Download Present Simple They repair cars Cars are repaired

THE PASSIVE VOICE
Tenses
Present Simple
Present C
Past S
Past C
Future S
Future Perf
Future C
Present Perf
Present Perf C
Past Perf
Present Infinitive
Perfect Infinitive
Gerund
Perfect Gerund
Modals
To Be + Past Participle
Active
They repair cars
They´re repairing the car
They repaired
They were repairing
They will repair
They will have repaired
They will be repairing
They have repaired
They have been repairing
They had repaired
They will have to repair
She ought to have repaired
He likes people admiring his car
Having repaired the car,…
You must/may/can/have to
repair this car
Passive
Cars are repaired
The car is being repaired
…was repaired
…was being repaired
… will be repaired
… will have been repaired
…has been repaired
… had been repaired
They will have to be repaired
ought to have been repaired
He likes his car being admired
The car, having been repaired
This car must be repaired
¿Cuándo utilizamos la voz pasiva en inglés?
1.- Cuando el agente (persona o cosa que realiza la acción) no es importante, es
desconocida, gente en general o es obvio por el contexto
My car was stolen yesterday (unkown agent)
The kidnappers have been arrested (by the police = obvious agent)
An order form can be found on page 2 ( by people in general)
En estos casos el agente es omitido, como también lo será si es: someone, people, I,
they...)
2.- En escritos oficiales, instrucciones, procesos (como hacer algo), titulares de
noticias, anuncios, notificaciones formales donde la acción/suceso es más
importante que el agente. En estos casos éste también suele omitirse.
Taking pictures is not allowed (written notice)
The local bank was robbed this morning (news report)
Bread is baked in an oven for about 45 minutes (process)
3.- Para convertir una oración en algo más formal o educado:
My new suit has been burnt (es más educado que decir: You´ve burnt may new suit)
4.- Para poner énfasis en el agente:
The Tower of London was built by William the Conqueror
NOTAS:
A.- Se utiliza la pasiva con verbos transitivos (son los que llevan un objeto)
They built the castle in 1889 = The castle was built in 1889
B.- Cuando el agente/sujeto de una oración es bastante largo, es preferible romper
la estructura del inglés Subj + Verb + Obj y pasar el Sujeto al final de la oración
utilizando la pasiva. Es más natural para el oido:
Don´s decision to give up his job and move to Sydney surprised me
Subj
Vb Obj
Seria mejor decir:
I was surprised by Don´s decision to give up his job and move to Sydney
C.- Utilizamos BY cuando el agente es una persona o cosa /animal pero utilizamos
WITH para decir qué instrumento o material utiliza el agente:
He was knocked down by a lorry (the lorry did the action)
The door was locked by the man with a key
D.- Con verbos que toman 2 o más objetos es más común empezar la oración
pasiva con la persona:
They sent him a letter
A letter was sent to him (less usual)
He was sent a letter (more usual)
E.- Construcciones comunes:
1.- Make, hear, see, help + To Infinitive: They made me apologise: I was made to apologise
2.- It + passive verb + that clause (impersonal construction) con los siguientes
verbos: agree, believe, expect, feel, hope, announce, assume, calculate, claim, consider,
decide, discover, find, know, mention, suggest, think, suppose, understand
People say she´s rich
=
It is said that she is rich
It can be seen that…
It has been anounced that…
3.- Una alternativa a esta construcción puede ser: Subj + passive verb + to
infinitive (personal construction)
People say she´s rich
=
She is said to be rich
4.- It + passive verb + to infinitive. Con verbos como los siguientes: agree, decide,
forbide, hope, plan, propose
They agreed to postpone the meeting = It was agreed to postpone the meeting
5.- Cuando la oración en Activa empieza con THAT + THERE... en la Pasiva será
THERE + Passive verb + to be
Activa: It is thought (that) there are too many obstacles = Pasiva: There are thought to be many...
It was alleged (that) there had been a fight = There was alleged to have been a fight
THE PASSIVE VOICE
I. ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE
* Compare the following two sentences:
Your little boy broke my kitchen window this morning.
That window was broken by your little boy.
In the first sentence, the person who did the action (your little boy) is the subject, and comes
first; then we say what he did ( with the verb, broke) and what he did it to (the object, my kitchen
window).
