Passive
Voice
Passive
Voice
Passive
voice sentences the subject is subject to the action of the verb, or phrase
that describes what happens to the subject of the sentence, while the active
sentence is a sentence that states the subject of the sentence does what.
Use
of Passive
Passive voice is used when the focus
is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is
performing the action.
Example: My bike was stolen.
In the example above, the focus is
on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.
Sometimes a statement in passive is
more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:
Example: A mistake was made.
In this case, I focus on the fact
that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone .
Form
of Passive
Example: A letter was written.
When rewriting active sentences in
passive voice, note the following:
- the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
- the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
- the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)
Examples
of Passive
|
Tense
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Object
|
|
|
Simple
Present
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
writes
|
a
letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A
letter
|
is
written
|
by
Rita.
|
|
|
Simple
Past
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
wrote
|
a
letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A
letter
|
was
written
|
by
Rita.
|
|
|
Present
Perfect
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
has
written
|
a
letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A
letter
|
has
been written
|
by
Rita.
|
|
|
Future
I
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
will
write
|
a
letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A
letter
|
will
be written
|
by
Rita.
|
|
|
Hilfsverben
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
can
write
|
a
letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A
letter
|
can
be written
|
by
Rita.
|
|
Examples
of Passive
|
Tense
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Object
|
|
|
Present
Progressive
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
is
writing
|
a
letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A
letter
|
is
being written
|
by
Rita.
|
|
|
Past
Progressive
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
was
writing
|
a
letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A
letter
|
was
being written
|
by
Rita.
|
|
|
Past
Perfect
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
had
written
|
a
letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A
letter
|
had
been written
|
by
Rita.
|
|
|
Future
II
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
will
have written
|
a
letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A
letter
|
will
have been written
|
by
Rita.
|
|
|
Conditional
I
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
would
write
|
a
letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A
letter
|
would
be written
|
by
Rita.
|
|
|
Conditional
II
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
would
have written
|
a
letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A
letter
|
would
have been written
|
by
Rita.
|
|
Passive
Sentences with Two Objects
Rewriting an active sentence with
two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects becomes the
subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform into a
subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Object
1
|
Object
2
|
|
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
wrote
|
a
letter
|
to
me.
|
|
Passive:
|
A
letter
|
was
written
|
to
me
|
by
Rita.
|
|
Passive:
|
I
|
was
written
|
a
letter
|
by
Rita.
|
.
As you can see in the examples,
adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. That’s why it is usually
dropped.
Personal
and Impersonal Passive
Personal Passive simply means that the object of the
active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. So every verb that
needs an object (transitive verb) can form a personal passive.
Example: They build houses. – Houses
are built.
Verbs without an object
(intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive sentence (as there
is no object that can become the subject of the passive sentence). If you want
to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you need an impersonal
construction – therefore this passive is called Impersonal Passive.
Example: he says – it is said
Impersonal Passive is not as common in English as in
some other languages (e.g. German, Latin). In English, Impersonal Passive
is only possible with verbs of perception (e. g. say, think, know).
Example: They say that women live
longer than men. – It is said that women live longer than men.
Although Impersonal Passive
is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.
Example: They say that women live
longer than men. – Women are said to live longer than men.
The subject of the subordinate
clause (women) goes to the beginning of the sentence; the verb of perception is
put into passive voice. The rest of the sentence is added using an infinitive
construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary verbs and that are dropped).
Sometimes the term Personal
Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect object of an active
sentence is to become the subject of the passive sentence.
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