ENGLISH GRAMMAR The Passive Voice

THE PASSIVE VOICE

INTRODUCTION
The passive of an active tense is formed by putting the verb to be into the same tense as the active verb
and adding the past participle of the active verb. The subject of the active verb becomes the ‘agent’ of the
passive verb. The agent is very often not mentioned. When it is mentioned it is preceded by by and placed
at the end of the clause.
Active: My grandfather planted this tree.
Passive: This tree was planted by my grandfather.

PASSIVE VERB TENSES

ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE
Present Simple He delivers the letters. The letters are delivered.
Past Simple He delivered the letters. The letters were delivered.
Future Simple He will deliver the letters. The letters will be delivered.
Present Continuous He is delivering the letters. The letters are being delivered.
Past Continuous He was delivering the letters. The letters were being delivered.
Going to He is going to deliver the letters. The letters are going to be delivered.
Present Perfect He has delivered the letters. The letters have been delivered.
Past Perfect He had delivered the letters. The letters had been delivered.
Infinitive He has to deliver the letters. The letters have to be delivered.
Modals He must deliver the letters. The letters must be delivered.

1 SIMPLE CONTINUOUS PERFECT

+ S + am/is/are + Ptp S + am/is/are + being + Ptp S + have/has + been + Ptp

PRESENT - S + am/is/are + not + Ptp S + am/is/are + not +being + Ptp S + have/has + not + been + Ptp

? Am/Is/Are + S + Ptp ? Am/Is/Are) + S + being + Ptp ? Have/Has) + S + been + Ptp ?

+ S + was/were + Ptp S + was/were + being + Ptp S + had + been + Ptp

PAST - S + was/were + not + Ptp S + was/were + not + being + Ptp S + had + not + been + Ptp

? Was/Were + S +PtpV ? Was/Were + S + being + Ptp? Had + S + been + Ptp

+ S + will + be + Ptp

FUTURE - S + will + not + be + Ptp

? Will + S + be + Ptp ?

+ S + V to be (am/is/are) + going to +
be + Ptp
GOING TO - S + V to be (am/is/are) + not + going
to + be + Ptp
? V to be (am/is/are) + S + going to +
be + Ptp ?
Short answers
To make short answers:
 we use the verb to be (am/is/are/was/were) for Present Simple, Past Simple, Present
Continuous, Past Continuous and Going To questions.
 we use the verb have (have/has/had) for Present Perfect and Past Perfect questions.
 we use will for Future Simple questions.

USE
The Passive is used:
1. when the agent (=the person who does the action) is unknown, unimportant or obvious from the
context.
Jane was shot. (We don’t know who shot her.)
This church was built in 1815. (Unimportant agent)
He has been arrested. (Obviously by the police)
2. to make more polite or formal statements.
The car hasn’t been cleaned. (more polite)
(You haven’t cleaned the car. – less polite)
3. when the action is more important than the agent, as in processes, instructions, events, reports,
headlines, new items, and advertisements.
30 people were killed in the earthquake.
4. to put emphasis on the agent.
The new library will be opened by the Queen.

AGENT
2 To say who did the action that we are talking about, ie. to refer to the agent, we use the preposition by
and the name (by Peter) , noun (by the teacher) or pronoun (by him) at the end of the sentence.
We usually only refer to the agent when it gives us some important information which otherwise would be
missing from the sentence.
Our house was designed by a famous architect.
We don’t mention the agent:
1. if we don’t know who has done what we are talking about.
Our car was stolen last night. (We don’t know who stole it)
2. if we are not interested in who has done what we are talking about or it is not important to
mention it.
He has been taken to hospital. (What we are interested in is the fact that he has been taken
to hospital and not who has taken him.)
3. if it is easy to understand who did something without it being mentioned.
The murderer was arrested last night. (It is not necessary to mention that he has been
arrested by the police because it is self-evident.)
4. if the subject of the active voice sentence is something like somebody, people, they, you, etc.
Someone broke the window. → The window was broken.

