Download G/W2 ajb Passive Voice Passive voice sentences are often used in

G/W2
ajb
Passive Voice
Passive voice sentences are often used in process writing because they focus on the result of the process not on
the person who does it.


Passives are formed with BE and a past participle. The past participles are the third form of the verbs
that you study every Wednesday. The passive is sometimes followed by a prepositional phrase starting
with by and ending with the person or thing doing the action. This prepositional phrase is referred to as
the “by phrase”, and the object of the preposition is “the agent”.
Only sentences with transitive verbs can be changed to passive voice. A transitive verb is one that can be
followed by an object. (transitive verbs take an object)
Passive sentences change the order of the subject and the object of an active sentence.


The subject of the active sentence becomes the agent of the passive sentence.
The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
subject
verb
object
The Samba dancers
entertained
the crowd.
subject
verb
object
The crowd
was entertained
by the Samba dancers.
The BE verb in a passive sentence is where you show the verb tense from the active sentence
(simple past) ran
(present progressive) is growing
(modal) should ring
was/were run
is/am/are being grown
should be run
How to change an active sentence to passive voice.
1. Find the subject, verb, and object of the active sentence.
2. Write the object from the active sentence as the subject in the passive sentence.
3. Look at the verb in the active sentence. What verb tense is it? Write the BE verb that matches the tense
of the active sentence and also agrees with the new subject. After that, write the past participle of the
active verb. If you don’t remember what it is, look it up in your book!
4. *(if the agent is important or necessary) write a by-phrase to show the agent. Remember, most of the
time you will NOT include the by-phrase.
5. Copy any prepositional phrases or clauses that remain from the active sentence. Remember to keep the
phrases in the passive sentence in the same location as in the active sentence.
Passive Voice Directions
G/W2
ajb
Passives Sentences without an Agent (by phrase)
In many cases, the agent of the passive can and should be omitted. Here are some important reasons to omit
the agent.




The agent is obvious or unimportant.
Coffee is grown in Colombia. (It doesn’t matter who the farmers are.)
The agent is not known.
This shirt was made in Guatemala. (We don’t know the person or company that made it.)
The writer wants to hide or avoid saying who is responsible for an action or event.
The news story was leaked to the public over the weekend. (The writer is protecting the person who
leaked the story.)
The agent is a general noun or pronoun.
Turkey is eaten at Thanksgiving in the United States. (All Americans eat turkey at Thanksgiving, and
all Americans is general.)
PRACTICE: Change the following sentences to passive voice.
1. You should not eat food in class. _________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2. People grow freesia and lilies on Hachijo-jima. _______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
3. People test students before being placed in classes. __________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
4. The relatives of the dead must guard the grave. ______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
5. Merchants sell traditional food at Saturday Market. ___________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
6. Do people speak Spanish in Peru?_________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
7. When did someone invent the first computer? _______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Passive Voice Directions
G/W2
ajb
Verbs with No Passive Forms
Intransitive verbs are not followed by an object and do not have a passive form. Common intransitive verbs
include:
arrive
fall
run
be
go
sit
become
happen
sleep
come
look
stand
disagree
have
resemble
struggle
Some transitive verbs also do not have passive forms. These include:
become
cost
fit
Practice : Change the sentences to the passive form. If the verb in the sentence does not have a passive
form (or if there is no object), write X next to the sentence to show it cannot be passive.
______ 1. The special costume fits Kaoru perfectly.
___________________________________________________________________________
______ 2. The families bless the gifts to the spirits.
___________________________________________________________________________
______ 3. Many cultures have special festivals in honor of the dead.
___________________________________________________________________________
______ 4. People do not sleep well in hot weather.
___________________________________________________________________________
______ 5. Families decorate the Buddhist altars.
____________________________________________________________________________
______ 6. My parents arrive next summer.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_______ 7. People burn incense and clean the cemeteries.
______________________________________________________________________________
Passive Voice Directions
G/W2
ajb
Name:
Editing a Paragraph
Read the paragraph. Correct the mistakes in passive voice. There are seven mistakes.
Halloween
Every year, the falling autumn leaves signal the approach of Halloween. It is one of
the most popular holidays in the United States, and it enjoyed by both children and adults.
Many parties are held on this occasion when special costumes, masks, and wigs worn. Some
of the most popular costumes that are chose are characters from children’s fairy tales as
well as witches, ghosts, and famous movie stars. Prizes are often given for the most unusual
and creative disguises. Faces are paint with odd designs and colorful makeup. The fronts of
many houses decorated with gravestones, monsters, and jack-o-lanterns. These lanterns are
making from pumpkins, which are carved out to create scary or funny faces. On the night of
Halloween, children go trick-or-treating, which means going from house to house to collect
candy. For kids and adults alike, Halloween is great fun. However, remember that young
children should to be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Passive Voice Directions
G/W2
ajb
Name: ________________________
More Passive Practice: Active versus Passive
(from Fundamentals of English Grammar)
Directions: Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb (active or passive) in parentheses. In order
to choose which voice to use, think about who is doing the action. If the doer of the action is the same as the
subject of the sentence, the verb should be active. If the doer of the action is not the subject of the sentence,
use passive voice. (25 points)
1. Yesterday, our teacher (arrive) _______arrived_________________ five minutes late.
(the person who arrived is the same as the subject of the sentence, so I don’t use passive. There is also a sentence
clue yesterday that tells me to use simple past tense for the BE verb.)
2. Last night my favorite TV program (interrupt) ___was interrupted_____ by a special news
bulletin. (the person who interrupted is not the same as the subject of the sentence, so I use passive voice. There
is also a sentence clue Last night that tells me to use simple past tense for the BE verb.)
3. That’s not my coat. It (belong) _____belongs________________ to Louise. (the thing that belongs is
the same as the subject of the sentence, so I don’t use passive. I chose the simple present tense because the action
is a fact. I also noticed that the verb in the first sentence is in the simple present tense, so I know that the next
sentence might also be in the same tense.)
4. Our mail (deliver) ___________________ before noon everyday.
5. The “b” in “comb” (pronounce, not) _______________________. It is silent.
6. Our morning paper (read) _____________________ by over 200,000 people every day.
7. A bad accident (happen) _______________________ on Highway 95 last night.
8. When I (arrive) ____________________ at the airport yesterday, I (meet) _________________
by my cousin and a couple of friends.
9. A new house (build) ___________________ next to ours next year.
10. Roberto (write) ______________________ this essay last week. That one on the table (write)
__________________________ by Abdullah.
Passive Voice Directions
G/W2
ajb
11. Yesterday I (hear) ____________________ about their divorce. I (surprise)_________________
by the news because I (know, not) ___________________ they were having problems.
12. Radium (discover) ____________________ by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1989.
13. At the soccer game yesterday, the winning goal (kick) ___________________ by my sister, and
more than 100,000 people (attend) ____________________ the game.
14. I don’t understand the explanation in the book. I (confuse) _____________________ by it.
15. I (go) ____________________ to New Jersey next year for college because I (accept)
_______________________ by Princeton University.
16. When (your bike, steal) _________________________________________?
17. The Eiffel Tower (be) __________________ in Paris, France. It (visit) ______________________
by millions of people every year. It (design) ______________________ by Alexandre Eiffel
(1832-1923). It (erect) __________________ in 1889 for the Paris Exposition. Since that time, it
(be) ______________ the most famous landmark in Paris. Today it (recognize)
______________________ by people throughout the world.
Passive Voice Directions