Download unit 5 passive voice

Passive Voice
1. The passive: form
The active voice shows what someone or
something does. The passive voice shows what
happens to something. We make the passive with
a form of the verb + past participle.
Tense
Present
simple
Passive form: be+ past participle (+
by + agent)
Is/am/are + past participle
The union is run by 7 executive
officers
Passive form contPresent cont-
Is/am/are + being + past participle
The house is being painted in white.
Past simple
Was/were + past participle
My car was stolen last night.
Past contWas/were + being + past participle
The bridges were being repaired last
week.
Present perfect Have/has + been + past participle
She has been invited to the party.
Past perfect
Had + been + past participle
I thought that you had been told the
Other forms
infinitive
The union is to be run by 7
executive officers.
-Ing form
The university insists on the union
being run by 7 executive officers.
Used to
The university used to be run by 7
executive officers.
modals
The university should be run by 7
executive officers.
Need to/have to The university needs to/has to be
run by 7 executive officers.
Need + ing
The university needs running by 7
2. The passive: use
We use the passive as follows:
• When the object is more important than the subject
and the agent is either obvious, not important, or
unknown.
All applications are processed on the spot. (It is
obvious that it is the library staff who process the
cards.)
• In formal writing to make it less personal:
You are advised to return the application form
within three days. (Impersonal)
The active voice is more direct and personal.
I advise you to return the application form within
three days.
• When we describe a process:
The union is run by seven executive officers who
are elected by students.
We do not generally use the passive for natural (or
biological) process, where people are not involved
(e.g. the carbon cycle):
Plants take up carbon dioxide from the air as part
of photosynthesis.
• Spoken and written:
The passive is used more in writing and formal
speech.
• using by and with: The person or organization that
does the action is called “the agent”. If we want to
say who does the action then we use by:
Hundreds of houses were built last year.
Hundreds of houses were built by the Government
last year.
A lot of stones were thrown.
A lot of stones were thrown by angry football
fans.
• The thing that is used to perform an action is called
“instrument”. If we want to include this we use
with.
The windows were broken with a baseball bat.
• Passive without an agent phrase.
It is not always necessary to mention the agent. There
are several reasons for this:
-Agent not known: Brenda’s motorbike was stolen last
night.
If we knew who had stolen it, we would mention the
name of the person. But we don’t know and the agent is
not mentioned.
-Agent is obvious: One protester was arrested.
It is not necessary to add the words “by the police”,
because we know that it is always the police who do this.
However, it is possible to add these words if we want to.
-Agent unimportant: A lot of English grammar books
are sold every year.
Exactly who sells the books is not important. If it was
important we could use by and the names of the people
or shops who sell the books.
3. Reporting with passive verbs
With reporting verbs and verbs of thinking or feeling we
can use:
• It + passive verb + that (e.g. agree, announce, argue,
believe, claim, decide, disclose, expect, feel, hope,
know, predict, recognize, report, say, suggest, think,
understand).
It was felt that the facilities were in need or renovation.
• Subject + passive verb + to-infinitive (e.g. ask,
believe, consider, estimate, expect, feel, know,
mean, report, say, see, suppose, think,
understand):
Our sport facilities are said to be among the best in
the country. (=people say our sports facilities are
among the best in the country)
This building is believed to be the oldest in the
town.
Vince (2008) also points out that this type of
passive is also called “hearsay reporting.” The report
can refer to the present, or past, or a time before the
time of reporting.
Present verb, present reference
We use a present reporting verb and refer to a state or
action in the present:
passive present infinitive
The patient is said to be as well as can be expected.
(That’s what people say now about the present
situation.)
Present verb, past reference
We use a present reporting verb and refer to a state or
action in the past:
passive past infinitive
The robbers are thought to have stolen more than $3
million.
(That’s what people say now about the past situation.)
Past verb, reference to time of reporting
We use a past reporting verb and refer to a state
or action at a time of report was made:
past simple passive present infinitive
Last week, the Prime Minister was said to be
undecided.
(That’s what people said then about the situation
then.)
Past verb, reference before time of reporting
We use a past reporting verb and refer to a state
or action at the time before the report was made:
passive simple passive past infinitive
Mr. Smith was believed to have taken the car by
mistake.
(That’s what people said then about something that
had happened earlier.)
• Continuous forms
Continuous infinitive forms are also possible.
The escaped men are believed to have been
wearing prison clothes.
The injured man is thought to have been trying
to climb the cliff.
• Passive infinitives
Hearsay report expressions can also be followed by
passive infinitives:
There are number of diseases which are known to
be caused by poor hygiene.
The men are said to have been recaptured.
At the time of the wreck, the diamonds were
thought to have been lost.
• Passive participles
These can be used with report verbs like
appreciate, deny, enjoy, remember etc.
I appreciated being met at the airport.
Mr. Archwood denied having been convicted of
any crime.
• 4. Have something done
To show that someone performs a paid service
for us we use have +object + past participle:
You’ll need to have your photograph taken.
(=someone else will take your photograph)
In formal English get + past participle can be used
in the same way:
I got my photograph taken yesterday.
This kind of construction is called pseudo-passive.
Get-pseudo-passives and have pseudo-passive can
often both be used to express causative and noncausative meanings. The have-passive is more formal
than the get-passive:
5. Need +-ing
We can sometimes use need+ -ing as an alternative
to the passive to say that it is necessary to do
something without stating who will do it.
Some facilities need improving around the campus.
(=it is necessary to improve some facilities.)
In addition, Carter & McCarthy (2006) point out that
beside “need”, there are some more verbs: deserve,
require, want can be followed by an active-ing form
structure although the grammatical subject is the
affected participant of the process denoted by the
verb, thus creating a meaning similar to a passive
voice structure:
The picture’s dark, very dark. It needs restoring.
(similar to: it should be restored.)
Your jacket wants cleaning.
(similar to: it should be cleaned.)
Here are more rules about passive you should
know.
Indirect objects as Passive subject
IO
DO
(a)Someone gave Mrs. Lee and award.
(b)Mrs. Lee was given an award.
DO
IO
(c)Someone gave an award to Mrs. Lee.
(d)An award was given to Mrs. Lee.
IO = indirect object; DO = direct object
Either an indirect object or a direct object may
become the subject of a passive sentence.
(a), (b), (c), and (d) have the same meaning.
Notice in (d): When the direct object becomes the
subject, to is usually kept in front of the indirect
object.
Stative passive Verbs + Preposition
be accustomed to be engaged to
be opposed to
be acquainted to be equipped with
be pleased with
be addicted to
be excited about
be prepared for
be annoyed with, by be exhausted from be protected from
be associated with be exposed to
be provided with
be bored with, by be filled with
be qualified for
be clustered with be finished with
be related to
be composed of be frightened of, by be remembered for
be concerned about be gone from
be satisfied with
be coordinated with be interested in be scared of, by
be covered with
be involved in
be terrified of, by
Stative passive Verbs + Preposition contbe crowded with be known for be tired of, from
be dedicated to
be limited to be worried about
be devoted to
be located in
be disappointed in, with be made of
be discriminated against be married to
be divorced from
be done with
be dressed in