In the second sentence, the opposite happens: we start by talking about the window (the object
of the first
sentence has become the subject of the second); then we say what was done to it, and who this
was done
by. The first kind of sentence, and the kind of verb form used in it, are called 'active'. The
second kind of
sentence, and the kind of verb-form used, are called 'passive'.
* The choice between active and passive constructions often depends on what has already
been
said, or on what the listener already knows. We usually like to start sentences with what is
already known,
and to put 'new' information later in the sentence. In the first example above, the listener does
not know
about the broken window, so the speaker makes it the object of the sentence. In the second
example, the
listener knows about the window - it is being pointed out to him, he can see it- so the speaker
uses a
passive construction; in this way he can put the window first, and keep the new information
(who broke
it) for later in the sentence. Another example:
John's just written a play.
This play was probably written by Marlowe.
In the first sentence, John is somebody that the hearer knows; the news is that he has written a
play. The speaker prefers to put this at the end, so he begins with John and uses an active
verb. In the
second sentence, a passive structure allows the speaker to begin with the play (which the
hearer already
knows about), and to put the news (who wrote it) at the end.
* We often prefer to put longer and 'heavier' expressions at the end of a sentence, and this can
be another reason for choosing a passive structure. Compare:
Mary's behaviour annoyed me. (Or: I was annoyed by Mary's behaviour.)
I was annoyed by Mary wanting to tell everybody else what to do.
The first sentence can easily be active or passive. But if the second sentence was active, the
subject would be very long (Mary wanting to tell everybody else what to do annoyed me). In this
case, a
passive structure is more natural.
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 second world war.
The passive is especially common in descriptions of processes or rules, where the language
used
is formal and the personal element is to be avoided.
In football the ball may be kicked or headed; it must not be handed..24
Consequently, the Passive is very often used in business or technical English.
The decision on next year's budget will be made soon.
Copper sulphate is made by mixing coper oxide and sulphuric acid.
2. PASSIVE VERB-FORMS
Passive verb forms are made with the different tenses of to be, followed by a past participle.
The
tenses, and the rules for their use, are the same as for active verb-forms. Note, however, that
we usually
avoid saying be being and been being, so that future progressive and perfect progressive
passive tenses
are very uncommon.
Present simple: English is spoken here.
Present progressive: Excuse the mess, the house is being painted.
Past simple: I wasn't invited, but I've come anyway.
Past progressive: I felt as if I was being watched.
(Present perfect progressive): (How long has the research been being done?)
Past perfect: I knew why I had been chosen.
(Past perfect progressive): (I wondered how long I'd been being followed.)
Future: You'll be told in advance
(Future progressive): (You'll be being told in the near future.)
Future perfect: Everything will have been done by the 26th.
(Future perfect progressive): (By next Christmas, that bridge will have been being built for
three
years.)
Going to structure: Who's going to be invited?
Modal structures: He ought to be shot. You might have been hurt.
Note the passive infinitive - to be invited, to be shot - and the perfect passive infinitive - (to)
have been
hurt - in the last three examples. Passive -ing forms also exist.
She likes being looked at
Having been rejected by everybody, he became a monk.
3. BY + AGENT
In sentences like The trouble was caused by your mother, the part of the sentence introduced
by by is
called the agent. The agent in a passive sentence is the same person or thing as the subject of
an active sentence.
Compare:
I was shocked by her attitude
Her attitude shocked me.
The agent is only expressed when it is important to say who or what something is done by. In
most passive
sentences, there is no agent.
A new supermarket's just been opened.
I'm always being asked for money.
After some past participles which are used like adjectives. other prepositions are used instead
of by to
introduce the agent.
We were worried about (or by) her silence?
I was excited at (or by) the prospects of going abroad..25
Are you frightened of spiders?
With is used when we talk about an instrument (tool, etc) which helps the agent to do an action.
He was shot (by the policeman) with a revolver.
The room was filled with smoke.
The lock was covered with paint.
4. PHRASAL AND PREPOSITIONAL VERBS IN
THE
PASSIVE
When a verb + preposition + object combination is put into the passive, the preposition will
remain
immediately after the verb:
Active: We must write to him.
Passive: He must be written to.
Active: You can play with these cubs quite safely.
Passive: These cubs can be played with quite safely.
Similarly with verb + preposition / adverb combinations:
Active: The threw away the old newspapers.
