The
Passive Voice
There are seven types of passive voices
1 General Passive
2 Modal Passive
3 Journalistic Passive
4 Double object Passive
5 + ing Passive
6 + going to Passive
7 + want to Passive
An active sentence like I drank two cups of coffee has the subject first (the person or thing that does the
verb), followed by the verb, and finally the object (the person or thing that
the action happens to).
So, in this example, the subject is 'I', the
verb is 'drank' and the object is 'two cups of coffee'.
But, we don't always need to make sentences this
way. We might want to put the object first, or perhaps we don't want to say who
did something. This can happen for lots of reasons (see the explanation further
down the page). In this case, we can use a passive, which puts the object
first:
·
Two cups of coffee were
drunk (we can add 'by me' if we want, but it isn't necessary).
How to make the Passive in English
We make the passive by putting the verb 'to be'
into whatever tense we need and then adding the Past Participle. For
regular verbs, we make the past participle by adding 'ed' to the infinitive.
So play becomes played.
|
Tense
|
Active
|
Passive
|
|
present Simple
|
I make a
cake.
|
A cake is made (by
me).
|
|
present continuous
|
I am making a
cake.
|
A cake is being made (by
me).
|
|
past simple
|
I made a
cake.
|
A cake was made (by
me).
|
|
past continuous
|
I was making a
cake.
|
A cake was being made(by
me).
|
|
present perfect
|
I have made a
cake.
|
A cake has been made (by
me).
|
|
present perfect continuous
|
I have been making a
cake.
|
A cake has been being
made (by me).
|
|
past perfect
|
I had made a
cake.
|
A cake had been made(by
me).
|
|
Future simple
|
I will make a
cake.
|
A cake will be made (by
me).
|
|
future perfect
|
I will have madea
cake.
|
A cake will have been
made (by me).
|
Verbs with two objects
Some verbs that have two objects can make two
different active sentences, and so two different passive sentences too:
Give
·
Active: He gave me the
book / He gave the book to me.
You can choose either of
the two objects to be the subject of the passive sentence.
·
Passive: I was given the
book (by him)/ The book was given to me (by him).
Other verbs like this
are: ask, offer, teach, tell, lend, promise, sell, throw.
The passive in subordinate clauses
You can make the passive
in a subordinate clause that has a subject and a normal conjugated verb. This
is really the same as a normal passive.
·
Active: I thought that
Mary had kissed John.
·
Passive: I thought that
John had been kissed by Mary.
·
Active: He knew that
people had built the church in 1915.
·
Passive: He knew that
the church had been built in 1915.
You can also make the
passive using a passive gerund or a passive infinitive in the same place as a
normal gerund or infinitive.
·
The child loves being
cuddled.
·
She would like to be
promoted.
When should we use the Passive?
1. When we want to change the focus of the
sentence:
v The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci.
(We are more interested in the painting than the artist in this sentence)
2. When who or what causes the action is unknown
or unimportant or obvious or 'people in general':
v He was arrested (obvious agent, the police).
v My bike has been stolen (unknown agent).
v The road is being repaired (unimportant agent).
v The form can be obtained from the post office
(people in general).
3. In factual or scientific writing:
v The chemical is placed in a test tube and the
data entered into the computer.
4. In formal writing instead of using someone/
people/ they (these can be used in speaking or informal writing):
v The brochure will be finished next month.
5. In order to put the new information at the end
of the sentence to improve style:
v Three books are used regularly in the class. The
books were written by Dr. Bell. ('Dr. Bell wrote the books' sound clumsy)
6. When the subject is very long:
v I was surprised by how well the students did in
the test. (More natural than: 'how well the students did in the test surprised
me')
Passive voice for
Present/Future Modals
“CAN, MAY, MIGHT, SHOULD, MUST, OUGHT TO”
·
The places of subject
and object in sentence are inter-changed in passive voice.
·
3rd form of verb (past
participle) will be used only (as main verb) in passive voice.
·
To change sentences
having present/future modal into passive voice, auxiliary verb “be” is added
after modal in sentence.
|
Passive
voice for Present/Future Modals
“CAN,
MAY, MIGHT, SHOULD, MUST, OUGHT TO”
Auxiliary verb in passive voice: be
|
|
Active voice: CAN
She can play a violin.
She cannot play a violin.
Can she play a violin?
|
|
Passive
voice: CAN BE
A violin can be played by her.
A violin cannot be played by her.
Can a violin be played by her?
|
|
|
Active voice: MAY
I may buy the computer.
I may not buy the computer.
May I buy the computer?
|
Active voice: MAY BE
The computer may be bought by me.
The computer may not be bought by me.
May the computer be bought by me?
|
|
Active voice: MIGHT
Guests might play chess.
Guests might not play chess.
|
Active voice: MIGHT BE
Chess might be played by guests.
