THE PASSIVE VOICE

FORM

•TO BE + PAST PARTICIPLE of the main

verb
•A cake is made (by Laura).
•A cake was made (by Laura).
•A cake has been made (by Laura).
•A cake will be made (by Laura).
 Active to passive: three necessary steps
• 1. The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the
passive sentence
• 2. The verb to be takes the form of the main verb in the active
sentence
• 3. The main verb takes the Past Participle form
• (the subject of the active sentence is either omitted or put at the end
of the sentence following the preposition ‘by’)
 Examples

• A: Laura makes a cake.

• P: A cake is made (by Laura).
• A: Laura is making a cake.
• P: A cake is being made (by Laura).
• A: Laura has made a cake.
• P: A cake has been made (by Laura).
 Examples

• A: Laura made a cake.

• A cake was made (by Laura).
• Laura was making a cake.
• A cake was being made (by Laura).
• Laura had made a cake.
• A cake had been made (by Laura).
 Examples
• A: Laura is going to make a cake.
• P: A cake is going to be made by Laura.
• A: Laura will make a cake.
• P: A cake will be made by Laura.
• A: Laura will have made a cake.
• P: A cake will have been made by Laura.
 Examples

• A: Laura can/could make a cake.

• P: A cake can/could be made by Laura.
• A: Laura may/might make a cake.
• P: A cake may/might be made by Laura.
• A: Laura must/has to make a cake.
• P: A cake must/has to be made by Laura.
 Two objects (direct & indirect) in active
sentences
• A: Henry gave Claire some flowers.
• P: Claire was given some flowers by Henry.
• P: Some flowers were given to Claire by Henry.
• A: Somebody gave the police the information.
• P: The police were given information.
• P: The information was given to the police.
• (ask, give, offer, pay, show, teach, tell)
 Use
• If the doer of the action is not known:
• His brother was hurt in the demonstrations.
• If mentioning of the doer of the action is
considered unnecessary:
• The streets are cleaned every night.
• Two men have been arrested in the town centre.
 Use:
• If the doer of the action is considered
unimportant or indefinite (somebody,
something, everybody, people, all, they, etc.)
• This photograph was taken during the incident.
• Athletes are admired for their achievements.
 Use:
• Indefinite subject can be replaced with ‘it’ – impersonal passive form
• It is believed that the tourists were captured.
• It is claimed that smoking causes cancer.
• It is said that they are getting married next week.
• Or personal passive voice form:
• The tourists are believed to have been captured.
• Smoking is claimed to cause cancer.
• They are said to be getting married next week.
 Use:
• To emphasise the object of the active sentence:
• The photo was taken by one of the tourists.
• Football is played all over the world.
• I was offered the job, but I refused it.
• You will be given plenty of time to decide.
• The men were paid 400 pounds to do the job.
 Use:
• More often used in English than in Serbian; used more in written than in
spoken language, especially in reports/books (industry, science,
technology, rules etc.)
• Solar energy can be used for heating.
• Water is heated to boiling point.
• The offer was rejected due to the low price.
• Litter must be put in a bin.
• A number of people have been arrested in connection with the robbery.
• The conference will be held in Brussels next month.
 I was born… (always in Past Simple Tense)

• Where were you born?

• I was born in Nis.
• Where was he born?
• He was born in Novi Sad.
 ‘be’ can be replaced by ‘get’ (not always)
• There was a fight at the party, but nobody was hurt.
• There was a fight at the party, but nobody got hurt.
• My friend isn’t often invited to parties.
• My friend doesn’t get invited to parties very often. (action
verbs)
• BUT:
• Jill is liked by everybody.
• * Jill gets liked by everybody. (cannot be said, state verb)
 ‘get’ in fixed expressions – no passive
meaning
• get dressed, get changed, get lost, get married,
get divorced…
• She woke up and got dressed quickly.
• They got lost because they didn’t have a map.
• They are getting married next month.
• They got divorced two years ago.
The same translation into Serbian in the following examples:

• He is called George.
• They were all drowned.
• We were lost in the woods.
• Hoses were made of wood at the time.
 Have something done – similar to passive form
• Lisa painted her house. (She did it.)
• Lisa had her house painted. (Somebody else did
it.)
• S + HAVE + OBJECT + PAST PARTICIPLE
 Examples
• My friend had her hair cut, but she doesn’t like
it.
• Our neighbor had just had a garage built.
• We are having the house painted at the
moment.
• I think you should have that coat cleaned.
• I don’t like having my photograph taken.