2. In active
voice, the
subject is the
doer of the
action, while in
passive
voice, the
subject is the
receiver of the
action.
Active vs. passive voice
3. 1. The person or thing acted on is more important than
the actor
e.g. Paco was not given a convincing explanation at the
diamond mine (by the soldier).
2. The actor is unknown or irrelevant
e.g. The cave paintings of Lascaux were made in the
Upper Old Stone Age.
3. You want to be vague about who is responsible
e.g. Mistakes were made.
The passive voice: Uses (I)
4. 4. You are talking about a general truth
e.g. Rules are made to be broken.
5. You want to emphasize the person or thing acted on
e.g. Insulin was first discovered in 1921 by researchers at
the University of Toronto.
6. You are writing in a scientific genre that traditionally
relies on passive voice.
e.g. The sodium hydroxide was dissolved in water. This
solution was then titrated with hydrochloric acid.
The passive voice: Uses (II)
5. Subject + To be + Past
Participle + Objects and
Complements + Agent
Example:
The video was posted on Facebook by
Alex
The passive voice: General Form
6. Is/are + Past Participle
eat/s
is/are eaten
(Active)
Example:
I eat an apple.
me.
(Pasive)
An apple is eaten by
Passive voice: Present simple
7. Was/were + Past Participle
repaired
was/were repaired
(Active)
(Pasive)
Example:
Sam repaired
the car.
The car was repaired
by Sam.
Passive voice: Past simple
8. has/have been + Past Participle
has/have
visited
(Active)
Example:
Many tourists have
visited that castle.
has/have been
visited
(Pasive)
That castle has been
visited by many tourists.
Passive voice: Present perfect
9. had been + Past Participle
had repaired
(Active)
Example:
George had repaired
many cars before he
received his mechanic’s
license.
had been repaired
(Pasive)
Many cars had been repaired
by George before he received
his mechanic’s license.
Passive voice: Past perfect simple
10. will be + Past Participle
will finish
(Active)
Example:
Someone will finish
the work by 5:00 PM.
will be finished
(Pasive)
The work will be
finished by 5:00 PM.
Passive voice: Simple Future (will)
11. must/can/should be + Past Participle
must/can/should
memorize
(Active)
Example:
Students should memorize
English verbs.
must/can/should be
memorized
(Pasive)
English verbs should be
memorized by students.
Passive voice: Present simple (must/can/should)
12. may/could/should have been + Past Participle
may/could/should
have learned
(Active)
Example:
The students should have
learned the verbs.
may/could/should
have been learned
(Pasive)
The verbs should have been
learned by the students.
Passive voice: Past simple (may/could/should)
13. 1) In the passive voice we
use the object of the active
voice sentence as subject.
SUBJECT
AGENT
ACTIVE:
VERB
OBJECT
COMPLEMENT
We read the newspaper every day
PASSIVE: The newspaper is readed every day by them
2) We conjugate the
verb “to be” in the
right manner.
3) We add the
past participle of
the active voice.
Active to passive transformation
4) To say at the end of
the sentence who has
done the deed, you have
to add the preposition
“by” + “subject agent”.
When you have a
personal pronoun as
subject, you must
change it to an object
pronoun.
