{"id":7109,"date":"2017-09-25T20:38:10","date_gmt":"2017-09-25T18:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?p=7109"},"modified":"2021-10-11T09:27:11","modified_gmt":"2021-10-11T07:27:11","slug":"passive-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2017\/09\/passive-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"Passive Voice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>We use the passive voice to show whether the subject of the sentence performs or just receives the action. If the subject does the action, it is in the active voice. On the other hand, when the subject isn&#8217;t the one performing the action and only receiving it, then the verb is in the passive voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Active<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Passive<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Ana <strong>served<\/strong> dinner.<\/td><td>Dinner <strong>was<\/strong> served by Ana.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>People in 20 countries <strong>speak<\/strong> Spanish.<\/td><td>Spanish <strong>is spoken<\/strong> in 20 countries.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>He <strong>has washed<\/strong> the car.<\/td><td>The car <strong>has been washed<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>She <strong>will write<\/strong> the biography.<\/td><td>The biography <strong>will be written<\/strong> by her.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Forming Passive Voice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The verb is in&nbsp;passive voice when&nbsp;it uses a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2020\/08\/be-verbs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">verb to b<\/a><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2020\/08\/be-verbs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>e<\/strong><\/a> and a <strong>past participle<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-primary-color has-accent-background-color has-text-color has-background\"><strong>Subject + Verb To Be + Past Participle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Affirmative<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Negative<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Interrogative<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Negative Interrogative<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>The car <strong>was bought<\/strong> last year.<\/td><td>The car <strong>was not bought<\/strong> last year.<\/td><td><strong>Was<\/strong> the car <strong>bought<\/strong> last year?<\/td><td>Wasn&#8217;t the car <strong>bought<\/strong> last year?<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Passive Voice in Different Tenses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For this part, we will be using the verb &#8220;to do&#8221; as example and see how it is formed in passive voice in different verb tenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-stripes\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Tense<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Subject<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Conjugated To Be<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Past Participle<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Rest of the Sentence<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Full Sentence<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Simple Present<\/td><td>The repair<\/td><td>is<\/td><td>done<\/td><td>every week<\/td><td>The repair <strong>is done<\/strong> every week.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Present Continuous<\/td><td>The repair<\/td><td>is<\/td><td>being done<\/td><td>right now<\/td><td>The repair <strong>is being done<\/strong> right now.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Simple Past<\/td><td>The repair<\/td><td>was <\/td><td>done<\/td><td>last year<\/td><td>The repair <strong>was done<\/strong> last year. <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Past Continuous<\/td><td>The repair<\/td><td>was being<\/td><td>done<\/td><td>yesterday<\/td><td>The repair <strong>was being done<\/strong> yesterday.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Present Perfect<\/td><td>The repair <\/td><td>has been<\/td><td>done<\/td><td>since you reported the damage<\/td><td>The repair <strong>has been done<\/strong> since you reported the damage.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Past Perfect<\/td><td>The repair<\/td><td>had been<\/td><td>done<\/td><td>before the storm came<\/td><td>The repair <strong>had been done<\/strong> before the storm came.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Future<\/td><td>The repair <\/td><td>will be<\/td><td>done<\/td><td>next month<\/td><td>The repair <strong>will be done<\/strong> next month.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Future Continuous<\/td><td>The repair<\/td><td>will be being <\/td><td>done<\/td><td>two days from now<\/td><td>The repair <strong>will be being done<\/strong> two days from now.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Present Conditional<\/td><td>The repair<\/td><td>would be<\/td><td>done<\/td><td>if there are damages<\/td><td>The repair <strong>would be done<\/strong> if there are damages.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Past Conditional<\/td><td>The repair<\/td><td>would have been<\/td><td>done<\/td><td>if the damage had been severe<\/td><td>The repair <strong>would have been done<\/strong> if the damage had been severe.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Infinitive<\/td><td>The repair<\/td><td>has to be<\/td><td>done<\/td><td>before the storm hits<\/td><td>The repair <strong>has to be done <\/strong>before the storm hits.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Us<\/strong>es<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The most important thing to remember here is to use passive voice when the focus of the topic is on the action. Consequently, it is not important or not known who or what is performing the action.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>My bike <strong>was stolen<\/strong>. <\/p><p><em>In this sentence,&nbsp;the focus is that someone stole my bike and I don&#8217;t know who did it.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Generally, a statement in the passive voice is more polite than the active voice. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>A mistake <strong>was made<\/strong>.<em> <\/em><\/p><p><em>In this sentence, I focused on the fact that a mistake was made, but I don&#8217;t blame anyone. Rather than saying, &#8220;You have made a mistake.&#8221;.<\/em><\/p><p><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Remember the following points when you are rewriting active sentences into passive voice.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>First, the subject of the passive sentence is the object of the active sentence.<\/li><li>Secondly, the main verb is changed to: to be&nbsp;+ past participle.<\/li><li>Lastly, the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence or is not included anymore.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Converting Active Voice into  Passive Voice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Take a look at some examples of active sentences that are converted into passive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Active:<\/span> Andy sings the song.