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The Passive Voice

There are cases where the focus of attention is for a reason on the action itself
and not on the doer. Then the passive voice replaces the active voice, in which
the doer- if at all important- is of secondary importance and could appear in a
"by phrase" at the end of the statement.

You might ask why the passive should be used. The answer is that the topic
under discussion is but the object not the subject, apart from the fact that the
passive elevates your style of writing and speaking, is more formal, impersonal,
and objective. It is the language of science, news, and important figures:
scholars and politicians. It is highly recommended in formal situations since it is
conservative and polite.

There are four cases in which there is no choice but the Passive:

1) The doer is unknown;

2) The doer is quite known;
3) The doer is to remain hidden;
4) The doer is simply not important.

For the passive formation what you will need is the verb "to be" to take on all
various forms in which the main verb is seen in the active voice plus the past
participle of the main verb itself.

As expected, the verb "to be" is clad in different tenses as follows:

The Present Simple is, am, are

The Past Simple was, were
The Present Progressive is, am, are being
The Past Progressive was, were being
The Present Perfect have, has been
The past Perfect had been
The Future "Will" will be
The Future Perfect will have been

The museum was closed for the necessary repairs to be made to a few exhibits.

It was late in the evening, the ship was being unloaded by the crew and the
containers were being scrutinized by the customs officers.
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All those dents on the car had been removed and it had been painted so
beautifully; when he arrived to pick the car, it was being polished.

In the next five years, even more creative methods will have been discovered
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The exam papers are being corrected by a selected committee of professional

teachers in the country and the results will be announced in the next 24 hours.

I was thinking about what needed to have been done before the big graduation
party was held.

It is quite known that those who are given due affection in childhood usually
turn out to be secure adults.

He could have been given the package deliberately so that he would be noticed
and followed by the police to the place the drugs had been stocked.

The students should really have been briefed on the instructions before they
were given the exam questions.

It should be remembered that not all forms could appear in the passive. The
following four tenses and all various modal combinations of them are crossed
off the domain of the passive voice:

1) The Future Progressive

2) The Present Perfect Progressive
3) The Past Perfect Progressive
4) The Future Perfect Progressive

Moreover, it is not just "to be" that will help form the Passive, but there is also
a more informal version with "to get", mostly emphasizing the events: things
that have happened rather than states.

She's gotten confused by those math problems.

A lot of people got hurt in that road accident, but fortunately no one got
seriously injured.

My sister often gets so much buried in details that I really get annoyed.
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The verbs like "let", "help", and "make" undergo some change when they
appear in the passive.

The most important point is that the verb after them gets "to" and the verb "let"
implying permission usually changes to "allow" or "permit":

The soldiers were made to march a few more miles before the evening rest.

Paintings and drawings are not allowed in the mosques.

We are not allowed to leave the conference room until the discussion has been
brought to an end.

The workers have been made to work overtime in the past six months for more
profit to be made.

The criminal must have been helped by an accomplice to mislead the

authorities.

Needless to say, the question of the passive is only presented when the verb is
transitive, and many transitive verbs have two objects: the direct object, the
thing; and the indirect object, the person. Depending on which is the center of
attention, the passive is formed; however, the passive with the indirect object is
much more frequent.

The Emperor was given the best seat from which the gladiators' fight could be
seen.

The students have been instructed on how to reply the questions in an online
examination.

The soup of the day is served with a special cream to the patrons of this famous
inn.

The letter had been sent to the man 15 years before it was discovered in under a
pile of old newspapers in his post box.

Mr. Smith was handed a form to fill out before he was invited into the
manager's room for his interview.

The Passive Causative:

The causative case, as you already know, is formed with the verbs "to get" and
"to have", with the obvious difference evident in the following examples:
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The man had the mechanic fix his car.

The students had the teacher explain the point.

The teacher had a student read the text so that he could correct the mistakes in
the text.

The farmer got his children to clean the hencoop.

Sue always gets her younger sister dust the furniture, and she herself does the
cooking, which she enjoys.

As you have noticed, the verb after "to get" is in the form of the infinitive with
"to", whereas the verb after "to have" appears without "to"'

Now in the passive, there two causative making verbs both appear with the past
participle of the verb that follows them, with the doer in a "by" phrase, though it
can well be omitted at times:

The man had his car fixed (by the mechanic).

The students had the point explained (by the teacher).

The teacher had the text read (by a student) so that the mistakes in it could be
corrected.

The farmer got the hencoop cleaned (by his children).

Sue always gets the furniture dusted by her younger sister, and she herself does
the cooking, which she enjoys.