PRESENT SIMPLE

PASSIVE VOICE

am/is/are + past participle

Do these sentences have the same meaning?

• What’s the difference?

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 Peter Pan invites Wendy to Neverland.
Wendy is invited to Neverland by Peter Pan.
The secretary answers the phone calls.

Phone calls are answered by the secretary.

She applies lipstick.
Lipstick is applied.
 Tomas feeds the hens.

Hens are fed by Tomas..

 Carol garnishes the cake.
The cake is garnished by Carol.
 Polly hangs the jeans.

The jeans are hung by Polly.

 Jerry kicks Tom.
Tom is kicked by Jerry.
 The puppeteer makes puppets.
Puppets are made by the puppeteer.
 Marina navigates the ship.
The ship is navigated by Marina.
Summary
 In an active sentence the subject always precedes the action (verb).

S+P+O
 In a passive sentence the object becomes the subject i.e. the one that is
acted upon.
 The predicate (verb) consists of the verb to be and the past participle of the
main verb.
 If necessary, you can use ‘by’ to say who or what is responsible for the
action.
 It is often used when we do not know or care who performs the action.

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