<br><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Passive:<\/span> The song is sung by Andy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Active:<\/span> They washed the dishes.<br><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Passive:<\/span> The dishes were washed by them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Active:<\/span> Alfred has bought a car.<br><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Passive:<\/span> A car has been bought by Alfred.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Active:<\/span> Tomas will be fishing.<br><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Passive:<\/span> Fish will be caught by Tomas.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Active:<\/span> Mary can ride bicycles.<br><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Passive:<\/span> Bicycles can be ridden by Mary.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Passive Voice Exercise<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Answer this exercise on passive voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1. I will ________ by my sister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>a. accompany<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>b. be accompanied<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>c. accompanied<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2. My mother ____________ an award by her company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>a. has been given&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>b. has given<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>c. gave<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3. The employees are waiting to ____.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>a. promote<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>b. be promoted<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>c. be promote<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>4. She ________ to the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>a. took<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>b. was taken<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>c. has taken<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>5. The rat _______ for the experiment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>a. was used<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>b. used<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>c. uses<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>6. The newly-elected officials _______ on 22 November 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>a. sworn<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>b. swore<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>c. were sworn<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>7. Mistakes&nbsp;________.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>a. have made<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>b. were made<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>c. were make<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>8. The door&nbsp;_______.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>a. been repaired<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>b. is been repaired<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>c. is being repaired<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>9. Some animals&nbsp;_______&nbsp;on this road every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>a. are kill<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>b. are killed<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>c. was killed<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>10. The earth&nbsp;______&nbsp;in gases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>a. wraps<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>b. is wrapped<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>c. are wrapped<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-subtle-background-background-color has-background\">Find the answers to this exercise <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2017\/09\/passive-voice\/2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>See also: <a href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2017\/03\/modals-of-deduction-and-speculation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2018\/09\/passive-is-done-was-done\/\" target=\"_blank\">Passive (is done\/was done)<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2019\/02\/passive-be-done-been-done-being-done\/\" target=\"_blank\">Passive (be done\/been done\/being done)<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For additional information on this topic, check out this&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.grammarly.com\/blog\/passive-voice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Grammarly Lesson<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-subtle-background-background-color has-background\">For other English grammar lessons, go to this <strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/grammar-index\/\" target=\"_blank\">page<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--nextpage-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Passive Voice Exercise Answers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are the answers to the passive voice exercise on this <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2017\/09\/passive-voice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">page<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>B<\/strong> I will <strong>be accompanied<\/strong> by my sister.&nbsp;<\/li><li><strong>A<\/strong> My mother <strong>has been given<\/strong> an award by her company.<\/li><li><strong>B<\/strong> The employees are waiting to <strong>be promoted<\/strong>.<\/li><li><strong>B<\/strong> She <strong>was taken<\/strong> to the hospital.<\/li><li><strong>A<\/strong> The rat <strong>was used<\/strong> for the experiment.&nbsp;<\/li><li><strong>C<\/strong> The newly-elected officials <strong>were sworn<\/strong> on 22 November 2019.<\/li><li><strong>B<\/strong> Mistakes&nbsp;<strong>were made<\/strong>.<\/li><li><strong>C<\/strong> The door&nbsp;<strong>is being repaired<\/strong>.<\/li><li><strong>B<\/strong> Some animals&nbsp;<strong>are killed<\/strong>&nbsp;on this road every year.<\/li><li><strong>B<\/strong> The earth&nbsp;<strong>is wrapped<\/strong>&nbsp;in gases.<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We use the passive voice to show whether the subject of the sentence performs or just receives the action. If the subject does the action, it is in the active voice. On the other hand, when the subject isn&#8217;t the one performing the action and only receiving it, then the verb is in the passive [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[309],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grammar"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v16.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Passive Voice | phone english blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn about the forms and uses of the passive voice of verbs from this grammar lesson. 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