Passive voice rules and examples in Russian. Passive voice in English

"" is used to express an obligation coming from the speaker. Those. when the speaker says that he understands what he needs to do.

“ ” is an indispensable modal verb used in situations where we are talking about present or future obligations that cannot be violated.

“” is a well-known and frequently used verb that means “to be able to”, “to be able to”.

“ ” is a synonym for the verb “should”, its more polite version.

« Be supposed to" is a modal verb whose function is to tell what people need to do in accordance with the rules. Moreover, it is used when we talk about what is expected to happen.

Passive voice formula

What is the above mentioned: (to) be + V3? The answer is simple. When we change a sentence from "active" to "passive", we must change the predicate of the sentence. First, you need to put the verb " to be" at the time used in the main sentence. Secondly, put the main verb in the third form (Past Participle).

So, to compose a sentence with a modal verb, we need to put the verb “ be" in combination with a modal verb. It will look like this:

Must be(it should be)

Have to be(it should be)

Ought to be(should be)

Can be(May be)

Should be(should be)

Be supposed to be(it is believed that; it is assumed that;)

The second stage is the same placement of the main verb into the third form.

A little practice

The secretary must write a letter. / Secretary must write letter.

The letter must be written by the secretary. / Letter must be written secretary.

He has to do this test. / He must perform this test.

This test has to be done by him. / This test must be completed them.

He was supposed to send an email an hour ago. /It was assumed, What He will send letter hour back.

The email was supposed to be sent by him an hour ago. / It was assumed, What electronic letter will sent hour back.

Try to change the sentences given in the article yourself from active voice ( Active Voice) to passive voice ( Passive Voice). This will allow you to remember the rule, as well as work out its transformation scheme in practice step by step.

Today we will learn how to construct phrases in such a way as to emphasize the impact on any animate or inanimate object.

The article contains explanations of the rules and exercises.

Active, Passive Voice in English: definition

What are active and passive voices? Active and Passive Voice - grammatical forms that determine how an object relates to an action, or how the effect produced relates to the object in a phrase. Present in any language. Known in English as:

Active Voice.
Passive Voice.

The active, or so-called active, voice is used most often: the author of the act performed is the subject, and the action itself is the predicate. The noun is active because it itself makes an impact on someone or something.

Mike is doing his homework at the moment. - Mike is doing homework at the moment.

Passive Voice - passive, or so-called The noun is used as an object, and the action is used as a predicate, the influence is exerted on someone or something.

The homework is being done by Mike at the moment. - Mike is doing his homework at the moment.

Usage options

The passive voice complicates the perception of the statement too much, so the excessive use of such a grammatical form is not very welcome. However, there are certain options when it is impossible to do without using the passive voice:

The author of the act carried out is unknown (the act was carried out anonymously, it is unclear who or what caused the impact):

This book was ripped yesterday. - This book was torn yesterday.

The author of the impact is not significant (the person who performed the impact is not important):

The project will be finished by tomorrow. - The project will be finished tomorrow.

The author of the action is already clear (obvious from the context):

The burglar was arrested last month. - The burglar was arrested last month.

We care about the action itself, but not about the author (in news headlines and announcements, when we are interested in what happened, and not who arranged it):

The jazz concert will be held on Tuesday. - The jazz concert will be held on Tuesday.

The action can be carried out by anyone (in recipes, instructions):

The milk is heated and added to the dough. - Milk is heated and added to the dough.

In documents (in official announcements, abstracts):

This article is meant as an example of a research paper. - This article is presented as an example of a research paper.

Active and Passive Voice: Exercises

Task 1. Determine which rules of use are found in the following phrases, connect the number of the sentence with the letter of the rule. There may be several options, as can be seen from the picture.

Passive forms

Let us next consider the forms of the Passive Voice. The passive form of the predicate uses a part of speech denoting the action “to be” (“to be”) in the third person singular or plural of a specific tense (for example, “is”, “are”) and the main (semantic) part of speech denoting the effect exerted, in the third form.

The part of speech denoting the action “to be” changes to the corresponding form when the time in which the act of action is carried out changes. The semantic part of speech denoting the effect remains unchanged: it is always used as In English, this form of the part of speech denoting the action is called Past Participle or Participle II.

Parts of speech denoting the action performed are divided into two types: regular and incorrect. The latter are exceptions to the grammatical rule for the formation of certain tense forms.

The third form of regular parts of speech denoting action looks similar to the past tense: - ed is added at the end:

to love - loved;
to play - played.

