So far we have spoken of the active

voice where we focus the action of the

verb on the subject. But when we want
to give more importance to the action
and not to who has done it, we use the
passive voice.

Examples:

The active voice

I ate all of the cookies.

The passive voice

All of the cookies were eaten.

 Uses

1. We use the passive voice when we do

not know who has done the action.

Examples:

• A civilian has been killed.

• The car was stolen.

2. We use the passive voice when we

want to give more importance to
what happened, who did the action or
when we do not want to say who did
it.

Examples:

• The letter was delivered

yesterday.
• A mistake was made.
Grammatical Rules

The passive voice is formed with the

auxiliary verb "to be" and the past
participle of the verb.

Subject + auxiliary verb (to be)

+ past participle ...

Examples:

• The speech is written for the

president.
• The house was built in 1975.
• My wallet has been stolen.
• The room will be cleaned while
we are out.
To transform an active sentence
to passive we consider the
following points

1. The object of the active sentence becomes the

subject of the passive.

2. The main verb is replaced by the auxiliary "to

be", in its same time, next to the main verb in
participle.

3. The subject of the main sentence becomes the

complement agent of the passive.

4. If we mention in the sentence of the subject

that performs the action (subject agent), this
will normally precede by the preposition "by".

Examples:
The active voice:

Mark Twain wrote the book.

The passive voice:

The book was written by Mark Twain.

The active voice:

The housekeeper will clean the room.

The passive voice:

The room will be cleaned by the housekeeper.

Passive Verb Formation

The passive forms of a verb are

created by combining a form of
the "to be verb" with the past
participle of the main verb.
Other helping verbs are also
sometimes present: "The measure
could have been killed in
committee." The passive can be
used, also, in various tenses
Auxiliary Past
Tense Subject Participl
Singular Plural e
The
Present is are designed.
car/cars
Present The
has been have been designed.
perfect car/cars
The
Past was were designed.
car/cars
Past The
had been had been designed.
perfect car/cars
The
Future will be will be designed.
car/cars
Future The will have will have
designed.
perfect car/cars been been
Present
The
progress is being are being designed.
car/cars
ive
Past
The were
progress was being designed.
car/cars being
ive
A sentence cast in the passive voice
will not always include an agent of the
action. For instance if a gorilla
crushes a tin can, we could say "The tin
can was crushed by the gorilla." But a
perfectly good sentence would leave
out the gorilla: "The tin can was
crushed." Also, when an active sentence
with an indirect object is recast in the
passive, the indirect object can take on
the role of subject in the passive
sentence:

Professor Villa
Active
gave Jorge an A.
An A was given to
Passive Jorge by
Professor Villa.
Jorge was
Passive
given an A.
 Only transitive verbs (those that
take objects) can be transformed
into passive constructions.
Furthermore, active sentences
containing certain verbs cannot be
transformed into passive
structures. To have is the most
important of these verbs. We can
say "He has a new car," but we
cannot say "A new car is had by
him." We can say "Josefina lacked
finesse," but we cannot say "Finesse
was lacked." Here is a brief list of
such verbs*:

agree
resemble look like equal
with
mean contain hold comprise
lack suit fit become
 Verbs with two objects
Some verbs that have two
objects can make two
different active sentences,
and so two different passive
sentences too.
For example, the verb ‘give’ is
like this:

• Active: He gave me the book /

He gave the book to me.

You can choose either of the

two objects to be the subject
of the passive sentence.

• Passive: I was given the book

(by him)/ The book was given
to me (by him).

Other verbs like this are: ask,

offer, teach, tell, lend,
promise, sell, throw.
The passive in subordinate clauses

You can make the passive in a

subordinate clause that has a
subject and a normal conjugated
verb. This is really the same as a
normal passive.

• Active: I thought that Mary had

kissed John.
• Passive: I thought that John had
been kissed by Mary.
• Active: He knew that people had
built the church in 1915.
• Passive: He knew that the church
had been built in 1915.

You can also make the passive using

a passive gerund or a passive
infinitive in the same place as a
normal gerund or infinitive.
• The child loves being cuddled.
• She would like to be promoted.
 Impersonal passive voice

The impersonal form is formed with

intransitive verbs, usually verbs
of perception, like say, consider,
know, expect, know, suppose, think
...

Being intransitive verbs, there is

no direct object, which is what
happens to be the subject of
passive prayer. The construction
of the impersonal form in the
passive voice is the following:

Training

- It + passive verb (verb "to be" +

past participle) + that clause
- Subject of the main sentence +
passive voice (verb "to be" +
particiio de pasado) + to-infinitive

Examples:

It is known that high levels of

radiation may cause cancer.

Students are expected to pass the

course.
 When should we use the passive

1) When we want to change the focus

of the sentence:

• The Mona Lisa was painted by

Leonardo Da Vinci. (We are more
interested in the painting than
the artist in this sentence)

2) When who or what causes the

action is unknown or unimportant
or obvious or 'people in general':

• He was arrested (obvious agent,

the police).
• My bike has been stolen (unknown
agent).
• The road is being repaired
(unimportant agent).
• The form can be obtained from the
post office (people in general).

3) In factual or scientific writing:

• The chemical is placed in a test

tube and the data entered into the
computer.
4) In formal writing instead of using
someone/ people/ they (these can be
used in speaking or informal writing):

• The brochure will be finished next

month.

