Passive Voice
The passive voice is less usual than the active voice.
The active voice is the "normal" voice. But sometimes
we need the passive voice. In this lesson we look at
how to construct the passive voice, when to use it and
how to conjugate it.
Construction of the Passive Voice
The structure of the passive voice is very
simple:
subject + auxiliary
verb (be) + main verb (past participle)
The main verb is always in its past participle
form.
Look at these examples:
| subject |
auxiliary verb (to be) |
main verb (past participle) |
|
| Water |
is |
drunk |
by everyone. |
| 100 people |
are |
employed |
by this company. |
| I |
am |
paid |
in euro. |
| We |
are |
not paid |
in dollars. |
| Are |
they |
paid |
in yen? |
Use of the Passive Voice
We use the passive when:
- we want to make the active object more
important
- we do not know the active subject
| |
subject |
verb |
object |
| give importance to active object (President
Kennedy) |
President Kennedy |
was killed |
by Lee Harvey Oswald. |
| active subject unknown |
My wallet |
has been stolen. |
? |
Note that we always use by to introduce the
passive object (Fish are eaten by cats).
 |
Look at this sentence:
- He was killed with
a gun.
Normally we use by to
introduce the passive object. But the
gun is not the active subject. The gun
did not kill him. He was killed by
somebody with a gun. In the active
voice, it would be: Somebody killed
him with a gun. The gun is the
instrument. Somebody is the "agent"
or "doer". |
|
Conjugation for the Passive Voice
We can form the passive in any tense. In fact, conjugation
of verbs in the passive tense is rather easy, as the
main verb is always in past participle form and the
auxiliary verb is always be. To form the required
tense, we conjugate the auxiliary verb. So, for example:
- present simple: It is made
- present continuous: It is being made
- present perfect: It has been made
Here are some examples with most of the possible
tenses:
| infinitive |
to be washed |
| simple |
present |
It is washed. |
| past |
It was washed. |
| future |
It will be washed. |
| conditional |
It would be washed. |
| continuous |
present |
It is being washed. |
| past |
It was being washed. |
| future |
It will be being washed. |
| conditional |
It would be being washed. |
| perfect simple |
present |
It has been washed. |
| past |
It had been washed. |
| future |
It will have been washed. |
| conditional |
It would have been washed. |
| perfect continuous |
present |
It has been being washed. |
| past |
It had been being washed. |
| future |
It will have been being washed. |
| conditional |
It would have been being washed. |
Now check your understanding >>
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