PASSIVE VOICE

IES Gerardo MolinaMarch 2013

STRUCTUREPRESENT SIMPLE

•He reads the newspaper •He reads the newspapers

•The newspaper is read (by him)•The newspapers are read (by him)

PRESENT CONTINUOUS

• She’s making tea•She’s making biscuits

• Tea is being made (by her).• Biscuits are being made (by her)

PAST SIMPLE

• Peter bought a new TV.• Peter bought 2 T-shirts

• A new TV was bought by Peter.• Two T-shirts were bought by Peter.

PAST CONTINUOUS

• She was reading a book.• She was reading two books.

• A book was being read (by her)• Two books were being read (by her).

PRESENT PERFECT

• July has passed the test.• July has passed 2 tests.

• The test has been passed (by July)• Two tests have been passed (by J.)

PAST PERFECT • He had seen a black cat.• He had seen 2 black cats.

• A black cat had been seen (by him)• 2 black cats had been seen (by him)

STRUCTURE (2)FUTURESIMPLE

o I will clean my roomo I will buy 2 lottery tickets

o My room will be cleanedo 2 lottery tickets will be bought (by me)

FUTURE PERFECT

o He will have made his bed in the morning.o He will have cooked 2 dishes.

o His bed will have been made in the morning.o 2 dishes will have been cooked (by him).

CONDITIONAL 1

o I would eat a sandwich if I were at home.

o A sandwich would be eaten (by me) if …

CONDITIONAL 2

o He would have written an essay if he had time.

o An essay would have been written (by him) if…

INFINITIVE o We have to do the exam o The exam has to be done

MODAL VB o I should make dinnero He must have understood the problem.

o Dinner should be made.o The problem must have been understood.

USE

• To highlight the ACTION instead of the DOER / PERSON:They have shot the policeman! >The policeman has

been shot!

• To place the most important element at the very beginning of the sentence:They offered Harry a good job > A good job was offered

to Harry. A huge audience watched the royal wedding > The

royal wedding was watched by a huge audience.

By + agent

• By is the correct preposition in the P.V. The door was closed by the headmaster.

• We can omit /by” + the agent when...1. We don’t know who does the action: My bag has been stolen. (I don’t know by whom)2. When the doer is not important: The thief has been arrested. (by the police,

obviously)3. We don’t want to name the doer on purpose: Mario has been kissed many times.

Verbs with 2 objects…o We may have a DIRECT OBJECT + an

INDIRECT OBJECT in the same sentence:Someone sent Jenny a love letter.

(IO) (DO)GIVE / LEND / OFFER / PAY / PROMISE / REFUSE /

SHOW / SEND / TEACH / TELL ...Examples: 2 POSSIBILITIES:Someone sent Jenny a love

letter.A. A love letter was sent to Jenny.B. Jenny was sent a love letter.

Helen’s fiance gave her a diamond ring.

A. A diamond ring was given to Helen by her fiance.B. Helen was given a diamond ring.

The Passive with Reporting Verbs…

1. Marriage is very positive. It is said that marriage is very positive. Marriage is said to be very positive.2. Venice is a romantic city. It is considered that Venice is a romantic city. Venice is considered to be a romantic city.3. People thought that Peter was from Australia. It was thought that Peter was from Australia. Peter was thought to be from Australia.4. People suppose that this film is good. It is supposed that this film is good. This film is supposed to be good.

BELIEVE – CONSIDER – EXPECT – KNOW – MEAN – SUPPOSE - THINK

Have / get something done

• We don’t do the action, but other people do it for us: HAVE / GET + OBJECT + 3rd COLUMN Examples:

» She’s having / getting her hair cut.» I’m having / getting my flat redecorated this

summer.» Yesterday I had / got my navel pierced.» How often do you have /get your car serviced?» He might have / get his head shaved.

Also for unpleasant situations: Gary had his nose broken in a fight. Have you ever had your passport stolen? I had my ankle twisted during the match. We had our windows broken during the

demonstration.