Passive Voice

Passive Voice
Agent Receiv
Doer er
Active • Someone built this house in 1961
object

Passi • This House was built by someone in 1961.

ve

• Leonardo Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa.

• The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci.

I drank two cups of coffee.

 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.

• Subject + verb to be ( tense) + past participle of the verb

• Leonardo Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa.

• The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci.

• the subject of the active voice sentence becomes the agent of the
passive sentence. It is placed after the past participle and it is preceded
by the preposition by.
I drink two cups of coffee.
 When do we use the passive voice?
1. We do not know who the agent is:
•I don’t know who did it, but my pet rabbit has been let out.
•I had the feeling that I was being followed.

2.When it is obvious to the listener or reader who the agent is:

• I had been robbed this morning.
• Grammar has been taught to the students.
3. When it is not important to know who the agent is:
• The road is being repaired
• The prisoners will be punished

4. When the agent has already been mentioned:

• In the next session of parliament, new laws will be introduced aimed at
stopping domestic violence.

5. When people in general are the agents:

• The form can be obtained from the post office
• All the Beatles records can be borrowed from the central library
 Practice
• My dad had repaired my car
• They cancelled all flights because of fog.
• People don’t use this road.
• Somebody accused me of stealing money.
• How do people learn languages?
 Change the following sentences into
passive sentences
a. We sell tickets for all shows at the Box Office.
____________________________________________________________________
b. Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb.
____________________________________________________________________ c
Someone must paint the office.
____________________________________________________________________
d. Several people have seen the accident.
_____________________________________________________________________
e. Where did they make these video recorders?
_______________________________________________________________________
f. I won’t have made a cake.
_______________________________________________________________________
My father gave me a present
 Verbs with two objects
Indirect Direct
Object Object

•My father gave me a present

To Whom? Whom?
for Whom? What?

Direct object: it is an object or pronoun that receives the action of the verb in the
sentence directly
Indirect object: it is an object or pronoun to whom or for whom the action is
done.
It receives the action through the direct object and not directly.
•Ricky threw pebbles in the pond.
•Has he passed the salt to Nicky?
•I received a letter.
•The teacher game me the book.
 Verbs with two objects
• Some verbs that have two objects can make two different active sentences,
and so two different passive sentences too.
• Some of these verbs are: bring, buy, cost, get, give, leave, lend, make,
offer, owe, pass, pay, play, promise, read, refuse, send, show, sing, take,
teach, tell, wish, write
ACTIVE
• My father gave me a present
• My father gave a present to me

PASSIVE
• I was given a present by my father
• A present was given to me by my father.
 Verbs with two objects
• Active:
• Somebody gave the police the information
• Passive:
• The police were given the information.
• The information was given to the police.
 Practice
• They haven’t offered me the job.
• We will give you plenty of time
• The boss showed me the office.
• They pay him a lot of money
• Have they bought the medicine to the baby?
• Could she send me the report?
Personal and Impersonal
Passive
 Impersonal Passive
• It is used when one doesn't want to, or is unable to, site legitimate
sources for what you are saying. It is, essentially, a way of claiming
any position without justifying it.
• We use impersonal passive with: say/ agree / allege / announce /
assume / believe / calculate / claim / consider / declare /
discover / estimate / expect / find / known / mention / propose /
recommend / rumour / show / suppose / suggest / understand
 Impersonal Passive

• We place “It” as the subject.

• We make the normal Passive in the first verb. The rest of the sentence doesn't
change
Active:
• People claim that the Mona Lisa is the most famous painting in the world.
• They say that she lies all the time.
Passive:
• It is claimed that the Mona Lisa is the most famous painting in the world.
• It is said that she lies all the time.
People say that children are afraid of ghosts
 Personal passive
We use the Second Subject as the Subject for our Passive Sentence.
We make the normal Passive in the first verb.
We use infinitive with present simple and future simple tenses, present
continuous.
Active:
• People claim that the Mona Lisa is the most famous painting in the world.
They believe that the factory will make profit soon
They think she is writing a book
Passive:
The Mona Lisa is claimed to be the most famous painting in the world.
The factory is believed to make profit soon
She is thought to be writing a book.
People believe that Mr Brown owns a lot of land in the north.
Mr Brown is believed to own a lot of land in the north.

People expect that a new law will be introduced next year.

A new law is expected to be introduced next year.
We use to + have + past participle with present perfect, past simple, past continuous, past
perfect and future perfect.
• They think she has written a book
• People believe that John Lennon was a great musician
• People think that the government was building new schools
• They think that you had lived in London
• They say that he will have delivered all the newspapers by 8 o'clock

• She is thought to have written a book

• John Lennon is thought to have been a great musician
• The government is thought to have been building new schools
• You are thought to have lived in London
• He is said to have delivered all the newspapers by 8 o’clock
 Practice
They think that Mike will finish his project soon
Impersonal Its thought that Mike will finish his project soon
Personal Mike is thought to finish his project soon
Scientists claim that their research will have shown important clues by the next
year.
Impersonal Its claimed that the research will have shown important clues by
the next year
Personal The research is claimed to have shown important clues by the next
year
 practice

Rewrite the sentences in Passive voice.

She gives him a box.
Michael has not sent me the file.
The teacher told us a joke.
Who told my secret?
Make correct passive phrases. Mind the tenses in brackets.
• children / to see in the park (Simple Past)
• astronauts / to send to the moon (will-future)
write the personal and impersonal form of this sentence
People expect that they will arrive in time for dinner