Passive: The old newspapers were thrown away.
Active: He looked after the children well.
Passive: The children were well looked after.
5. VERBS WITH TWO OBJECTS
Many verbs, such as give, send, show, lend, can be followed by two objects, which usually refer
to a
person and a thing (indirect and direct object, respectively). These are called di-transitive
verbs.
She gave her sister the car
INDIRECT O. DIRECT O.
When these verbs are used in the passive, there are two possibilities:
Her sister was given the car. (The indirect object -person- has become the subject of passive
verb.)
The car was given to her sister. (The direct object -thing- has become the subject.)
Most often in such cases the person becomes the subject of the passive verb.
I've just been sent a whole lot of information.
You were lent ten thousand pounds last year.
We were shown all the different ways of making whisky.
Other verbs used like this are pay, promise, refuse, tell, offer.
6. SENTENCES WITH OBJECT COMPLEMENTS
After some verbs, the direct object can be followed by an object complement - a noun or
adjective.26
which describes the object.
Queen Victoria considered him a genius.
They elected him president.
We regarded him as an expert.
Most people saw him as a sort of clown.
The other children called him stupid.
I made the room beautiful
These sentences can become passive.
He was considered a genius (by Queen Victoria).
He was elected president.
He was regarded as an expert.
He was seen as a sort of clown.
He was called stupid.
The room was made beautiful.
7. SENTENCES WITH CLAUSE OBJECTS
The object of a sentence can be a clause.
People believed that witches communicated with the devil
Nobody knew whether there was gold left in the mine.
Passive sentences can be made with that or whether clauses as subjects. It is usually used as
an
introductory subject.
It was believed that witches communicated with the devil.
It wasn't known whether there was gold left in the mine.
8. VERBS WITH OBJECT + INFINITIVE
Many verbs can be followed by an object and infinitive.
She asked me to send a stamped addressed envelope.
I consider Moriarty to be dangerous.
Everyone wanted Doris to be the manager.
We like our staff to say what they think.
Sentences like these cannot usually be made passive. We cannot say, for example, *Doris was
wanted
to be the manager or *Our staff are liked to say what they think.
There are a few exceptions:
1) Verbs of asking, ordering, allowing etc can usually be used in the passive with a following
infinitive.
I was asked to send a stamped addressed envelope.
She was told not to come back.
We are allowed to visit Henry once a week.
Other verbs in these group: advise, expect, forbid, mean, order, request, require, teach..27
2) Many verbs of thinking, saying, etc can be used in the same way.
Moriarty is considered to be dangerous.
He is known to be violent.
Other verbs in this category: believe, feel, presume, report, say, understand.
Note that with say the infinitive structure is only possible in the passive. Compare:
They say that he is famous in his own country. (Not: *They say him to be ...)
He is said to be famous in his own country.
With the other verbs in this group, too, the that-structure is more common than the infinitive
structure in active sentences.
3) A few verbs are followed, in the active, by an object and an infinitive without to. Examples
are hear,
help, make, see. In the passive, the to-infinitive is used. Compare:
Active: I saw him come out of the house.
Passive: He was seen to come out of the house.
Active: They made him tell them everything.
Passive: He was made to tell everything.
9. VERBS WHICH CANNOT BE USED
IN THE PASSIVE
Not all verbs have passive forms. Intransitive verbs cannot be used in the passive: since they
do not have
objects, there is nothing to act as a subject of a passive verb. Some transitive verbs cannot be
used in the passive,
at least in certain of their meanings. Most of these are 'stative' verbs (verbs which refer to
states, not actions, and
which often have no progressive forms). Examples are fit, have, lack, resemble, suit.
They have a nice house. (But not: *A nice house is had...)
I was having a bath. (But not: *A bath was being had...)
My shoes don't fit me. (But not: *I'm not fitted by my shoes.)
Sylvia resembles a greek goddess.(But not: *A Greek goddess is resembled by Silvia.)
Your mother lacks tact. (But not: *Tact is lacked ...)
Not all prepositional verbs (see IV.8) can be used in passive structures. For example, we can
say That
chair's not to be sat on or The children have been very well looked after, but we can't say *I was
agreed with
by everybody or *The room was walked into. There are no clear rules about this; the student
has to learn, one by
one, which expressions can be used in the passive..28