional verbs

Where do prepositions in passive sentences go?

When we put an active sentence, where a preposition follows after the verb (e.g. break into, look
after, listen to), into passive – the preposition remains immediately after the verb. Compare:

Active voice: They arrived at a decision.

Passive voice: A decision was arrived at.

Active sentence Passive sentence

My neighbours have broken into the pet shop.
Kate looked after their baby.
Someone is shouting at the man.
They were listening to music.
The pet shop has been broken into by my
neighbours.
Their baby was looked after by Kate.
The man is being shouted at.
Music was being listened to.
 (Im)personal passive constructions
 Common verbs used in impersonal passive forms:
say, think, report, agree, allege, announce, assume, believe, calculate, claim, consider, declare, discover,
estimate, expect, find, know, mention, propose, recommend, rumour, show, suppose, suggest, understand, etc.

 Options: People say... = They say... = It is said... = Someone/ Something is said ... ( Говори се, че...)

 Active: People believe that he lied in court.

They believe that he lied in court.

Passive: 1. It is believed (that) he lied in court. (impersonal)

It + passive + that-clause
2. He is believed to have lied in court. (personal)
Subject + passive + to-infinitive

 Examples: Active voice: People claimed that the terrorist was living abroad.
They claimed that the terrorist was living abroad.
Passive voice: It was claimed that the terrorist was living abroad.
The terrorist was claimed to have been living abroad. НнНапример:
 Tenses
in personal passive constructions
Present active:
People believe that Mr Brown owns a lot of land in the north.
Present personal passive construction:
Mr Brown is believed to own a lot of land in the north.

Future active:
People expect that a new law will be introduced next year.
Future personal passive construction:
A new law is expected to be introduced next year.

Past active:
People believed that Mr Brown owned a lot of land in the north.
They thought that the prisoners had escaped.
Past personal passive construction:
Mr Brown was believed to have owned a lot of land in the north.
The prisoners were thought to have escaped.НнНапример:
 Transformations
with (im)personal passive constructions
Paraphrase the following sentences:
It is believed that the thieves have left the country.
The fire was reported to have started by accident.
He is known to be making a lot of money.
It is expected that they will arrive in time for dinner.
She was said to have known a lot about gardening.
It is thought that he will be attending the meeting.
It is believed that we are able to win the competition.
The company is thought to be making a big profit.
It is reported that the government has reached a decision.
It is said that they were responsible for the damage.
She is expected to break the world record.
He is known to have several foreign bank accounts.
They are reported to have financial problems.
It is said that this orchestra is the best in the world.
Transformation:
The thieves are believed to have left the country.
It was reported that the fire had started by accident.
It is known that he is making a lot of money.
They are expected to arrive in time for dinner.
It was said that she knew (had known) a lot about gardening.
He is thought to be attending the meeting.
We are believed to be able to win the competition.
It is thought that the company is making a big profit.
The government is reported to have reached a decision.
They are said to have been responsible for the damage.
It is expected that she will break the world record.
It is known that he has several foreign bank accounts.
It is reported that they have financial problems.
This orchestra is said to be the best in the world.
 Rulesto
Rules to
remember
remember
1. Avoid overusing the passive voice; with the active voice, your writing is clearer and
less complicated;
2. Remember the formula: be + past participle + by;
3. Follow strictly the word order; remember that the object (Od or Oi) of the active
voice becomes the subject of the passive voice;
4. Object pronouns (me, you, him, her, it, us, them) have to be replaced with personal
pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) as the subjects in the passive sentenses;
3. When we know who the subject is, we put it at the end of the sentence with by. We call
this an agent. More often than not, we omit it completely;
4. Be careful with phrasal and prepositional verbs; if you omit the preposition, no one
will be happy with the final result;
5. If you want to master (im)personal passive structures, you‘d better learn the
various types of infinitives in English;
6. Never forget to double check the subject-verb agreement (съгласуване на подлог
и сказуемо)! Sometimes the agreement is different when you transform a sentence
from the active voice into the passive, and vice versa!
For example:
Active voice: Jane was making some pancakes.
Passive voice: Some pancakes were being made by Jane.
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Ekzarh Yossif I
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Created by:

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Senior English teacher

daisy63b@gmail.com  
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