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Construction of The Passive Voice

The document discusses the passive voice in English grammar. It defines the passive voice and explains its structure as subject + auxiliary verb (be) + past participle of the main verb. The passive voice is used when the object of the active sentence is more important or the subject is unknown. It also discusses when and how to use the passive voice, conjugating verbs in the passive, and exceptions for some transitive verbs that cannot be passivized.

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Magnus Galih
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74 views7 pages

Construction of The Passive Voice

The document discusses the passive voice in English grammar. It defines the passive voice and explains its structure as subject + auxiliary verb (be) + past participle of the main verb. The passive voice is used when the object of the active sentence is more important or the subject is unknown. It also discusses when and how to use the passive voice, conjugating verbs in the passive, and exceptions for some transitive verbs that cannot be passivized.

Uploaded by

Magnus Galih
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Passive Voice

The passive voice is less usual than the active voice. The active voice is the "normal"
voice. But sometimes we need the passive voice. In this lesson we look at how to
construct the passive voice, when to use it and how to conjugate it.
Construction of the Passive Voice
The structure of the passive voice is very simple:
subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past participle)
The main verb is always in its past participle form.
Look at these examples:

subject

auxiliary verb (to


be)

main verb (past


participle)

Water

is

drunk

by everyone.

100
people

are

employed

by this
company.

am

paid

in euro.

We

are

paid

in dollars.

Are

they

paid

in yen?

not

Use of the Passive Voice


We use the passive when:

we want to make the active object more important

we do not know the active subject

subject

verb

Object

give importance to active object


(President Kennedy)

President
Kennedy

was killed

by Lee Harvey
Oswald.

active subject unknown

My wallet

has been
stolen.

Note that we always use by to introduce the passive object (Fish are eaten by cats).
Look at this sentence:

He was killed with a gun.

Normally we use by to introduce the passive object. But the gun is not the active
subject. The gun did not kill him. He was killed by somebody with a gun. In the
active voice, it would be: Somebody killed him with a gun. The gun is the
instrument. Somebody is the "agent" or "doer".
Conjugation for the Passive Voice
We can form the passive in any tense. In fact, conjugation of verbs in the passive
tense is rather easy, as the main verb is always in past participle form and the
auxiliary verb is always be. To form the required tense, we conjugate the auxiliary
verb. So, for example:

present simple: It is made

present continuous: It is being made

present perfect: It has been made

Here are some examples with most of the possible tenses:

infinitive
simple

to be washed
present

It is washed.

past

It was washed.

future

It will be washed.

conditional

It would be washed.

continuous

perfect simple

perfect continuous

present

It is being washed.

past

It was being washed.

future

It will be being washed.

conditional

It would be being washed.

present

It has been washed.

past

It had been washed.

future

It will have been washed.

conditional

It would have been washed.

present

It has been being washed.

past

It had been being washed.

future

It will have been being washed.

conditional

It would have been being washed.

Active Voice vs Passive Voice Conjugation


Sentences can be active or passive. Therefore, tenses also have "active forms" and
"passive forms." You must learn to recognize the difference to successfully speak
English.
Active Form
In active sentences, the thing doing the action is the subject of the sentence and the
thing receiving the action is the object. Most sentences are active.
[Thing doing action] + [verb] + [thing receiving action]

Passive Form
In passive sentences, the thing receiving the action is the subject of the sentence and
the thing doing the action is optionally included near the end of the sentence. You
can use the passive form if you think that the thing receiving the action is more
important or should be emphasized. You can also use the passive form if you do not
know who is doing the action or if you do not want to mention who is doing the
action.
[Thing receiving action] + [be] + [past participle of verb] + [by] + [thing doing
action]
Active / Passive Overview

Active

Passive

Simple
Present

Once a week, Tom cleans the


house.

Once a week, the house is


cleaned by Tom.

Present
Continuous

Right now, Sarah is


writing the letter.

Right now, the letter is being


written by Sarah.

Simple Past

Sam repaired the car.

The car was repaired by Sam.

Past
Continuous

The salesman was


helping the customer when
the thief came into the store.

The customer was being


helped by the salesman when
the thief came into the store.

Present
Perfect

Many tourists have


visited that castle.

That castle has been


visited by many tourists.

Present
Perfect
Continuous

Recently, John has been


doing the work.

Recently, the work has been


being done by John.

Past Perfect

George had repaired many


cars before he received his
mechanic's license.

Many cars had been


repaired by George before he
received his mechanic's license.

Past Perfect
Continuous

Chef Jones had been


preparing the restaurant's
fantastic dinners for two years
before he moved to Paris.

The restaurant's fantastic


dinners had been being
prepared by Chef Jones for
two years before he moved to
Paris.

Simple
Future

Someone will finish the


work by 5:00 PM.

The work will be finished by


5:00 PM.

Sally is going to make a


beautiful dinner tonight.

A beautiful dinner is going to


be made by Sally tonight.

At 8:00 PM tonight, John will


be washing the dishes.

At 8:00 PM tonight, the


dishes will be being
washed by John.

At 8:00 PM tonight, John is


going to be washing the
dishes.

At 8:00 PM tonight, the


dishes are going to be being
washed by John.

WILL

Simple
Future
BE GOING TO

Future
Continuous
WILL

Future
Continuous
BE GOING TO

Future
Perfect

They will have


completed the project before
the deadline.

The project will have been


completed before the
deadline.

They are going to have


completed the project before
the deadline.

The project is going to have


been completed before the
deadline.

The famous artist will have


been painting the mural for
over six months by the time it
is finished.

The mural will have been


being painted by the famous
artist for over six months by the
time it is finished.

BE GOING TO

The famous artist is going to


have been painting the
mural for over six months by
the time it is finished.

The mural is going to have


been being painted by the
famous artist for over six
months by the time it is
finished.

Used to

Jerry used to pay the bills.

The bills used to be paid by


Jerry.

Would
Always

My mother would always


make the pies.

The pies would always be


made by my mother.

Future in the
Past
WOULD

I knew John would


finish the work by 5:00 PM.

I knew the work would be


finished by 5:00 PM.

WILL

Future
Perfect
BE GOING TO

Future
Perfect
Continuous
WILL

Future
Perfect
Continuous

Future in the
Past
WAS GOING

I thought Sally was going to


make a beautiful dinner
tonight.

I thought a beautiful
dinner was going to be
made by Sally tonight.

TO

Pengecualian pada Transitive Verbs


Tidak semua transitive verb, kata kerja yang memiliki direct object, dapat
dipasifkan. Beberapa kata kerja tersebut yang antara
lain: have, become, lack, look like, mean, dll akan terdengar tidak wajar
maknanya ketika dipasifkan. Beberapa contoh kalimat dari kata kerja tersebut
adalah sebagai berikut.

Contoh:

I have a great new idea. > tidak dapat dipasifkan dengan: A great
new idea is had by me.
The snack contains aspartame. > tidak dapat dipasifkan
dengan: Aspartame is contained by the snack.

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