Download Passive Voice

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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 rung
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.
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Name: _____________________________
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Passive Practice
Directions: Change the active sentences to the passive form. Don’t include the performer of the action if possible.
1. The teacher helped me. ____I was helped by the teacher_____________________.
2. Bob mailed the package. ______________________________________________________________.
3. That company employs many people. ____________________________________________________.
4. That company hired Julia last year. ______________________________________________________.
5. The secretary is going to fax the letters. __________________________________________________.
6. A college student bought my old car. ____________________________________________________.
7. My son drew that picture. _____________________________________________________________.
8. Some people forget the past. __________________________________________________________.
9. The wind blew the paper away. ________________________________________________________.
10. My grandfather built that house. _______________________________________________________.
11. The people choose the president. ______________________________________________________.
12. My son is driving my car. _____________________________________________________________.
13. People speak Portuguese in Brazil. _____________________________________________________.
14. Hindus don’t eat beef. _______________________________________________________________.
15. My sister forgave me. _______________________________________________________________.
16. We cannot know the future. __________________________________________________________.
17. Someone left this letter for you. _______________________________________________________.
18. Someone in India made my shirt. _______________________________________________________.
19. People sell pottery at Saturday Market. __________________________________________________.
20. The army sent my aunt to Germany. ____________________________________________________.
21. Someone wrote this book in 1654. _____________________________________________________.
22. Someone wove this rug in Afghanistan. _________________________________________________.
23. My friend wove this rug in Afghanistan. _________________________________________________.
24. Do people speak English in Cuba? ______________________________________________________?
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In many cases, the agent of the passive can and should be omitted. Here are some important reasons to omit the agent.
Passives Sentences without an 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. Mexican parents buy special candies for their children. _______________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2. The Japanese celebrate Obon in the summer. _______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
3. The stalls protect the fragrant fruit. _______________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
4. The relatives of the dead must guard the grave. ______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
5. The fireworks fascinate the children. _______________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
6. The merchants sell traditional food. _______________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
7. Do people speak Spanish in Peru?_________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
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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
be
become
come
disagree
fall
go
happen
look
run
sit
sleep
stand
struggle
have
resemble
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 offered 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. The spirits arrive during Obon.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_______ 7. People burn incense and clean the cemeteries.
______________________________________________________________________________
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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.
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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.
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10. Roberto (write) ____________________________ this essay last week. That one on the table (write)
_______________________________ by Abdullah.
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) _has been______ the most famous
landmark in Paris. Today it (recognize) _______________________ by people throughout the world.