Download Passive Voice

The Passive Voice
be
Past
participle
We use the passive:
• When the person or people who do the action are
unknown, unimportant or obvious from the context.
• When the action itself is more important than the
person/people who do it, as in news headlines,
newspaper articles, formal notices, advertisements,
instructions, processes.
• When we want to avoid taking responsibility for an
action, or when we refer to an unpleasant event and
we do not want to say who or what is to blame.
Define the case of using the passive.
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•
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Lucy’s mobile phone was stolen.
The thief has been arrested.
The car is being repaired.
The valuable paintings were completely
destroyed.
• The opening ceremony
will be held on June 20th.
Passive Voice
Present Simple
Present Progressive
Present Perfect
Past Simple
Past Progressive
Past Perfect
Future Simple
Future Perfect
Future in the Past Simple
Future in the Past Perfect
Verbs which can be used in the passive
• Only transitive (which take an object) verbs
can be used in the passive.
• Some transitive verbs cannot be changed inti
the passive: have, exist, seem, fit, suit,
resemble, lack, etc)
• To get can be used instead of to be in
everyday speech when talking about things
that happened by accident.
Verbs which can farm two passive
sentences
• Verbs which can take two objects: bring, tell,
send, show, teach, promise, buy, sell, read,
offer, give, lend, etc.
He was offered a good job.
A good job was offered to him.
Introducing the agent
• by+ the agent is used to say who or what
carries out an action.
• with +instrument/material/ingredient
The cake was made by grandma.
The cake was made with strawberries.
Omitting the object
• The object can be omitted when it is he, she,
they, people, someone/somebody, one etc.
• The object s not omitted when it is a specific
or important person, or when it is essential to
the meaning of the sentence.
The Cathedral was built
by Antonio Gaudi.
Notes:
• If in an active sentence a preposition
follows a verb, then in the passive it is
placed immediately after the verb.
A ball hit George on the head.
George was hit on the head by a ball.
• The verbs hear, help, see, make are followed by
the bare infinitive in the active and by the toinfinitive in the passive.
She helped me finish my job.
I was helped to finish my job.
Notes:
• Let becomes be allowed in the passive
The teacher let the students to use dictionaries.
The students were allowed to use dictionaries.
• When we want to find out who or what
performed an action, the passive form
question is Who/What …… by?
Personal and Impersonal
Constructions
• The verbs believe, expect, feel, hope, know,
report, say, think etc are used in the following
passive patterns
• Personal: subject (person)+passive verb+toinfinitive
He is expected to win the elections.
• Impersonal: It+passive verb+ that clause
It is expected that he
will win the elections.
Causative form
• We use have+object(thing)+past particle to
say that we arrange for someone do
something for us.
Jane asked her friend to burn the CD.
She had the CD burnt. (She didn’t have to burn it
herself, she asked her friend.)
• The verb have, used in the causative, forms its
negations and questions with do/does/did
Did he have the documents printed?
Notes:
• The causative form can be used instead of the passive
to refer to accidents and misfortunes.
He had his car stolen from the car park. (=His car was
stolen from the car park.)
• Make/have+object (person)+ bare infinitive are used
to express that someone caused someone else to do
something, but their meaning is slightly different.
Mum made the kids eat the
vegetables.
(She insisted on it.)
Mum had the kids eat the vegetables.
(She asked the kids to eat the vegetables.)
Notes:
• Get+ object(person) + to-infinitive shows that
someone persuaded someone else to do
something.
Anna got her brother to drive her to the airport.