5) In order to put the new information

at the end of the sentence to improve
style:

• Three books are used regularly in

the class. The books were written by
Dr. Bell. ('Dr. Bell wrote the books'
sound clumsy)

6) When the subject is very long:

• I was surprised by how well the

students did in the test. (More
natural than: 'how well the
students did in the test surprised
me')
 passive voice
affirmative,negative,
interrogative
AFFIRMATIVE
I'm invited to the party
You're invited to the party.
He / she / it is invited to the party
We / you / they are invited to the party

The affirmative of the present passive voice is

formed with the SUBJECT + PRESENT OF BE +
PARTICIPIO

NEGATIVE
I'm not invited to the party
You are not invited to the party
He / she / it is not invited to the party
We / you / they are not invited to the party

The negative of the present passive voice is

formed with the SUBJECT + NEGATIVE PRESENT OF
BE + PARTICIPIO

INTERROGATION
Am I invited to the party?
Are you invited to the party?
Is he / she invited to the party?
Are you invited to the party?

The question of the present passive is formed

with the PRESENT OF BE + SUJETO + PARTICIPIO
 EXERCISES

1 Complete the sentences. Use the present

passive affirmative.
How to make a mixed salad
1 The lettuce __________ . (wash)
2 The tomatoes __________ (cut) into
slices.
3 The tuna __________ . (add)
4 The eggs __________ . (boil)
5 Salt, oil and vinegar __________ .
(add)

2 Complete the sentences.Use the present

passive negative form of the verbs in the
box.
add /eat/ grow/ make/ serve
1 Bananas __________ in Britain.
2 Alcohol __________ to people under
eighteen.
3 Pesticides __________ to organic
food.
4 Pork __________ by Muslims.
5 Lasagne __________ with rice.

3 Rewrite the sentences in the present

passive form.
1 People eat raw fish in Japan.
______________________________
2 They don’t grow lemons in Britain.
______________________________
3 People eat a lot of hamburgers in the
USA.
______________________________
4 They don’t chew gum in Singapore.
______________________________
5 They make wine from grapes.
______________________________
 EXERCISES
4 Complete the present passive questions.
Then write short answers.
1 _________ melons _________ (grow) in
Spain?
Yes, _________
2 _________ this room _________ (clean)
every day?
No, _________
3 _________ El País _________ (read) by
millions of people?
Yes, _________
4 _________ these books _________ (make)
in Spain?
No, _________
5 _________ volleyball _________ (play)
at the Olympics?
Yes, _________
6 _________ torrijas _________ (eat) in
England?
No, _________

5 Complete the text.Use the correct present

passive form of the verbs in brackets.
Ensaimadas … made in Mallorca!
Have you ever eaten the delicious cakes called
ensaimadas? They (1) _________ (produce) in
Mallorca, but most of them (2) _________
(not eat) on the island – they (3) _________
(buy) by tourists. They (4) _________
(send) to countries like Germany and Holland.
Mallorcan bread (5) _________ (make) at the
same factory, but it (6) _________ (not
export). It (7) _________ (eat) by the local
people. The ensaimadas, however, (8)
_________ (enjoy) around the world!

6 Correct the mistakes in these sentences.

1 English are spoken in many countries.

___________________________
2 Our books are wrote in England.
___________________________
3 Cricket isn’t play at our school.
___________________________
4 Newspapers made from recycled paper.
___________________________
5 Is tomatoes grown in Spain?
___________________________
 EXERCISES

Present Simple Active and Passive

The simple present is used to talk about more permanent

habits or situations.

• People make a lot of wine in La Rioja.

• A lot of wine is made in La Rioja.

• A Chinese factory manufactures these phones.

• These phones are manufactured in China.

• Australians speak English.

• English is spoken in Australia.

Past Simple Active and Passive

The simple past is used to speak of moments in the past

that have ended, usually with a concrete temporal
expression.

• The Romans built this bridge over 2000 years ago.

• This bridge was built by the Romans over 2000 years

ago.

• The Wright brothers invented the airplane in 1903.

• The airplane was invented by the Wright Brothers in

1903.

• My mother made the cake.

• The cake was made by my mother

 EXERCISES

Simple Active and Passive Future

The simple future is used for forecasts and predictions

of the future.

• I will finish the project tomorrow.

• The project will be finished tomorrow.

• Peter will make dinner on Saturday.

• Dinner will be made by Peter on Saturday.

• I will receive your letter on Thursday.

• Your letter will be received on Thursday.

Present Continuous Active and Passive

The present continuous is used to talk about things

that are happening right now or processes that are half
finished.

• Mary is making tea right now.

• The tea is being made right now.

• Scientists are discovering new planets every day.

• New plans are being discovered every day.

• Businesses are creating new jobs every month.

• New jobs are being created every month.

 EXERCISES

Present Perfect Active and Passive

The perfect present is used to speak of new information

or for times that began in the past and continue now.

• A laboratory in Sweden has created a new medicine.

• A new medicine has been created in a laboratory in

Sweden.

• Mr Thompson has sold seven cars this month.

• Seven cars have been sold this month.

• The political parties have formed a new government in

South Africa.

• A new government has been formed in South Africa.

We will speak on this occasion
about a grammatical resource of
great importance in the English
language: the passive voice. To
begin we will establish the
difference with the language that
we use commonly called active
voice in which the action of the
verb falls on the subject while in
the passive voice the action of the
verb falls on the object.