This document discusses the passive voice in English. The passive is formed using "be" plus the past participle of the main verb. It focuses on the object of the sentence rather than the subject. The passive voice is often used when the subject or agent performing the action is unknown or unimportant. Additional structures for the passive include "it is said/believed/thought" followed by "that" and a clause or the subject followed by "is said/believed/thought" plus an infinitive.

1. NEF Upper-Intermediate 3A
THE PASSIVE

2. THE PASSIVE: USAGE

You can often say things in two ways, in the
active or the passive.
Picasso painted Gernika (active)
Gernika was painted by Picasso (passive)

3. THE PASSIVE: USAGE
In the active sentence, the focus is on the
person (Picasso)
 In the passive, the focus is on the painting
(Gernika)
The passive is often used when you don’t know
or it is not important who does or did the
action
My cart was stolen last night when I was
sleeping


4. THE PASSIVE

If you want to say who did the action (the
agent) use ‘by’
The road has been blocked by the police

Generally, the agent is not mentioned

5. THE PASSIVE: FORM

To form the passive: be + past participle
Present simple
A lot of films are shot on location
Present
continuous
My car is being repaired today
Past simple
Jim was arrested last month
Past Continuous
She died when the film was being
made
Present Perfect
My car has been stolen

6. THE PASSIVE: FORM

To form the passive: be + past participle
Past Perfect
Future (will/going
to)
Infinitive with to
We saw that the window had been
broken
The prisoner will be released next
month
The verdict is going to be given
tomorrow
People used to be imprisoned for
stealing bread
Infinitive without to You can be fined for double-parking
Gerund
He paid a fine to avoid being sent to jail

7. THE PASSIVE: IT IS SAID THAT… HE IS THOUGHT TO
This is a formal structure, used especially in
news reports and TV with the verbs know,
tell, understand, report, expect, say and think
 It makes the information sound more
impersonal

It is said that the victim was in a relationship
with the murderer

8. THE PASSIVE: IT IS SAID THAT… HE IS THOUGHT TO
You can use it is said, believed, etc + that +
clause
It is believed that the burglars broke in through
the kitchen window

You can use the subject of the clause (he, the
man, the murderer …) + is said, believed, etc +
to + infinitive or perfect infinitive
The burglar is thought to be an old acquaintance
of the victim
He is known to have broken into several houses
before
