VERB VOICE
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How to Form the Passive Voice
We pointed out in in our previous lessonOpens in new window that
Passive voice refers to the form of a verb in which its subject is affected by the action of the verb.
The passive voice of a verb is formed by adding a suitable form of be to the past participle.
The chart below shows the common tenses of the verb “give”.
| Tense | Active Voice | Passive Voice |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Present |
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| Present Continuous |
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| Present Perfect |
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| Simple Past |
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| Past Continuous |
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| Past Perfect |
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| Simple Future |
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Active voice - Andy likes oranges.
Passive voice - Oranges are liked by Andy.
Active voice - The rat eats cockroach.
Passive voice - Cockroach is eaten by the rat.
Active voice - The cleaner is mopping the floor.
Passive voice - The floor is being mopped by the cleaner.
Active voice - Mathew is bringing the materials.
Passive voice - The materials are being brought by Mathew.
Active voice - Uncle Jones has bought a car.
Passive voice - A car has been bought by Uncle Jones.
Active voice - She has washed the dishes.
Passive voice - The dishes have been washed by her.
Active voice - The boy threw a stone.
Passive voice - A stone was thrown by the boy.
Active voice - When did he sell his car?
Passive voice - When was his car sold (by him)?
Active voice - They were repairing the road.
Passive voice - The road was being repaired (by them).
Active voice - The children had eaten all the cakes by that time.
Passive voice - All the cakes had been eaten by the children by that time.
Active voice - I will invite Mr. Jones.
Passive voice - Mr. Jones will be invited (by me).
Example sentences for the various tenses follows:
Notice that when rephrasing active voice into passive voice, the positions which the subject and object occupy in the active voice are interchanged in passive voice.
Thus, the object of the active voice becomes the subject of the passive voice; the subject of the active voice becomes the object of the passive voice (or implied) and the finite form of the verb is changed by adding a suitable form of be to the past participle.
Consider also the following forms:
| Verb Form | Active Voice | Passive Voice |
|---|---|---|
| to-infinitive | to invite | to be invited | Examples |
| He expected you to invite him to the party. | He expected to be invited to the party. | |
| ing- form | inviting | being invited | Examples |
| She likes people inviting her. | She likes being invited. | |
When the verb in the active voice is followed by two objects, it is more usual in English to make the indirect object Opens in new window, that is, “object referring to a person”, the subject of the passive voice.
Observe these Examples:
| Active voice |
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|---|---|
| Passive voice |
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The following examples cover a variety of sentences, some of which are more complex:
Active voice - All love him
Passive voice - He is loved by all.
Active voice - They sell cakes here
Passive voice - Cakes are sold here.
Active voice - We should respect teachers.
Passive voice - Teachers should be respected.
Active voice - Who wrote this essay?
Passive voice - Who was this essay written by?(formal - By whom was this essay written?)
Active voice - When will you return the book?
Passive voice - When will the book be returned?
Active voice - Why did you sell your car?
Passive voice - Why was your car sold?
Active voice - People have seen a tiger in the woods.
Passive voice - A tiger has been seen in the woods.
Active voice - They were pulling down the old house.
Passive voice - The old house was being pulled down.
Active voice - You ought to listen to his words.
Passive voice - His words ought to be listened to.
Active voice - We should have hired a taxi.
Passive voice - A taxi should have been hired.
Active voice - John gave her a present.
Passive voice - She was given a present by John.
Active voice - Someone has stolen my purse.
Passive voice - My purse has been stolen.
Active voice - Someone has stolen my purse.
Passive voice - My purse has been stolen.
Active voice - They elected him President.
Passive voice - He was elected President.
Active voice - I made the room beautiful.
Passive voice - The room was made beautiful.
Active voice - I made the room beautiful.
Passive voice - The room was made beautiful.
Active voice - I would like you to assist him.
Passive voice - I would like him to be assisted.
Active voice - I hate people staring at me.
Passive voice - I hate being stared at.
Active voice - I know him.
Passive voice - He is known to me.
Other Expressions:
Expressions of such type as, They / People + say / believe, etc. are usually used in the passive in formal style, as in: It is said / believed that …
Active voice - They say ghosts live in the house over there.
Passive voice - It is said that ghosts live in the house over there.
Active voice - People believed that the earth was flat.
Passive voice - It was believed that the earth was flat.
Sometimes a rather useful pattern is: The person or thing is said to be …
Active voice - We say this sentence is in the passive voice.
Passive voice - This sentence is said to be in the passive voice.
Active voice - People consider him to be a great patriot.
Passive voice - He is considered to be a great patriot.
Active voice - They expect the report to come out next month.
Passive voice - The report is expected to come out next month.
