The document discusses the passive formation and use in English. For passive formation, the verb "to be" is used in the appropriate tense followed by the past participle of the main verb. The passive is used when the person or thing performing the action is unimportant, obvious from context, or unknown. It allows focusing on the recipient of the action rather than the actor. Adding "by" followed with who or what performed the action makes the agent of the action explicit.

1. THE PASSIVE

2. FORMATION
• To be (in the appropriate tense)+past participle:
• Ex.: PRESENT SIMPLE: In Spain films are often made
with little money.
• PRESENT CONTINUOUS: A film by Spielberg is being
shot in Madrid now.
• PAST SIMPLE: Several people were killed in an
accident yesterday.
• PAST SIMPLE CONTINUOUS: Several people were
killed when the film was being made.
• PRESENT PERFECT: My car has never been stolen
• FUTURE SIMPLE: If you don’t give me the money,
you’ll be killed tomorrow.
• INFINITIVE: He has to be killed before he talks.

3. USE
• When the person who does the action is irrelevant,
obvious or unknown: we want to stress the object of the
action.
Ex.: His parents were killed in a car accident.(the
important thing is his parents’ death)
The bank was robbed yesterday. (we don’t know who)
The Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand (we’re
talking about the film, not who made it).
• If we want to add who, we add BY+who did the action:
The Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand by
Peter Jackson.