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

writes a letter.
Simple Present Active: Rita

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

is writing a letter.
Present Progressive Active: Rita

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

wrote a letter to me.

Active: Rita

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. Thats 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.

TAG QUESTIONS

Los tag questions son pequeas frases o preguntas (mini-questions) que se colocan al final de una oracin
afirmativa o negativa y que generalmente tienen como objetivo confirmar o negar el contenido de la frase
misma. Es el equivalente al verdad? espaol o al no? ms utilizado en pases de Amrica.

TRES REGLAS BASICAS QUE DEBES RECORDAR

1. Los tag questions utilizan siempre los verbos auxiliares.

2. Con oraciones afirmativas utilizamos un tag question en NEGATIVO.

3. Con oraciones negativas utilizamos un tag question en AFIRMATIVO o

POSITIVO.

Analicemos ahora las diferentes alternativas que pueden presentarse:

a) ORACIONES AFIRMATIVAS CON EL VERBO TO BE EN PRESENT SIMPLE O CONTINUO.

Se utiliza la misma forma del verbo en NEGATIVO: aren't you? isn't he? isn't she? isn't it? aren't we?
aren't you? aren't they? Aqu tienes algunos ejemplos:

It's a beautiful day, isn't it? (Es un da hermoso, no?)

Martha is angry, isn't she? (Marta est enojada, verdad?)
You are really tired, aren't you? (Ests muy cansado, no?)
They're very nice people, aren't they? (Son personas muy agradables, no?)
You are coming tomorrow, aren't you? (Vas a venir maana, verdad?)
Pedro's flying now, isn't he? (Pedro est volando en estos momentos, no?)

Por favor recuerda que, en ingls americano y UNICAMENTE en este caso en particular, para la primera
persona del verbo to be se utiliza aren't I? como equivalente de am I not?:
 I'm late, aren't I? (Llego tarde, no?)
I'm arriving late at night, aren't I? (LLegar tarde por la noche, no?)

b) ORACIONES NEGATIVAS CON EL VERBO TO BE EN PRESENT SIMPLE O CONTINUO.

Se utiliza la misma forma del verbo en AFIRMATIVO o POSITIVO: am I? are you? is he? is she? is it? are
we? are you? are they? Aqu tienes algunos ejemplos:

I'm not late, am I? (No llego tarde, no?)

It isn't a beautiful day, is it? (No es un da hermoso, verdad?)
Martha isn't angry, is she? (Marta no est enojada, no?)
You aren't really tired, are you? (No ests muy cansado, verdad?)
They aren't very nice people, are they? (No son personas muy agradables, no?)
You aren't coming tomorrow, are you? (No vas a venir maana, no?)
Pedro isn't flying now, is he? (Pedro no est volando en estos momentos, no?)

c) ORACIONES AFIRMATIVAS CON EL VERBO TO BE EN PAST SIMPLE O CONTINUO.

Se utiliza la misma forma del verbo en NEGATIVO: wasn't I? weren't you? wasn't he? wasn't she?
wasn't it? weren't we? weren't you? weren't they? Aqu tienes algunos ejemplos:

It was a beautiful day, wasn't it? (Fue un da hermoso, verdad?)

Martha was angry, wasn't she? (Marta estaba enojada, no?)
You were really tired, weren't you? (Estabas muy cansado, verdad?)
You were studying at 6, weren't you? (Estuviste estudiando a las 6, no?)
He was flying when I phoned, wasn't he? (Estaba volando cuando llam, no?)

d) ORACIONES NEGATIVAS CON EL VERBO TO BE EN PAST SIMPLE O CONTINUO.

Se utiliza la misma forma del verbo en AFIRMATIVO o POSITIVO: was I? were you? was he? was she?
was it? were we? were you? were they? Aqu tienes algunos ejemplos:

It wasn't a beautiful day, was it? (No fue un da hermoso, no?)

Martha wasn't angry, was she? (Marta no estaba enojada, no?)
You weren't really tired, were you? (No estabas muy cansado, verdad?)
You weren't studying at 6, were you? (No estuviste estudiando a las 6, no?)
He wasn't flying when I phoned, was he? (No estaba volando cuando llam, no?)

e) ORACIONES AFIRMATIVAS CON OTROS VERBOS COMUNES O DEFECTIVOS.

Teniendo siempre en cuenta el TIEMPO VERBAL, se utiliza el auxiliar en NEGATIVO que corresponde a la
persona de la oracin: didn't she? hasn't she? won't she? shouldn't she? can't she? couldn't she?
aren't there?, etc. Aqu tienes algunos ejemplos:

You went to Costa Rica in 1990, didn't you? (Fuiste a Costa Rica en 1990, no?)
Elena has traveled a lot, hasn't she? (Elena ha viajado mucho, no?)
 Ann will be here soon, won't she? (Ana estar pronto aqu, verdad?)
Tom should pass his exam, shouldn't he? (Tom debera aprobar su examen, no?)
You can play the violin, can't you? (Sabes tocar el violn, no?)
He could find a job, couldn't he? (Pudo encontrar trabajo, verdad?)
There are twelve animals in the Chinese horoscope, aren't there?
(Hay doce animales en el zodaco chino, verdad?)

f) IMPERATIVOS Y SUGERENCIAS O INVITACIONES.

Despus de la clusula Let's... el tag question que corresponde es shall we? (en interrogativo AFIRMATIVO).
Aqu tienes algunos ejemplos:

Let's go out for a walk, shall we? (Salgamos a dar una vuelta, qu te parece?)
Let's study tomorrow morning, shall we? (Estudiemos maana por la maana, s?)

Despus del imperativo (do/don't do something) el tag que corresponde es will you?(en interrogativo
AFIRMATIVO). Aqu tienes algunos ejemplos:

Open the door, will you? (Abre la puerta, s?)

Don't smoke in this room, will you? (No fumes en esta habitacin, de acuerdo?)