Use of Passive
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.).
Form of Passive
Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs)
Example: A letter was written.
When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:
- the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
- the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
- the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)
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.
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.
Passive voice verbs are used in writing
much more often than in speech, and they are used in some types of
writing much more often than in others. Passives are used more in
journalism (newspapers, magazines) than in fiction (novels, stories),
but most journalists and fiction writers use far more active than
passive sentences. However, passives are very common in all types of
scientific and technical writing. Scientific articles often contain more
passive than active sentences. You should not use passive voice verbs unless you have a good reason.
A. Relationship between active and passive:
1. The object of the active verb is the subject of the passive verb (“English” in the example sentences below). Therefore, verbs which cannot be followed by objects (intransitive verbs) cannot be used in passive voice.
These are some common intransitive verbs: appear, arrive, come, cry, die, go, happen, occur, rain, sleep, stay, walk. These verbs cannot be used in passive voice.
2. The passive verb always contains a form of the auxiliary verb be. The form of be in the passive verb phrase corresponds to the form of the main verb in the active verb phrase (see the underlined
words in the example sentences below). That is, if the active main verb
is simple present tense, then a simple present tense form of be is used in the passive verb phrase; if the active main verb is -ING, then the -ING form of be is used in the passive verb phrase; and so on.
3. The main verb in a passive predicate verb phrase is always the participle form of the verb.
4. Some examples of active and passive sentences:
ACTIVE: They speak English.
PASSIVE: English is spoken.
ACTIVE: They spoke English.
PASSIVE: English was spoken.
ACTIVE: They will speak English.
PASSIVE: English will be spoken.
ACTIVE: They are going to speak English.
PASSIVE: English is going to be spoken.
ACTIVE: They are speaking English.
PASSIVE: English is being spoken.
ACTIVE: They were speaking English.
PASSIVE: English was being spoken.
ACTIVE: They have spoken English.
PASSIVE: English has been spoken.
ACTIVE: They had spoken English.
PASSIVE: English had been spoken.
ACTIVE: They will have spoken English.
PASSIVE: English will have been spoken.
5. Perfect progressive verb forms are generally used in active voice only. That is, these are good English sentences:
ACTIVE: They have been speaking English.
ACTIVE: They had been speaking English.
ACTIVE: They will have been speaking English.
But sentences like these are rarely used:
PASSIVE: English has been being spoken.
PASSIVE: English had been being spoken.
PASSIVE: English will have been being spoken.
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