THE PASSIVE VOICE

IES El Señor de Bembibre

©English Dpt.

M

ACTIVE VOICE

V CS

PASSIVE VOICE

Look at the following:

TO BE + PAST PARTICIPLE BYC S

John ate an apple

was eaten by

Example:

JohnAn apple

John gave Mary a ring

A ring was given to Mary by John

Mary was given a ring by John

Direct object: a ringIndirect object: Mary

In English both can be the subject of the passive

Watch this:

They did not paint the wall

The wall was not painted ( by them )

Watch this: “did not = simple past negative >

simple past negative of to be = was not / NO did not be!!

They = plural but the wall = singular > was NO were!!

A verb always agrees with the subject!

Steps to follow

Find the verb, check the tense! Verb to be in the same tense Main verb into past participle: +ed /3rd f irreg.

FORMThe passive of an active tense is formed by putting the verb "to be" into the same tense as the active verb and adding the past participle of the active verb

Active: "We keep the butter here“.

Passive: "The butter is kept here".

The passive of continuous tenses

This sometimes seems difficult because it requires the present continuous form of "to be", which is not much used:

Active:

"They are repairing the bridge".

Passive:

"The bridge is being repaired".

Auxiliary + infinitive combinations

These are made passive by using a passive infinitive:

Active: "You must shut these doors".

Passive: "These doors must be shut".

Tense/Verb Form Active Voice Passive VoiceSimple Present keeps is keptPresent continuous is keeping is being keptSimple past kept was keptPast continuous was keeping was being keptPresent perfect has kept has been keptPast perfect had kept had been keptFuture will keep will be keptConditional would keep would be keptPerfect conditional would have kept would have beenPresent infinitive to keep to be keptPerfect infinitive to have kept to have been keptPresent participle/gerund keeping being keptPerfect participle having kept having being kept

Active tenses and their positive equivalents are:

USE

The passive voice is used in English when it is more convenient or interesting to stress the thing done than the doer of it, or when the doer is unknown:

"My watch was stolen".

is much more usual than:

"Thieves stole my watch".

Passive structures are also used when we want to talk about an action, but we are not interested in saying who (or what) did it:

"Those pyramids were built around 400 A.D.".

"Too many books have been written about the II World War".

Not all verbs can have passive forms. Intransitive verbs cannot become passive; they have no objects, and so there is nothing to become the subject of a passive sentence.

Remember that a sentence containing a direct and an indirect object, such as:

"Someone gave her a bulldog".

could have two passive forms:

"She was given a bulldog". (more common).Or

"A bulldog was given to her".

In a passive sentence the agent, or the doer of the action, is very often not mentioned. When the agent is mentioned it is preceded by "by":

Active: "Who wrote it?".

Passive: "Who was it written by?".

When dealing with materials used, it is preceded by “with” , so we have:

Active: "Smoke filled the room".

Passive: "The room was filled with smoke".

PREPOSITIONS WITH PASSIVE VERBS

INFINITIVE CONSTRUCTIONS AFTER PASSIVE VERBS.

Sentences of the type: "People think/consider/know etc. that he is …." have two possible passive forms:

"It is thought/considered/known etc. that he is ....".

"He is thought/considered/known etc. to be....".

Some transitive verbs cannot be used in the passive.

Most of these are "stative verbs".

Examples are : "fit, have, lack, resemble, suit".

"They have a nice flat". * "A nice flat is had....""I was having a bath". * "A bath was being had..". "My shoes don’t fit me". * "I am not fitted by my shoes".

If you have read the theory and watched this presentation carefully and still have doubts about this theme.

PLEASE: ask your teacher for further explanation.