Passive Sentences

Passive voice verbs are used in writing much more often than in speech, and they are
used in some types of writing much more often than in others. Passives are used more in
journalism (newspapers, magazines) than in fiction (novels, stories), but most journalists
and fiction writers use far more active than passive sentences. However, passives are very
common in all types of scientific and technical writing. Scientific articles often contain
more passive than active sentences. You should not use passive voice verbs unless you
have a good reason.

A. Relationship between active and passive:

1. The object of the active verb is the subject of the passive verb (English in the
example sentences below). Therefore, verbs which cannot be followed by objects
(intransitive verbs) cannot be used in passive voice.

These are some common intransitive verbs: appear, arrive, come, cry, die, go, happen,
occur, rain, sleep, stay, walk. These verbs cannot be used in passive voice.

2. The passive verb always contains a form of the auxiliary verb be. The form of be in the
passive verb phrase corresponds to the form of the main verb in the active verb phrase
(see the underlined words in the example sentences below). That is, if the active main
verb is simple present tense, then a simple present tense form of be is used in the passive
verb phrase; if the active main verb is -ING, then the -ING form of be is used in the
passive verb phrase; and so on.

3. The main verb in a passive predicate verb phrase is always the participle form of the
verb.

4. Some examples of active and passive sentences:

ACTIVE: They speak English.

PASSIVE: English is spoken.

ACTIVE: They spoke English.

PASSIVE: English was spoken.

ACTIVE: They will speak English.

PASSIVE: English will be spoken.

ACTIVE: They are going to speak English.

PASSIVE: English is going to be spoken.

ACTIVE: They are speaking English.

PASSIVE: English is being spoken.
ACTIVE: They were speaking English.
PASSIVE: English was being spoken.

ACTIVE: They have spoken English.

PASSIVE: English has been spoken.

ACTIVE: They had spoken English.

PASSIVE: English had been spoken.

ACTIVE: They will have spoken English.

PASSIVE: English will have been spoken.

5. Perfect progressive verb forms are generally used in active voice only. That is, these
are good English sentences:

ACTIVE: They have been speaking English.

ACTIVE: They had been speaking English.
ACTIVE: They will have been speaking English.

But sentences like these are rarely used:

PASSIVE: English has been being spoken.

PASSIVE: English had been being spoken.
PASSIVE: English will have been being spoken.

B. Most passive sentences do not contain an agent; all active sentences contain an
agent.

1. An agent is the subject of the active verb. In the example sentences above, the agent is
they in all the active sentences; the passive sentences do not contain an agent.

2. When a passive sentence contains an agent, it is in a prepositional phrase following the

verb. For example:

English is spoken by them.

In the following sentences, the noun teachers is the agent in both sentences.
Teachers is also the subject of the active verb, but exams is the subject of the passive
verb.

ACTIVE: Teachers prepare exams.

PASSIVE: Exams are prepared by teachers.

C. You should not use passive voice unless you have a good reason.

Here are some good reasons for using passive voice:

1. Passive voice is often used when the agent (the doer of an action; the subject of an
active verb) is obvious, unknown, or unnecessary:

Oranges are grown in California.

Toyotas are made in Japan.
Her purse was stolen.

2. Passive voice is often used when the agent is known, but the speaker/writer doesnt
want to mention it:

She was given bad advice.

A mistake has been made.

3. Passive voice is often used when the agent is very general such as people or
somebody.

English is spoken here.

The door should be locked.

4. Passive voice is often used when the speaker/writer wants to emphasize a result:

Several thousand people were killed by the earthquake.

5. Passive voice is often used when the speaker/writer wants to keep the same subject for
two or more verbs but this would not be possible if both verbs were the same voice
(active or passive).

For example, in a conversation about George, a speaker would probably use sentence a
below rather than sentence b (both sentences are correct).

a. George had several interviews before he was hired by a software company.

b. George had several interviews before a software company hired him
Use of Passive
Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known,
however, who or what is performing the action.

Example: My bike was stolen.

In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know,
however, who did it.

Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following
example shows:

Example: A mistake was made.

In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g.
You have made a mistake.).

Form of Passive
Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs)

Example: A letter was written.

When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:

the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is
dropped)

Examples of Passive
Tense Subject Verb Object
Active: Rita writes a letter.
Simple Present
Passive: A letter is written by Rita.
Active: Rita wrote a letter.
Simple Past
Passive: A letter was written by Rita.
Active: Rita has written a letter.
Present Perfect
Passive: A letter has been written by Rita.
Active: Rita will write a letter.
Future I
Passive: A letter will be written by Rita.
Active: Rita can write a letter.
Hilfsverben
Passive: A letter can be written by Rita.
Examples of Passive
Tense Subject Verb Object
Active: Rita is writing a letter.
Present
Passive
Progressive A letter is being written by Rita.
:
Active: Rita was writing a letter.
Past Progressive Passive
A letter was being written by Rita.
:
Active: Rita had written a letter.
Past Perfect Passive
A letter had been written by Rita.
:
Active: Rita will have written a letter.
Future II Passive
A letter will have been written by Rita.
:
Active: Rita would write a letter.
Conditional I Passive
A letter would be written by Rita.
:
Active: Rita would have written a letter.
Conditional II Passive
A letter would have been written by Rita.
:

Passive Sentences with Two Objects

Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two
objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform
into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.

Subject Verb Object 1 Object 2

Active: Rita wrote a letter to me.
Passive: A letter was written to me by Rita.
Passive: I was written a letter by Rita.
.

As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. Thats why
it is usually dropped.