ACTIVE TO PASSIVE
To change a sentence from the active voice to the passive voice:
 the object of the active voice sentence becomes the subject of the passive voice sentence.
Agatha Christie wrote this book.
This book was written by Agatha Christie.
 we change the main verb of the active voice sentence into the passive voice. The tense remains
unchanged.
 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.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR The Passive Voice

Agatha Christie wrote this book.

This book was written by Agatha Christie.

Leslie took this photograph yesterday.

SUBJECT ACTIVE VERB OBJECT TIME COMPLEMENT

This photograph was taken by Leslie yesterday.

SUBJECT PASSIVE VERB AGENT TIME COMPLEMENT

BY OR WITH?
In the passive voice, we use:
 by with the agent to refer to by whom the action is being done.
The door was opened by Mr Black. (Mr Blak = agent)
 with to refer to the instrument, object or material that was used for something to be done.
The door was opened with a key. (a key = the object that was used)
The omelette was made with eggs, cheese and peppers. (eggs, cheese and peppers = the
material that was used)

DOUBLE OBJECT VERBS

When we have verbs that take two objects like, for example, give somebody something, we can convert
the active sentence into a passive one in two ways:
a. by making the indirect (animate) object the subject of the passive voice sentence, which is also the
way that we usually prefer.
b. By making the direct (inanimate) object the subject of the passive voice.
Rick gave me (indirect object) this book (direct object).
I was given this book by Rick.
3 This book was given to me by Rick.
Some of the verbs that take two objects are: give, tell, send, show, bring, write, offer, pay, etc.
When the indirect object is alone after the verb in the passive voice sentence, it needs the preposition to.
If the indirect object of the active voice sentence is a personal pronoun it has to be changed into a subject
pronoun to be the subject of the passive voice sentence.

SUBJECT OBJECT
I ←→ me SUBJECT OBJECT
You ←→ you We ←→ us
He ←→ him You ←→ you
She ←→ her They ←→ them
It ←→ it

BIBLIOGRAPHY
- A. J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, A Practical English Grammar, Oxford University Press, 1986
- V. Evans, Round-Up (English Grammar Practice), Longman, 1995
- M. Carling and S. Jervis, Grammar Time 4, Longman, 2003
- S. Jervis, Grammar Time 5, Longman, 2003
- M. Carling, Grammar Time 6, Longman, 2003
EXERCISES
1. Complete the sentences with the correct passive form of the verbs in brackets. Use the Present
Simple.
a. English ____________________ (speak) in many countries.
b. The post ______________________ (deliver) at about 7 o’clock every morning.
c. ______________________________ (the building/use) any more?
d. How often ______________________________ (the Olympic Games(hold)?
e. How _______________________ (your name/spell)?
f. My salary _____________________ (pay) every month.
g. These cars _________________________ (not make) in Japan.
h. The name of the people who committed the crime _____________________ (not know).
i. His travel expenses ________________________ (not pay) by his company.

2. Complete the sentences with the correct passive form of the verbs in brackets. Use the Past Simple.
a. My car ______________________ (repair) last week.
b. This song ________________________ (not write) by John Lennon.
c. ________________________________ (the phone/answer) by a young girl?
d. The film ________________________ (make) ten years ago.
e. When ______________________________ (tennis/invent)?
f. The car ________________________ (not damaged) in the accident.
g. The original building _________________________ (pull) down in 1965.
h. Where ______________________________ (this pot/make)?
i. When _______________________________ (this bridge/build)?
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3. Choose the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
FIAT
Fiat 0 was started (started/was started) by a group of Italian businessmen in 1899. In 1903, Fiat,
1
_________________ (produced/was produced) 132 cars. Some of these cars
2
_____________________ (exported/were exported) by the company to the United States and Britain.
In 1920, Fiat 3_________________ (started/was started) making cars at a new factory at Lingotto, near
Turin. There was a track on the roof where the cars 4____________________ (tested/were tested) by
technicians. In 1936, Fiat launched the Fiat 500. This car 5____________________ (called/was called)
the Topolino – the Italian name for Mickey Mouse. The company grew, and in 1963 Fiat
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_____________________ (exported/was exported) more than 300,000 vehicles. Today, Fiat is based in
Turin, and its cars 7_________________ (sold/are sold) all over the world.

