Passive The Passive forms are made with be (or get) and the Past Participle.

Passive form Present Simple Present Continuous Past Simple Past Continuous Present Perfect Simple* Past Perfect Simple* Modal, e.g. will Modal, e.g. can Modal, e.g. must Modal, e.g. would Modal, e.g. will, + Perfect going to have to Photos are taken. Photos are being taken. Photos were taken. Photos were being taken. Photos have been taken. Photos had been taken. Photos will be taken. Photos can be taken. Photos must be taken. Photos would be taken. Photos are going to be taken. Photos have to be taken. Corresponding Active form They take photos. They are taking photos. They took photos. They were taking photos. They have taken photos. They had taken photos. They will take photos. They can take photos. They must take photos. They would take photos. They are going to take photos. They have to take photos.

Photos will have been taken. They will have taken photos.

* The Continuous forms are unusual. An Active sentence and the corresponding Passive sentence have the same meaning, but they are not normally interchangeable. One main use of the Passive forms is when we want to express what happened without mentioning the people or things responsible for the action. This happens when we dont know the people, etc., responsible, e.g.: My computer is being repaired. ('Estan reparant el meu ordinador') These houses were built in the seventeenth century. ('Aquestes cases es van construir al segle XVII') Another Main use is when we want to appear objective, for example in describing scientific experiments or giving medical advice, e.g.: 100 grams of salt were dissolved in 1 litre of water. ('Es van dissoldre 100 grams de sal en 1 litre daigua') The pills should be taken before meals. ('Les pndoles shaurien de prendre abans dels pats') Another main use is when the people or things responsible constitute new information. Compare the following situations: First situation: "I will introduce you to Sally Winters. Shes a fr iend of mine and she painted my portrait." Second situation: A: "I like that portrait of you." B: "Im glad you like it. It was painted by Sally Winters. Shes a friend of mine."

In the first situation, the conversation is about Sally Winters, and it is natural to give more information about her by saying: "She painted my portrait." In the second situation, the conversation is about the portrait, and it is natural to give more information about it by saying: "It was painted by Sally Winters." Similarly, if someone asks: "What happened to Mrs Lawrence?" it would be more natural to reply: "She was attacked by a dog" than "A dog attacked her." Notice that, in a Passive sentence, when we mention the people or things responsible, the Preposition is by (not for), e.g.: Mrs Lawrence was attacked by a dog.('La senyora Lawrence va ser atacada per un gos') Hamlet was written by Shakespeare. ('Hamlet va ser escrit per Shakespeare') You will be met by a representative of the company. ('Ser rebuda per un representant de lempresa') For by, see also Means. You will sometimes see Passives with get instead of be, with very similar meaning. Tim was/got caught trying to steal a radio. ('Van agafar en Tim quan intentava robar una rdio') As distinct from Catalan, an Indirect Object can become the Subject of a Passive sentence, e.g.: Wendy was given a bicycle for her birthday. ('Li van donar a la Wendy una bici per al seu aniversari') If you are offered cocaine, dont accept it. ('Si tofereixen cocana, no lacceptis') For have something done, see Causative.