Passive Voice
Passive
voice
is
used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known,
however, who or what is performing the action.
Example: My
bike was stolen.
In the
example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know,
however, who did it.
Sometimes a
statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example
shows:
Example: A
mistake was made.
In this
case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone
(e.g. You have made a mistake.).
Personal and Impersonal Passive
Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active
sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. So every verb that needs
an object (transitive verb) can form a personal passive.
Example: They build houses. – Houses are built.
Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally
cannot form a personal passive sentence (as there is no object that can become
the subject of the passive sentence). If you want to use an intransitive verb
in passive voice, you need an impersonal construction – therefore this
passive is called Impersonal Passive.
Example: he says – it is said
Impersonal Passive is not as common in English as in some other
languages (e.g. German, Latin). In English, Impersonal Passive is
only possible with verbs of perception (e. g. say, think, know).
Example: They say that women live longer than men. –
It is said that women live longer than men.
Although Impersonal Passive is
possible here, Personal Passive is more common.
Example: They say that women live longer than men. –
Women are said to live longer than men.
The subject of the subordinate clause (women) goes to
the beginning of the sentence; the verb of perception is put into passive
voice. The rest of the sentence is added using an infinitive construction with
'to' (certain auxiliary verbs and that are dropped).
Sometimes the term Personal Passive is
used in English lessons if the indirect object of an active sentence is to
become the subject of the passive sentence.
Examples of Passive
|
Tense
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Object
|
|
|
Simple
Present
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
writes
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
is written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Simple
Past
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
wrote
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
was
written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Present
Perfect
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
has
written
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
has been
written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Future
I
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
will write
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
will be
written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Hilfsverben
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
can write
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
can be
written
|
by Rita.
|
|
Examples of Passive
|
Tense
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Object
|
|
|
Present
Progressive
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
is writing
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
is being
written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Past
Progressive
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
was
writing
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
was being
written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Past
Perfect
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
had
written
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
had been
written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Future
II
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
will have
written
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
will have
been written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Conditional
I
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
would
write
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
would be
written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Conditional
II
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
would have
written
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
would have
been written
|
by Rita.
|
|
Passive Sentences with Two Objects
Rewriting an
active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two
objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to
transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Object
1
|
Object
2
|
|
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
wrote
|
a letter
|
to me.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
was
written
|
to me
|
by Rita.
|
|
Passive:
|
I
|
was
written
|
a letter
|
by Rita.
|
.
As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. That’s why it
is usually dropped.
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