Chess might not be played guests.
|
|
Active voice: SHOULD
Students should study all lessons.
Students should not study all lessons.
Should students study all lessons?
|
Active voice: SHOULD BE
All lessons should be studied by students.
All lessons should not be studied by students.
Should all lessons be studied by students?
|
|
Active voice: MUST
You must learn the test-taking strategies.
You must not learn the test-taking strategies.
|
Active voice: MUST BE
Test-taking strategies must be learnt by you.
Test-taking strategies must not be learned by you.
|
|
Active voice: OUGHT TO
They ought to take the examination.
|
Active voice: OUGHT TO BE
The examination ought to be taken by them.
|
Passive voice for Past
Modals
“MAY HAVE, MIGHT HAVE, SHOULD HAVE, MUST HAVE, OUGHT TO HAVE”
·
The places of subject
and object in sentence are inter-changed in passive voice.
·
3rd form of verb (past
participle) will be used only (as main verb) in passive voice.
·
To change sentences
having past modal into passive voice, auxiliary verb “been” is added after
modal in sentence.
|
Passive
voice for Present/Future Modals
“MAY HAVE,
MIGHT HAVE, SHOULD HAVE, MUST HAVE, OUGHT HAVE TO”
Auxiliary verb in passive voice: been
|
|
Active voice: MAY HAVE
You may have availed the opportunity.
You may not have availed the opportunity.
|
|
Active
voice: MAY HAVE BEEN
The opportunity may have been availed by you.
The opportunity may not have been availed by you.
|
|
|
Active voice: MIGHT HAVE
He might have eaten meal.
He might not have eaten meal.
|
Active voice: MIGHT HAVE BEEN
Meal might have been eaten by him.
Meal might not have been eaten by him.
|
|
Active voice: SHOULD HAVE
You should have studied the book.
You should not have studied the book.
|
Active voice: SHOULD HAVE BEEN
The book should have been studied by you.
The book should have not been studied by you.
|
|
Active voice: MUST HAVE
He must have started job.
He must not have started job.
|
Active voice: MUST HAVE BEEN
Job must have been started by you.
Job must not have been started by you.
|
|
Active voice: OUGHT TO HAVE
You ought to have helped him.
|
Active voice: OUGHT TO HAVE BEEN
He ought to have been
helped by you
|
Passive voice of imperative sentences
(command
and request)
A sentence which expresses command or
request or advice is called imperative
sentence.
Forexample,
Open the door.
Turn off the television.
Learn your lesson.
For changing these sentences in to passive voice, auxiliary verb “be” is used.
The word “Let” is added before sentence in passive voice. Auxiliary verb “be”
is added after object in sentence in passive voice. Main verb (base form) of
imperative sentence is changed to 3rd form of verb (past participle) in passive
voice. For best understand read the following examples.
Examples
Passive voice of “Imperative
Sentences”
|
Active Voice
|
Passive Voice
|
|
Open the door.
|
Let the door be opened.
|
|
Complete the work.
|
Let the worked be completed.
|
|
Turn off the television.
|
Let the television be tuned off.
|
|
Learn your lesson.
|
Let your lesson be learnt.
|
|
Kill the snake.
|
Let the snake be killed.
|
|
Punish him.
|
Let him be punished.
|
|
Speak the truth.
|
Let the truth be spoken.
|
|
Help the poor.
|
Let the poor be helped.
|
|
Revise your book.
|
Let your book be revised.
|
|
Clean your room.
|
Let your
room be cleaned.
|
Sentences
which cannot be changed into passive voice
Transitive and intransitive verb
A verb can be either
transitive or intransitive. A transitive verb needs an object (in sentence) to
give complete meaning while intransitive verb does need an object (in sentence)
to give complete meaning.
For example,
Transitive verb.
He sent a letter.
(Send is a transitive verb and it needs an object i.e. letter to express
full meaning.)
Intransitive Verb.
He laughs.
(Laugh is an intransitive verb and it does not
need object for expressing full meaning.)
e.g. Sleep, go, reach, sit, die, are examples of
intransitive verbs.
Intransitive verb cannot be changed into passive voice
The sentences having
intransitive verbs (belonging to any tense) cannot be changed into passive
voice. The reason is that there is not any object in such sentences and without
object of sentence passive voice is not possible.
A sentence can be changed into passive voice if it has subject and object.
Sometimes subject may not be written in passive voice but it does not mean that
it has no subject. Such sentences have subject but the subject is so common or
familiar or known that if even it is not written in passive voice, it gives
full meaning.
For example
Cloth is sold in yards.
The following tenses can also not be changed into passive voice.
1. Present perfect continuous tense
2. Past perfect continuous tense
3. Future continuous tense
4. Future perfect continuous tense
