The document discusses active and passive voice in English grammar. It defines active voice as having the subject perform the action of the verb, while passive voice has the subject receive the action. Passive voice is formed using a form of the auxiliary verb "be" and the past participle. The document provides examples of passive voice constructions in different tenses and notes some common reasons to use passive voice over active, such as when the agent is unknown, not the focus, or obvious from context. It also discusses how to convert a passive sentence to active voice.

1. PASSIVE VERBS
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2. ACTIVE VOICE
'Voice' refers to the relationship between the subject and the verb in a
sentence. A sentence is said to be in the active voice if the subject is
performing the action of the verb.

3. PASSIVE VOICE
In English, as in many other languages, the passive voice is the form of a
transitive verb whose grammatical subject serves as the patient, receiving
the action of the verb. English's passive is formed using a form of the
auxiliary verb be together with a verb's past participle.
Tense
Subject
Auxiliary
Singular
Plural
Past
Participle
Present
The car/cars
is
are
designed.
Present perfect
The car/cars
has been
have been
designed.
Past
The car/cars
was
were
designed.
Past perfect
The car/cars
had been
had been
designed.
Future
The car/cars
will be
will be
designed.
Future perfect
The car/cars
will have been
will have been
designed.
Present progressive
The car/cars
is being
are being
designed.
Past progressive
The car/cars
was being
were being
designed.

4. Use passive instead of active:
If the agent is unknown.
Denise’s computer was stolen from her office.
If the agent is not focus.
The new library was finished about a year ago.
If the agent is obvious from context.
I had an accident yesterday. This other car went through a red light
and hit me. My car was completely destroyed.
To focus on receiver.
Did you hear the news? Matt was injured slightly in the earthquake,
but Jeff was O.K.
To make general explanations, statements and
announcements, or in scientific and technical writing.
Passengers are asked to refrain from smoking.

5. Because we most often use passive verbs to describe situations
when the agent is not the primary focus, we usually do not
include the agent (by noun phrase) in passive sentences.
However, sometimes it is necessary to include the agent.
When the agent gives us additional new information.
Many important scientific discoveries have been made by women.
When information about the agent is too important to omit.
Radioactivity was discovered by Marie Curie in 1903.
When the agent is surprising or unexpected.
That picture was painted by a monkey.

6. PASSIVE VOICE EXAMPLES

7. PASSIVE VOICE EXAMPLES
PRESENT: IS, ARE
PAST: WAS, WERE

8. The passive voice is typically contrasted with the active voice,
which is the form of a transitive verb whose subject serves as
the agent, performing the action of the verb.
The subject of a verb in the passive voice corresponds to the
object of the same verb in the active voice.

9. Active
Passive
Time
Reference
They make Fords in
Cologne.
Fords are made in Cologne.
Present simple
Susan is cooking dinner.
Dinner is being cooked by Susan
Present
continuous
James Joyce wrote
"Dubliners".
"Dubliners" was written by
James Joyces.
Past simple
They were painting the
house when I arrived.
The house was being painted
when I arrived.
Past
continuous
They have produced over
20 models in the past two
years.
Over 20 models have been
produced in the past two years.
Present perfect
They are going to build a
new factory in Portland.
A new factory is going to be built Future
in Portland.
intention with
going to
I will finish it tomorrow.
It will be finished tomorrow.
Future simple

10. If you want to change a passive-voice sentence to active voice, find the
agent in a "by the..." phrase, or consider carefully who or what is
performing the action expressed in the verb. Make that agent the subject
of the sentence, and change the verb accordingly. Sometimes you will need
to infer the agent from the surrounding sentences which provide context.

11. Special cases: Verbs with no passive
forms and other verbs with no active
forms
Some verbs don’t have passive form because they do not take
direct objects. This category includes verbs such as:
Occur, happen, take place, appear, seem, look, emerge, vanish,
disappear, appear, resemble, consist of, collide, etc.
Few changes have occurred at Stonehenge over the years.
The discovery of Nazca Lines happened in the 1930s.
NOT: A ceremonial function was had by these pictures.
NOT: Some animals are resembled by the pictures.
Jeff was born in Kansas.
NOT: Jeff’s mother bore him in Kansas.

12. A stative verb, generally, cannot be made into a passive sentence. However,
some stative verbs have "active" forms in which the verb has another
meaning.
Stative verb: "weigh"
Intransitive Verb
Transitive Verb
Arnold weighs 250
lbs. (stative)
The doctor weighed
the baby. (active)
(no passive possible)
The baby was
weighed by the doctor.
EXAMPLE
Active
Passive
Some verbs have different meaning when in the passive voice:
Passive The College of San Mateo is located on a hilltop. (exists)
Active The Board of Regents voted to locate the new college on a hilltop.
(situate / build)
Active The police located the lost child. (found)