Passive

Voice

A Passive Voice [be + past participle]

The passive voice is used when the focus is on the action, not the person or thing that does
the action (the doer).

e.g. My secretary sent the letter. [Active = the focus is on the doer]
e.g. The letter was sent (by the secretary). [Passive = the focus is on the action]

We usually use the passive when:
(i) the doer is not known
e.g. My car was stolen (= we dont know who stole the car)
e.g. The window was broken (= we dont know who broke the window)

(ii) the doer is not important
e.g. The letter was sent yesterday (= the action is important, not the doer)
e.g. He was given an award for his work. (= we are interested in the action, not the doer)

(iii) the doer is obvious
e.g. The thief was arrested last night. (= only the police can arrest people)
e.g. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison (= only a judge can give prison sentences)

* In the above three cases, we do not usually mention the doer.
e.g. My car was stolen by someone.
e.g. The thief was arrested last night by the police.

(+) This car is made in Japan.
(-) This car isnt made in Japan.
(?) Is this car made in Japan?

(+) The letter was sent yesterday.
(-) The letter wasnt sent yesterday.
(?) Was the letter sent yesterday?

Leyla Ozmenekse
B
PASSIVE


be + past participle




Present Simple Passive Past Simple Passive

am/is/are + past participle was/were + past participle


e.g. Emiratis drink a lot of coffee. [active] e.g. My mother made the cake. [active]

A lot of coffee is drunk by Emiratis. [passive] The cake was made by my mother. [passive]


To change an active sentence into a passive sentence:
1. Take the object of the active sentence and place it in subject position.
2. Apply the passive rule [be + p.p.] to the verb.
3. Place the subject of the active sentence at the end of the passive sentence using by

C
If the active sentence has no object, you cannot change it to a passive sentence.

e.g. The old man died in hospital (= no object)
subject verb preposition phrase

e.g. My grandmother fell down yesterday. (= no object)
subject verb time expression

* The verbs die and fall down are intransitive verbs. Intransitive verbs do not have objects.

D Change the active sentences below into passive sentences.

1. My father painted the living room yesterday.

_____________________________________________________________________.

2. A car hit him while he was crossing the road.

_____________________________________________________________________.

Leyla Ozmenekse
 3. They sent a letter to the manager.

_____________________________________________________________________.

4. The old man died in hospital.

_____________________________________________________________________.

5. They rescued the cat from the tree.

_____________________________________________________________________.

6. The police caught the thieves.

_____________________________________________________________________.

7. They print one million newspapers every day.

_____________________________________________________________________.

8. The company pays them every week.

_____________________________________________________________________.


9. Nasser feeds the camels every morning.

_____________________________________________________________________.


10. They sent the invitations last week.

_____________________________________________________________________.


Now change these passive statements into passive questions.
E
1. This book was written by John Steinbeck.

Who ________________________________________________________________?

2. He was caught by the police yesterday.

When ________________________________________________________________?

Leyla Ozmenekse
 3. John was dismissed from the university.

Why ________________________________________________________________?

4. The cat was rescued by the window cleaner.

Who _________________________________________________________________?

5. The injured man was taken to Sheikh Khalifa Hospital.

Where _______________________________________________________________?

Complete the sentences with the active or passive form of the verbs in brackets. Some are
F present and some are past.

1) One million newspapers __________________ (print) every day.

2) The house __________________ (clean) yesterday.

3) This bridge __________________ (build) in 1989.

4) Ahmed __________________ (speak) five languages.

5) My sister __________________ (eat) the last piece of cake last night.

6) My mobile phone __________________ (steal) a few days ago.

7) Sultan loves tennis. He __________________ (play) three times a week.

8) I __________________ (not/invite) to Mariams party last week.

9) Machboos __________________ (make) from rice and meat.

10) We __________________ (invite) a lot of people to our wedding last year.

Leyla Ozmenekse