4. Change the following sentences into passive sentences using the words in brackets.
a. We sell tickets for all shows at the Box Office. (Tickets for all shows/sell/at the Box Office)
_________________________________________________________________________________
b. Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb. (The electric light bulb/invent/by Thomas Edison)
_________________________________________________________________________________
c. Someone painted the office last week. (The office/paint/last week)
_________________________________________________________________________________
d. Several people saw the accident. (The accident/see/by several people)
_________________________________________________________________________________
e. Where do they make these video recorders? (Where/these video recorders/make)
_________________________________________________________________________________
ENGLISH GRAMMAR The Passive Voice

5. Rewrite these sentences in the passive voice.

a. Someone built this house 200 years ago.
_________________________________________________________________________________
b. A thief stole my purse.
_________________________________________________________________________________
c. The police will arrest the robbers.
_________________________________________________________________________________
d. They produce cars in this factory.
_________________________________________________________________________________
e. They serve breakfast at eight o’clock every day.
_________________________________________________________________________________
f. People throw away tones of rubbish every day.
_________________________________________________________________________________
g. They make coffee in Brazil.
_________________________________________________________________________________
h. Someone stole Jim’s bike lat night.
_________________________________________________________________________________

6. Rewrite these sentences in the passive voice.

a. They will build a new bridge next year.
_________________________________________________________________________________
b. Brian Brody directed The Ultimate Space Adventure.
_________________________________________________________________________________
c. Pierre Matie will design her costume.
_________________________________________________________________________________
d. Someone found my wallet.
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_________________________________________________________________________________
e. One of the students broke the window.
_________________________________________________________________________________
f. They will deliver my computer on Monday.
_________________________________________________________________________________
g. Mary invited Paul to her birthday party.
_________________________________________________________________________________
h. British astronomers discovered a new planet.
_________________________________________________________________________________

7. Form the question.

a. Paper is made from wood. Is paper made from wood ?
b. The telephone was invented by Mr Bell. ___________________________________________?
c. This picture was painted by Peter. ___________________________________________?
d. The thieves will be arrested by the police. ___________________________________________?
e. Champagne is made in France. ___________________________________________?
f. The letters will be sent next week. ___________________________________________?
g. The animals are fed three times a day. ___________________________________________?
h. This article was written by Stanley. ___________________________________________?
i. CDs are made of plastic. ___________________________________________?
j. The party was organised by Paul. ___________________________________________?

8. Read and complete. Use Past Simple.

a. The toothbrush / invent / in the 15th century.
_________________________________________________________________________________
b. The first public basketball game / play / in 1892.
_________________________________________________________________________________
c. The first eyeglasses / wear / in the 1200s.
_________________________________________________________________________________
d. The first bicycle / ride in 1791.
_________________________________________________________________________________
e. The first hot dog / eat / in the 1860s.
_________________________________________________________________________________
f. The first CDs / sell / in the 1980s.
_________________________________________________________________________________
g. The first electric guitar / play / in 1923.
_________________________________________________________________________________
h. The first computer mouse / use / 1964.
_________________________________________________________________________________

6 9. Complete with the passive. Use Present Simple.

a. This programme _______________________ (watch) by millions of people.
b. Paper __________________________ (make) from wood.
c. Hundreds of people _______________________ (kill) in accidents every year.
d. London __________________________ (visit) by thousands of tourists every year.
e. The biology class _________________________ (teach) by Mr Green.
f. English _____________________ (speak) all over the world.
g. Lunch _____________________ (serve) at twelve o’clock.
h. Books _____________________ (write) by authors.

10. Put the verbs in brackets into Past Simple Passive.

Two men _________________________ (see) breaking into a house in my street last night. The police
_____________________ (call) and they arrived very quickly. One man _____________________
(catch) immediately. The other escaped, but he ______________________ (find) very soon. Both men
_____________________ (take) to the police station where they _________________________
(question) separately by a police officer. The two men ________________________ (charge) with
burglary.

11. Rewrite the following passage in the Passive.

Somebody has stolen a bus from outside the school. Some children saw the thief. The police are
searching for the bus now. They will use the children’s descriptions to catch the thief.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________