Irregular parts of speech denoting action have a special third form that must be remembered in each particular case. At the initial stage, you can use a special exclusion table. But the most frequently occurring parts of speech, denoting the action performed, which are quickly remembered, are incorrect:

to drink - drunk;
to eat - eaten.

The part of speech denoting the action “to be” in the passive voice goes through the same changes as the predicate in the active voice. A good clue for determining the time of impact is adverbs of time (including adverbs of frequency).

When constructing questions, the part of speech denoting the action performed is placed before the subject. When asking a question, think first about the effect being carried out, and then about the object or subject on which it is being carried out.

In negatives, the particle “not” follows the auxiliary part of speech, denoting the action “to be”. Under no circumstances should you make the most common mistake and put the main part of speech denoting impact before “not”! In this case, “not” comes before the main verb, it divides auxiliary and main verbs.

Passive voice and tenses

As we can observe, only the part of speech that denotes the action “to be” changes. The main part of speech denoting action does not change.

Another important observation is that not all tense groups are present in the passive voice. In the following cases they need to be replaced:

Present Perfect Continuous is replaced by:

He has been cooking this meal since 5 p.m. - This meal has been cooked since 5 p.m.

Translation: He has been preparing this food since 5:00 pm. - The food was prepared from 17:00.

Past Perfect Continuous is replaced by Past Perfect:

Peter had been doing the research for 3 months. - The research had been done for 3 months.

Translation: Peter conducted the study for 3 months. - The study was carried out over 3 months.

Future Continuous is replaced by Future Simple:

Tomorrow at 2 o’clock Helen will be cleaning this apartment. - This apartment will be cleaned tomorrow at 2 o’clock.

Translation: Helen will be cleaning this apartment at two o'clock tomorrow. - This apartment will be cleaned tomorrow at two o'clock.

Future Perfect Continuous is replaced by Future Perfect:

Mike will have been driving the truck for 2 years by next week. - The truck will have been driven for 2 years by next week.

Translation: Mike will have been driving the truck for two years by next week. - The truck will have been in use for two years by next week.

Task 2. Put the verb “do” in the correct form.

Replacement of collateral

If you want to replace Active Voice - Passive Voice, that is, convert a phrase in the active voice to the passive form, you need to remember the features of the grammatical construction of voices.

In an active voice phrase, the subject comes first, the predicate comes second, and the object comes at the end. In the passive voice, the object takes the place of the subject.

Replacing Active Voice - Passive Voice is carried out in several stages:

Determine which noun is the subject and which is the object:

Someone broke into their apartment yesterday.

Determine at what time the impact occurs:

In our version - Past Simple.

At the beginning of the phrase, put an object (instead of a subject), use the semantic part of speech denoting the effect in the third form, and place the part of speech denoting the action “to be” in front of it in the necessary tense form:

Their apartment was broken into yesterday.

The presence of two additions increases the number of options for constructing a phrase in the passive voice:

Nick brought Kate a book. - Nick brought Kate a book.

Kate was brought a book. - A book was brought to Kate.
A book was brought to Kate. - The book was brought by Kate.

Both options are acceptable, but it is better to use a form where the subject is an animate pronoun.

Task 3. Which voice is preferable to use in the following cases: Active Voice, Passive Voice?

Prepositions “by” and “with”

Additions are used in combination with these prepositions when it is necessary to mention who the author of the action is and in what ways the influence is carried out.

Sherlock Holmes was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. - Sherlock Holmes was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The preposition “with” indicates by what means (auxiliary materials or tools) the influence is performed:

The soup is stirred with a spoon. - The soup is stirred with a spoon.

The use of these prepositions is optional, with the exception of questions beginning with the words “who” (by whom?) and “what” (with what?).

Who was Hercule Poirot created by? - Who created it

What was the fire caused by? - What caused the fire?

In the formal style of speech, prepositions are often placed at the beginning of the phrase:

By what was the fire caused? - What caused the fire?

By whom was Hercule Poirot created? - Who created Hercule Poirot?

With what is the soup stirred? - What do you use to stir the soup?

Task 4. Put the verbs in the correct form Active and Passive Voice.

Modal verbs

How they work the Passive Voice and modal verbs - we will analyze further. Modal verbs are never used independently, but only in combination with a part of speech denoting the effect produced, in the indefinite mood. If they are present in the description of the impact made, in the passive voice the part of speech denoting the impact produced is transformed:

modal verb + “be” + Participle II

She might start research in July. (She can start research in July.) - Her research might be started in July.

We should fill in that form by hand. (We must fill out this form by hand.) - That form should be filled in by hand.

If the phrase contains the following parts of speech indicating impact:

to hear (hear);
to help (help);
to make (meaning “to force”);
to see (see),

after the main and auxiliary verbs there is one more in the indefinite mood (with the particle “to”):

I was made to clean the house. - I was forced to clean the house.