Personal and Impersonal Passive

Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject
of the passive sentence. So every verb that needs an object (transitive verb) can form a
personal passive.
Example: They build houses. Houses are built.

Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive
sentence (as there is no object that can become the subject of the passive sentence). If you
want to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you need an impersonal construction
therefore this passive is called Impersonal Passive.

Example: he says it is said

Impersonal Passive is not as common in English as in some other languages (e.g.

German, Latin). In English, Impersonal Passive is only possible with verbs of perception
(e. g. say, think, know).

Example: They say that women live longer than men. It is said that women live longer
than men.

Although Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.

Example: They say that women live longer than men. Women are said to live longer
than men.

The subject of the subordinate clause (women) goes to the beginning of the sentence; the
verb of perception is put into passive voice. The rest of the sentence is added using an
infinitive construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary verbs and that are dropped).

Sometimes the term Personal Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect object of
an active sentence is to become the subject of the passive sentence.
Name :
NPK :

Rewrite to the pqassive sentences

Rachel will give you some advice.

I sent him a letter.

The police officer showed us the way.

Our neighbour gave me a lift.

We have asked him a favour.

She told me a lie.

They have written her a postcard.

Kerrie will make you a cup of tea.

The waiter has not brought us the coffee.

They did not offer her a seat.

Rachel will give you some advice.

You will be given some advice.
I sent him a letter.
He was sent a letter.
The police officer showed us the way.
We were shown the way.
Our neighbour gave me a lift.
I was given a lift.
 We have asked him a favour.
He has been asked a favour.
She told me a lie.
I was told a lie.
They have written her a postcard.
She has been written a postcard.
Kerrie will make you a cup of tea.
You will be made a cup of tea.
The waiter has not brought us the coffee.
We have not been brought the coffee.
They did not offer her a seat.
She was not offered a seat.

Rewrite to the passive sentences

1. Rachel will give you some advice.

2. I sent him a letter.

3. The police officer showed us the way.

4. Our neighbour gave me a lift.

5. We have asked him a favour.

6. She told me a lie.

7. They have written her a postcard.

8. Kerrie will make you a cup of tea.

9. The waiter has not brought us the coffee.

10. They did not offer her a seat.

Rachel will give you some advice.

Some advice will be given to you.
I sent him a letter.
A letter was sent to him.
The police officer showed us the way.
The way was shown to us.
 Our neighbour gave me a lift.
A lift was given to me.
We have asked him a favour.
A favour has been asked of him.
She told me a lie.
A lie was told to me.
They have written her a postcard.
A postcard has been written to her.
Kerrie will make you a cup of tea.
A cup of tea will be made for you.
The waiter has not brought us the coffee.
The coffee has not been brought to us.
They did not offer her a seat.
A seat was not offered to her.

Test your knowledge on grammar English tenses (active and passive voice). After
submitting your answers, you will see how well you have done in the test.

Hadrian's Wall
Fill the gaps with the correct tenses (active or passive voice).

1. In the year 122 AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian (visit) his provinces
in Britain.
2. On his visit, the Roman soldiers (tell) him that Pictish tribes from
Britain's north (attack) them.
3. So Hadrian (give) the order to build a protective wall across one of
the narrowest parts of the country.
4. After 6 years of hard work, the Wall (finish) in 128.
5. It (be) 117 kilometres long and about 4 metres high.
6. The Wall (guard) by 15,000 Roman soldiers.
7. Every 8 kilometres there (be) a large fort in which up to 1,000
soldiers (find) shelter.
8. The soldiers (watch) over the frontier to the north and (check)
the people who (want) to enter or leave Roman Britain.
9. In order to pass through the Wall, people (must go) to one of the
small forts that (serve) as gateways.
10. Those forts (call) milecastles because the distance from one fort to
another (be) one Roman mile (about 1,500 metres).
11. Between the milecastles there (be) two turrets from which the
soldiers (guard) the Wall.
12. If the Wall (attack) by enemies, the soldiers at the turrets (run)
to the nearest milecastle for help or (light) a fire that
(can / see) by the soldiers in the milecastle.
13. In 383 Hadrian's Wall (abandon) .
14. Today Hadrian's Wall (be) the most popular tourist attraction in
northern England.
15. In 1987, it (become) a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Hadrian's Wall
Fill the gaps with the correct tenses (active or passive voice).

1. In the year 122 AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian visited his provinces in
Britain.
2. On his visit, the Roman soldiers told him that Pictish tribes from Britain's north
had attacked them.
3. So Hadrian gave the order to build a protective wall across one of the narrowest
parts of the country.
4. After 6 years of hard work, the Wall was finished in 128.
5. It was 117 kilometres long and about 4 metres high.
6. The Wall was guarded by 15,000 Roman soldiers.
7. Every 8 kilometres there was a large fort in which up to 1,000 soldiers found
shelter.
8. The soldiers watched over the frontier to the north and checked the people who
wanted to enter or leave Roman Britain.
9. In order to pass through the Wall, people had to go to one of the small forts that
served as gateways.
10. Those forts were called milecastles because the distance from one fort to another
was one Roman mile (about 1,500 metres).
11. Between the milecastles there were two turrets from which the soldiers guarded
the Wall.
12. If the Wall was attacked by enemies, the soldiers at the turrets ran to the nearest
milecastle for help or lit a fire that could be seen by the soldiers in the
milecastle.
13. In 383 Hadrian's Wall was abandoned .
14. Today Hadrian's Wall is the most popular tourist attraction in northern England.
15. In 1987, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.