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Passive Voice

The document discusses the passive voice and its uses. It begins by defining the passive voice as emphasizing the recipient of the action rather than the performer. It then provides examples of when the passive voice is preferred, such as when the agent is unknown, unimportant, or already mentioned. The document also covers how to form the passive voice and includes passive forms for different tenses. It discusses reporting verbs that can be used in the passive and the "have something done" construction.

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Maria Jesus Coello Barba
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127 views12 pages

Passive Voice

The document discusses the passive voice and its uses. It begins by defining the passive voice as emphasizing the recipient of the action rather than the performer. It then provides examples of when the passive voice is preferred, such as when the agent is unknown, unimportant, or already mentioned. The document also covers how to form the passive voice and includes passive forms for different tenses. It discusses reporting verbs that can be used in the passive and the "have something done" construction.

Uploaded by

Maria Jesus Coello Barba
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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BASIC PRINCIPLES

The passive voice emphasizes the person


or object that experiences an action
rather than the person or object that
performs the action.

In an active voice construction, we have a


subject performing an action; in a passive
voice construction, something performs
an action on the subject.

We often prefer to use the passive voice when:


1. We do not know who the agent is:
'I had the feeling that Iwas being followed.'
'I had the feeling that somebody was following me.'

2.When it is obvious to the listener or reader who the agent


is:
'Ihad been instructedto remove all the ash trays.'
instead of:'My boss had instructed me to remove all the ash trays.'

3. When it is not important to know who the agent is:


'Do you want a lift?' 'No thanks, Imbeing collected.'
instead of:'Do you want a lift?' 'No thanks, someone is collecting
me.'

4. When the agent has already been mentioned:


'In the next session of parliament, new lawswill be
introducedaimed at stopping domestic violence.'
instead of:'In the next session of parliament, the government will
introduce new laws aimed at stopping domestic violence.'

5. When people in general are the agents:


'All the Beatles records canbe borrowedfrom the central
library.
instead of: You can borrow all the Beatles records from the
central library.
6. For news reports
-Missing boy not seen for three days
7. You want to be vague about who is responsible:
Mistakes were made. [Common in bureaucratic writing!]
8. You are talking about a general truth:
Rules are made to be broken. [By whomever, whenever.]
9. Passive voice is often preferred in lab reports and scientific
research papers.
The sodium hydroxide was dissolved in water. This solution was
then titrated with hydrochloric acid.

to be+past participle

How to form a passive:


the object of the "active" sentence becomes the subject in the
"passive" sentence
the subject of the "active" sentence becomes the object in the
"passive" sentence" (or is left out)

Active:
Peter
builds
Passive: A house isbuilt

a house.
by Peter.

Passive
Active
Simple Present

Once a week, Tomcleansthe house.

Once a week, the houseis cleanedby Tom.

Present
Continuous

Right now, Sarahis writingthe letter.

Right now, the letteris being writtenby


Sarah.

Simple Past

Samrepairedthe car.

The carwas repairedby Sam.

Past Continuous

The salesmanwas helpingthe customer


when the thief came into the store.

The customerwas being helpedby the


salesman when the thief came into the store.

Present Perfect

Many touristshave visitedthat castle.

That castlehas been visitedby many


tourists.

Present Perfect
Continuous

Recently, Johnhas been doingthe work.

Recently, the workhas been being doneby


John.

Past Perfect

Georgehad repairedmany cars before he


received his mechanic's license.

Many carshad been repairedby George


before he received his mechanic's license.

Past Perfect
Continuous

Chef Joneshad been preparingthe


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

The restaurant's fantastic dinnershad been


being preparedby Chef Jones for two years
before he moved to Paris.

Simple Future: WILL

Someonewill finishthe work by 5:00


PM.

The workwill be finishedby 5:00 PM.

Simple Future
BE GOING TO

Sallyis going to makea beautiful


dinner tonight.

A beautiful dinneris going to be madeby


Sally tonight.

Future Continuous
WILL

At 8:00 PM tonight, Johnwill be


washingthe dishes.

At 8:00 PM tonight, the disheswill be


being washedby John.

Future Continuous
BE GOING TO

At 8:00 PM tonight, Johnis going to be


washingthe dishes.

At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishesare going to


be being washedby John.

Future Perfect
WILL

Theywill have completedthe project


before the deadline.

The projectwill have been


completedbefore the deadline.

Future Perfect
Continuous :WILL

The famous artistwill have been


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

The muralwill have been being


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

Future in the Past


WOULD

I knew Johnwould finishthe work by


5:00 PM.

I knew the workwould be finishedby


5:00 PM.

Future in the Past


WAS GOING TO

I thought Sallywas going to makea


beautiful dinner tonight.

I thought a beautiful dinnerwas going to


be madeby Sally tonight.

http://www.autoenglish.org/gr.passive.pdf
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/download/test_
passive1_en.pdf
http://www.e-grammar.org/passive-voice/test1-ex
ercise1/
http://www.e-grammar.org/passive-voice/test2-ex
ercise1/
http://
campus.claroline.net/claroline/backends/downloa
d.php?url
=L1Bhc3NpdmVfVm9pY2UvZXhlcmNpc2VzLW9uL
XRoZS1wYXNzaXZlLXZva

Some verbs that have two objects can make two different active sentences, and so
two different passive sentences too:

Active:
He gave

the book
object

to me.

Passive:
The book was given to me (by him).
subject

Active:
He gave

Passive:
I
subject

me
the book
object

was given the book (by him)

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/support-files/passive_verbs_with_two_objec
ts.pdf
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/active_passive/objects_tenses.htm
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/passive/exercises?07

They are used when we report information we are not totally sure
about and therefore we put some distance between the statement
and us:

People believe that thousands of birds died.

The same idea can be expressed by using the passive in two


different ways:

A) It + passive of reporting verb + that + clause


It is believed that thousands of birds died.

B) subject + passive of reporting verb + `to infinitive

Thousands of birds are believed to have died.

Some other reporting verbs that can be used in this way are:
calculate, claim, consider, discover, estimate, expect, feel, hope, know,
prove, report, say, show, think, understand, etc.

With present reference, the passive is followed by the present infinitive:

People think that Johnson is in Cardiff.


Johnson is thought to be in Cardiff.

With past reference, the passive is followed by the past infinitive:

People believe that Johnson left Cardiff last month.


Johnson is believed to have left Cardiff last month.
http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=6854
http://english.lingolia.com/en/grammar/verbs/passive-voice/exercises
http://torroxenglishdepartment.blogspot.com.es/2012/01/impersonal-passive.html

This construction is passive in meaning. It may describe situations


where we want someone else to do something for us.

If the verb refers to something negative or unwanted, it has the


same meaning as a passive sentence:

Active: Someone stole Jims car last night


Passive:Jim had his car stolen last night. (= Jim's car was stolen qnd obviously he
didnt like it))

The construction can refer to the completion of an activity,


especially if a time expression is used:

Examples
Active: Somebody must cut your hair
Passive: I must get / have my hair cut. (somebody else will cut your hair)

We'll get the work done as soon as possible.


I'll get those letters typed before lunchtime.

http://www.autoenglish.org/modalverbs/gr.havedone.pdf
http://pepearca.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/have-something-done.pdf
http://www.webstudio.nazwa.pl/webstudio/wp-content/uploads/english/passive_voice.pdf

References

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learn
it/learnitv65.shtml
http://www.uc.utoronto.ca/passive-voice
http://www.eoioviedo.org/anacarmen/passive/Passive.pdf
http://www.diegodesiloe.com/WEB2/attachments/article/399/PASS
IVE%20VOICE.pdf

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