Mary will be helped to bake this cake. - Mary will be helped to bake this cake.

Let's start with the active voice because it's simpler. The subject (subject) itself produces the action. A simple example: “Steve loves Amy.” Steve is the subject, and he performs the action: he loves Amy, who in this sentence is the object.

Another example is the title of Marvin Gaye's song "I Heard It through the Grapevine". “I” is the subject who performs the action, that is, hears “it”, the object of the action.

Passive voice

In passive voice. Instead of "Steve loves Amy", we can say "Amy is loved by Steve". Amy becomes the subject of the sentence, but she does not perform the action. She is Steve's crush. Thus the focus shifts from Steve to Amy.

If we put the title of the above-mentioned song in the passive, we would say “It was heard by me through the grapevine,” which would immediately lose expressiveness.

Is the verb "to be" a passive voice?

Many people think that any sentence containing , is in the passive voice, but this is not true. For example, the sentence “I am holding a pen” is in the active voice, even though it uses the verb “am,” which is a form of “to be.” The passive form of this sentence would be: "The pen is being held by me."

Notice that the subject (“pen”) does not perform any action, it is passive. This is a sign that the sentence is in the passive voice - the subject does not perform a direct action.

Is it always bad to use passive voice?

There is one important point - sentences in the passive voice are not always incorrect. It's just often not the best way to express your thoughts. Sometimes the passive voice looks awkward, sometimes it looks too vague. Also, passive is usually the case, so if you replace passive sentences with active ones, you will make the text more concise.

When a sentence is in the passive voice, most often it is possible not to indicate the person or thing performing the action. For example, “Amy is loved.” The problem is that in this case we don't know who loves Amy.

Politicians often use the passive deliberately to avoid specifying who is doing the action. Ronald Reagan's famous words regarding the Iran-Contra scandal: “Mistakes were made.”

Other examples of using the passive voice for political reasons: “Bombs were dropped” or “Shots were fired.” Listen to the news in English and pay attention to the use of passive voice.

Another reader named Matthew adds that... He notes that it is much better to write “Your electricity will be shut off” than “We, the electric company, will be shutting off your power.”

Is it true that passive voice is more difficult to understand?

According to a recent study, less educated people—those without college degrees—have a harder time understanding sentences written in the passive voice than in the active voice. Therefore, when you are writing for a general audience, it is better to stick to the active voice.

Is it okay to use passive voice in crime reports?

On the other hand, passive voice has its advantages. For example, if you really don't know who did the action, then you can't name that person. This is especially true for crime reports. For example, a security guard might write “The museum was robbed” because no one knows who the burglar was.

Is passive voice necessary in fiction?

Sometimes the passive voice is used in fiction. For example, if you are writing a detective story and want to focus the reader's attention on the stolen cookies, it is best to use the passive voice. It is much better to write “The cookies were stolen” than “Somebody stole the cookies.”

The difference is not that big, but in the sentence “The cookies were stolen” the emphasis is on the cookies. In the sentence “Somebody stole the cookies,” the emphasis will be on the faceless “someone.”

The passive voice can be useful when you want to create an atmosphere of mystery. But this is precisely why it should not be used when you are writing non-fiction text and want everything to be clear and understandable.

To give the text objectivity and separate the results of experiments from personal opinion.

Some reference books on scientific style allow limited use of the active voice. For example, you can write “We sequenced the DNA” instead of “The DNA was sequenced,” but it is still considered undesirable for scientists to write conclusions on their own behalf.

For example, “We believe the mutation causes cancer” looks unscientific. But here you can do without the passive voice. For example, you can write “The data suggests that the mutation causes cancer.” The voice remains active, but the sense of subjectivity disappears.

Is it true that Strunk and White's handbook gets the passive voice wrong?

Finally, I would like to mention how Strunk and White describe the passive voice in their classic reference book, The Elements of Style. Three of the four examples of passive voice they gave are not actually passive.

In general, try to avoid passive voice except in situations where it is absolutely necessary. Of course, he expresses the meaning of what was said too vaguely, but in fiction, and especially scientific literature, the passive voice can be very useful to you.

Did you know that passive voice is widely used in crime reports?

06.11.2013

The very presence of a form of passive voice (sometimes called passive) is not a peculiar feature characteristic only of English syntax. However, the passive voice in English is more widespread than in Russian, and the models for constructing sentences with it are somewhat more diverse.

In what cases is it preferable to use the passive voice? When it is not very important for the speaker who exactly performs the action, but what is important is that it is performed and what object is directed at.

