THE PASSIVE VOICE

Active Voice

 In an active voice sentence, the subject (the

one who does the action in the sentence) is
clearly stated as the subject. The thing that
the subject does something to (the direct
object) comes after the verb.

 Subject-Verb-Object
Examples

 Kathy wrote an essay.

 Carly made an apple pie.
Examples

 Kathy wrote an essay.

 Carly made an apple pie.

 The subject of the sentence performs the action.

Passive Voice
 In a passive voice sentence, the thing that
the subject does something to is placed as
the subject of the sentence.

 The subject (the one who does the action) is

placed after the subject, usually in a
prepositional phrase. Sometimes the subject
is hidden or not even mentioned.
Examples
 An essay was written by Amy.

 Where is the subject?

 An essay was written.

 Where is the subject?

Why use the passive voice?
Why do we use the passive voice?

 When the receiver of the action is more

important than the subject.

 Active: The ELC gave a scholarship to Deborah.

 Passive: Deborah was given a scholarship by
the ELC.

 Where is the emphasis in these sentences?

What is the form of the passive?
 In the passive, the object of an active verb becomes the
subject of the passive verb.

 be + past participle

 Active: Freddie ate a sandwich.

 Passive: The sandwich was eaten by Freddie

 Notice that the subject of the active verb follows by in the passive
sentence. This noun is called the “agent.”
 Wh e n d o w e u s e i t ?
When the agent is unknown
Flats are sold
Anne was given a kiss
When the agent is not important

The house can be visited between 8 and 14.

When we want to give importance to the object of the active
voice
America was discovered in 1942 by Columbus
The passive is used more in writing and formal speech, such
as public information (rules, signs, brochures …) and media
reports.

Cycling is not permitted in this area.

Bookings can be made online.
 HOW TO FORM
PASSIVE VOICE
Someone cleans the streets every day

The streets are cleaned every day

VERB CHANGES: TO BE + PAST PARTICIPLE

(same verbal tense of the active sentence)

Columbus discovered America in 1492

America was discovered by Columbus in 1492

 VERB CHANGES: TO BE + PAST PARTICIPLE
(same verbal tense of the active sentence)

We have elected a new President

A new President has been elected (by us)

They are playing the match on Saturday

The match is being played on Saturday (by them)


If the object is a pronoun, make sure to change it to a subject pronoun:
me  I him  he her  she them  they us  we
I bought him a present.
He was bought a present.
 TENSE ACTIVE PASSIVE
Present Simple I make a cake A cake is made
(am/is/are) + past participle
Present Contin. I’m making a cake A cake is being made.
(am/is/are being) + past
participle
Past Simple I made a cake. A cake was made.
(was/were) + past
participle
Past Continuous I was making a cake. A cake was being made.
(was/were being) + past
participle
Present Perfect I have made a cake A cake has been made.
(have/has been) + past
participle
Past Perfect I had made a cake. A cake had been made.
(had been) + past
participle
Future Simple I will make a cake. A cake will be made. (will
be) + past participle
 Never use (do, does or did) with the
passive voice.
They didn’t sell all the tickets for the concert.
All the tickets weren’t sold.

We do not give lessons on public holidays.

Lessons are not given on public holidays.
 If there is a preposition with the verb,
do not forget it.

Sue looks after the children.


The children are looked after by Sue
 OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER

 When you also want to mention the person or people that did the
action use by.

“The new art exhibition was opened by the Queen.”

 VERBS WITH TWO OBJECTS
bring, give, ask, pay, sell, offer, owe, show, tell, send, lend, leave,
promise, take, teach, throw, write

They gave Susan a prize.

Susan was given a prize.
A prize
If the was
verb has two given
objects, to Susan.
we usually use the person as the subject
in the passive.

No one gave me any directions.

I wasn’t given any directions.
 Using the Passive and Modal
Verbs

 Using the Passive

 The Passive Form of Modals and Phrasal

Modals

 Common Non-Progressive Passive Verbs +

Prepositions
Using the Passive
 Usually the passive is used without by-phrase. The
passive is most frequently used when it is not known
or not important to know exactly who performs an
action.
 Example: The sweater was made in Taiwan.
 If the speaker knows who performs an action, usually
the active is used.
 Example: My sister made this sweater.
 However, the speaker can choose to use the passive
with a by-phrase when they know who performed the
action to emphasize the subject of a sentence.
 Example: This sweater was made by my sister.
Modal Verbs

 can  might

 could  must

 will  should

 would  ought to

 may  supposed to
The Passive Form of Modals and
Phrasal Modals

 Passive Form:

 Modal + be + past participle

 Past-passive Form:

 Modal + have been+ past participle