So what is Passive Voice?

Let’s look at this sentence:

This house was built in 1935. Was built is passive. Compare active and passive:
Somebody (subject) built this house (object) in 1935. (active)
This house (subject) was built in 1935. (passive)
We form the passive with the verb to be and the past participle of the main verb.
Present Simple
Somebody cleans this room every day. This room is cleaned every day.
Many accidents are caused by careless driving. I’m not often invited to parties. How is this word
pronounced?
Present Continuous
Somebody is cleaning the room at the moment. The room is being cleaned at the moment.
There’s somebody walking behind us. I think we are being followed. (in a shop) ‘Can I help you?’ ‘No,
thank you. I’m being served.
Present Perfect
The room looks nice. Somebody has cleaned it. The room looks nice. It has been cleaned.
Have you heard? The concert has been cancelled. Have you ever been bitten by a dog? ‘Are you going
to the party?’ ‘No, I haven’t been invited.’
Past Simple
Somebody cleaned this room yesterday. This room was cleaned yesterday.
We were woken up by a loud noise during the night. ‘Did you go to the party?’ ‘No, I wasn’t invited.’
How much money was stolen in the robbery?
Past Continuous
Somebody was cleaning the room when I arrived. The room was being cleaned when I arrived.
There was somebody walking behind us. We were being followed.
Past Perfect
The room looked nice. Somebody had cleaned it. The room looked nice. It had been cleaned.
The vegetables didn’t taste very good. They had been cooked too long. The car was three years old but
hadn’t been used very much.
Future Simple
Somebody will clean the room later. The room will be cleaned later.
The bill will be paid tomorrow.
Future Perfect
Somebody will have cleaned the room by 8 o’clock. The room will have been cleaned by 8 o’clock.
All the letters will have been posted by noon.
Be going to
Somebody is going to clean the room. The room is going to be cleaned.
The parcels are going to be delivered.
Model
Somebody should clean the room. The room should be cleaned.
The letter might be sent to the wrong address.
Auxiliary verb in passive voice (to be) is always used before the main verb. We don’t use such
auxiliary verbs as do, does, did in passive (condition is not equal to the action). The Present Perfect
Continuous, the Past Perfect Continuous, the Future Perfect Continuous and the Future
Continuous are not normally used in the passive voice (PV).
By-phrase is used only when we put emphasis on it.
The choice between an active and passive sentence allows us to present the same information in
two different orders. Compare:
active • The storm damaged the roof. This sentence is about the storm, and says what it did. [The storm
is the 'agent'.)
passive • The roof was damaged by the storm. This sentence is about the roof, and says what happened to
it. (The 'agent' goes in a prepositional phrase with by after the verb.)

Verbs which take an object (transitive verbs) can have a passive form. So we can make corresponding
passive sentences for:
• They destroyed the building. ----The building was destroyed.
• The news surprised me. ---- I was surprised by the news.
If direct object of the sentence in active voice becomes the subject of the sentence in passive voice, than
before the direct object in passive we use preposition – to:
E.g. Julia brought us ice-cream. Ice-cream was brought to us.
Verbs which do not take an object (intransitive verbs) do not have passive forms. For example,
there are no passive forms for the following sentences:
• I slept for nearly ten hours last night.
• The ship slowly disappeared from view.
If indirect object of the sentence in active voice becomes the subject of the sentence in passive voice, than
direct object of the active sentence stays on its position without changes.
E.g. Julia brought us ice-cream. We were brought ice-cream.
A good dictionary will tell you whether verbs are transitive or intransitive.
However, many verbs can be used at different times with and without objects, that is, they can be both
transitive and intransitive. Compare:
• Are they meeting him at the station? (transitive) Is he being met at the airport? (passive)
• When shall we meet? (intransitive; no passive possible)
We use the PV:

 When the person who carries out the action is unknown, unimportant or obvious from the
context.

E.g. - My flat was broken into last week. (We do not know who broke into the flat.)
- Coffee beans are grown in Brazil. These boxes should be handled with care. (It is not
important to know who grows the coffee or handle the boxes)
- My car was serviced yesterday. She is being treated in hospital. (It is obvious that a
mechanic serviced the car or that a doctor is treating her)

 When the action itself is more important than the person who carries it out, as in news
headlines, newspapers articles, formal notices, instructions, advertisements, processes, etc.

E.g. – The new hospital will be opened by the Queen on May 15th. (formal notice)
- Then, the milk is taken to the factory where it is pasteurized. ( process)

 When we refer to an unpleasant event and we do not want to say who or what is to blame.

E.g. – A lot of mistakes have been made. (instead of You have made a lot of mistakes)
To change a sentence from the active into the passive:

- the object of the active sentence becomes the subject in the passive sentence.
- the active verb remains in the same tense, but changes into a passive form.
- the subject of the active sentence becomes the agent, and is either introduced with the
preposition by or omitted.

We use by + agent to say who or what carries out the action. We use with +
instrument/material/ingredient to say what the agent used.
E.g. The pancakes were made by Claire. They were made with eggs, flour and milk.
The agent is often omitted in the passive sentence when the subject of the active sentence is one of the
following words: people, one, someone/somebody, they, he, etc.
E.g. active: Somebody has rearranged the furniture.
passive: The furniture has been rearranged.
But the agent is not omitted when it is a specific or important person or when it is essential to the
meaning of the sentence.
E.g. - The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci.
- A new law has been passed by the government.
Object pronouns (me, you, him, etc.) become subject pronounce ( I, you, he, etc.) in the passive.
E.g. active: They arrested him.
passive: He was arrested.