What is the difference between active and passive voices

To understand this issue, let's start with our native language.

Consider the difference between “I keep the rings in this box” and “The rings are kept in this box”? In the first case, in the center of attention and in the role of the subject is the one who acts - I. In the second case, the speaker is only interested in the fact itself: the rings are here, in this box. And it doesn’t matter who put them there, it’s not worth mentioning this subject, he’s so insignificant. This sentence is constructed in the passive voice, and its subject is a word that names not the subject of the action, but its object - the rings.

In English, this semantic difference between the examples remains:

I keep my rings in this jewelry-box.
The rings are kept in the jewelry-box.

The active voice emphasizes the subject of the action, while the passive voice emphasizes the action itself and the object with which it is performed.

Constructing a sentence in the passive voice

To “turn” an active structure into a passive one, you need to perform several steps:

make the addition a subject: in our example it is rings,
subject to be omitted (or translated into object),
formulate the predicate verb in the passive: instead of keep – are kept.

Considering how many verb tenses there are in English, it is very useful to learn the very principle of forming the passive form. It consists of several words: the auxiliary verb to be in the appropriate tense, person and number (in our example it is are), followed by the main verb in the form Participle II (kept). For some times, quite heavy combinations are obtained, this is clearly visible in the summary table.

Formation of passive voice forms

	Present	Past	Future	Future in the Past
Simple	The ring is kept.	The ring was kept.	The ring will be kept.	The ring would be kept.
Continuous	The ring is being kept.	The ring was being kept.
Perfect	The ring has been kept.	The ring had been kept.	The ring will have been kept.	The ring would have been kept.

The semantic verb remains unchanged; all grammatical information (person, number, tense) is carried by the auxiliary verb to be: it is this verb that gives such cumbersome forms. The table also shows that Future Continuous, Future Continuous in the Past and all tenses of the Perfect Continuous group do not have a passive voice at all.

If a modal verb is used in the passive voice, then the model on which the sentence is constructed is greatly simplified: modal verb + be + main verb. For example, The rings can be kept in the jewelry-box.

To form a negative sentence, we place the particle not in its usual place after the auxiliary verb: The ring is not kept. If it itself consists of several words, then after the first: The ring is not being kept. As always, the abbreviation is acceptable: The ring isn’t being kept.

Negative sentences with passive voice

	Present	Past	Future	Future in the Past
Simple	The ring is not kept.	The ring was not kept.	The ring will not be kept.	The ring would not be kept.
Continuous	The ring is not being kept.	The ring was not being kept.
Perfect	The ring has not been kept.	The ring had not been kept.	The ring will not have been kept.	The ring would not have been kept.

In a general question, we put the auxiliary verb (or only its first part) first: Is the ring kept? Is the ring being kept?

In a special question, this structure remains intact, and we place a question word in front of it: Where is the ring kept?

Common Passive Questions

	Present	Past	Future	Future in the Past
Simple	Is the ring kept?	Was the ring kept?	Will the ring be kept?	Would the ring be kept?
Continuous	Is the ring being kept?	Was the ring being kept?
Perfect	Has the ring been kept?	Has the ring been kept?	Will the ring have been kept?	Would the ring have been kept?

English sentences in the passive do not always “lose” the subject performing the action. It can be named at the request of the speaker; language provides the necessary means for this. Let's return to our example and add a small clarification to it: The rings are kept in the jewelry-box by me. The object with the preposition by indicates who is doing the action.(keeps rings in a box): in the active voice it was the subject I, now it is a prepositional object, used in the instrumental case: by me.

Additions to Passive Sentences

In such sentences, additions are often used that name those tools or means with the help of which the action is performed. The preposition is used with them with: The rings are cleaned with toothpaste.
Pretext of in such cases they use to designate the material: The rings are made of silver.

Features of the use of passive voice

1. The prevalence of passive and active voice varies in different languages. In particular, a number of English verbs can be used in the passive as a predicate with a direct object, although similar Russian words cannot.

For example, a sentence I show Maria the ring transforms into two different sentences in the passive:

The ring was shown to Maria (The ring was shown to Maria).
Maria was shown the rings (Maria was shown rings).

To translate such sentences into Russian, you have to use impersonal sentences without naming the person performing the action. If the subject is known, it can be translated in the active voice: Tom was told by his teacher to sit down (The teacher told Tom to sit down).

2. Another difficulty is English verbs with so-called postpositions, used in the passive. Postpositions retain their place after the verb: The rings were sent for (They sent for the rings). In translation, we put the word for (for the Russian language this is a preposition) before the noun - the subject.