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THE PASSIVE VOICE
1) FOCUSING ON THE PATIENT /ACTION
Active
Someone stole my car
AGENT verb PATIENT
Passive
PATIENT TO BE + past participle AGENT
(If relevant= BY…)
My car WAS stolen
Edward Smith stole the car
The car was stolen by Edward Smith, who was
arrested yesterday….
© Oxford University Press
THE PASSIVE VOICE
2) DESCRIBING PROCESSES
People produce tea in India
Tea is produced in India
3) REPORTING IMPERSONALLY
People think that education is important
Education is thought to be important
4) “SI PASSIVANTE”
The tower can be seen from here
English is spoken in this shop
© Oxford University Press
The passive
The object of an active verb becomes the subject of a passive verb.
Object
Active
Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa.
Passive
The Mona Lisa was painted by Da Vinci.
Subject
Notice the use of by in the passive.
Change the sentence to the passive.
Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook.
Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg.
© Oxford University Press
The passive
The passive is not just another way of expressing the same sentence
in the active. We choose the active or the passive depending on
what we are more interested in.
Velcro was invented in 1948.
(We are interested in Velcro.)
George de Mestral invented Velcro.
(We are interested in the
inventor.)
Note
Someone stole my camera yesterday.
My camera was stolen yesterday.
NOT My camera was stolen by someone.
The subject of the active sentence is not mentioned in the passive
sentence if it is unknown or not really important.
© Oxford University Press
The passive
We form the passive like this:
Present
Past
Present Perfect
will
am/is/are
was/were
has/have been
will be
+ -ed (past participle)
Nissan cars are made in Japan.
Present
The Da Vinci code was written in 2003.
Past
My car has been stolen!
Present Perfect
I haven’t been invited to the party.
Present Perfect
The project will be finished tomorrow.
will
Smoking shouldn’t be allowed inside.
modal + passive infinitive
© Oxford University Press
The passive
Use
The rules for tense usage in the passive are the same as in the
active.
Present Simple:
The hotel rooms are cleaned daily.
(habit)
Past Simple:
The project was finished last week. (a finished action in the past)
Present Perfect:
It’s been produced since 2009.
(an action which began in the
past and continues to the present)
© Oxford University Press
The passive
We give short answers like this:
Is English spoken in your country?
Yes, it is./No, it isn’t.
Has the money been spent?
Yes, it has./No, it hasn’t.
Was the car repaired?
Yes, it was./No, it wasn’t.
Make the sentences in the passive.
1 When / the radio / invent?
When was the radio invented?
2 Where / BMW cars / make?
Where are BMW cars made?
3 This dress / never / wear.
This dress has never been worn.
4 His name / will / not / forget.
His name will not be forgotten.
© Oxford University Press
THE PASSIVE
• CONTINUOUS
They are buiding a
new mall
• With verbs with fixed
prepositions
Someone paid for
your coffee
A new mall
IS BEING built
Your coffee
was paid for
© Oxford University Press
PASSIVE WITH DOUBLE OBJECY VERBS
They offered me a good job
1) A good job was offered to me
2) I was offered a good
Double object verbs:
ask, show tell lend send, order
- Someone told me (that) Sam has been sacked
I was told (that) Sam …
They asked Mary to work overtime
Mary was asked to work overtime
© Oxford University Press
PASSIVE FOR REPORTING OPINIONS AND
RUMOURS
They say that Mark is a qualified employee
1) It is said that Mark is a qualified employee
( focus on general opinion, indefinite rumour)
2) Mark is said TO BE a qualified employee
(focus on Mark)
Everybody thinks that Mark was sacked
3)It is thought that mark was sacked
4) Mark is thought TO HAVE BEEN sacked.
(perfect infinitive)
© Oxford University Press