The passive voice, or as it is also called, the passive voice, always strikes awe in English language learners. But in reality, it's not all that scary. Let's find out!
What is passive voice?
We use the passive voice when we talk about an object on which some action is performed, and also when the sentence does not indicate who performs the action. For example,
Those pancakes were baked by my granny.
Those pancakes were baked by grandma.
In this sentence, the performer of the action is the grandmother, but the emphasis is on the subject.
Her book is stolen.
Her book has been stolen.
And in the second example, the object that performed the action is unknown.
How the passive voice is constructed depending on tenses
In this section we will show you how the passive voice will be constructed in different tenses of the English language.
Let's start with the fact that the construction is based on the to be + 3 form of the verb, and depending on the tense it is used in different variations.
Present Simple- to be + 3rd form of the verb
Active Voice(active voice): They usually visit their granny.
They usually visit their granny.
Passive Voice: Their granny is usually visit ed.
Their grandmother is often visited.
Present Continuous- to be + being + 3rd form of the verb
Active Voice: They are visiting their granny now.
Now they are visiting their grandmother.
Passive Voice: Their granny is being visit ed now.
Their grandmother is now being visited.
Present Perfect- have/has + been + 3rd form of the verb
Active Voice: They have just visited their granny
They just visited their grandmother.
Passive Voice: Their granny has just been visit ed.
Their granny just got a visit.
to be going to- to be going to +be + 3rd form of the verb
Active Voice: They are going to visit their granny.
They are going to visit their grandmother.
Passive Voice: Their granny is going to be visit ed.
They are going to visit their grandmother.
Past Simple- was/were + 3rd form of the verb
Active Voice: They visited their granny yesterday.
They visited their grandmother yesterday.
Passive Voice: Their granny was visit ed yesterday.
Their grandmother was visited yesterday.
Past Continuous- was/were + being + 3rd form of the verb
Active Voice: They were visiting their granny from 5 to 8 yesterday.
They visited their grandmother yesterday from 5 to 8.
Passive Voice: Their granny was be ing visit ed from 5 to 8 yesterday.
Yesterday they visited grandma from 5 to 8.
Past Pefect- had + been + 3rd form of the verb
Active Voice: They had visited their granny before I came.
They visited their granny before I arrived.
Passive Voice: Their granny had been visit ed before I came.
Their grandmother was visited before I arrived.
Used to- used to + be + 3rd form of the verb
Active Voice: They used to visit their granny every week.
They used to visit grandma every week.
Passive Voice: Their granny used to be visit ed every week.
Their grandmother used to be visited every week.
Future Simple- will/shall + be + 3rd form of the verb
Active Voice: They will probably visit their granny next week.
They'll probably visit their granny next week.
Passive Voice: Their granny will be visit ed next week.
Their granny will probably be visited next week.
Modal verbs- can/should/may/must/might/ have to/ ought to + be + 3rd form of the verb
Active Voice: They should visit their granny more often.
They should visit their granny more often.
Passive Voice: Their granny should be visit ed more often.
Their grandmother should be visited more often.
Prepositions in the passive voice
If you still need to indicate who performed the action, or how it was performed, then do not forget to use the necessary prepositions: by and with, where by indicates the performer, and with indicates the subject of the action.
Their granny was visited by my parents.
My parents visited their grandmother.
This cut was done with scissors.
This cut was made with scissors.
To say that an action is performed on an object or person, English uses the passive voice.
For example:
“The car has been repaired. The door is closed. Children are punished. The documents have been signed."
As you can see, in such sentences we focus on the action itself, and not on who performed it.
In English, the passive voice is used very often. I think you have come across such sentences more than once in films, books, news, and newspapers in English.
In this article we will look at when the passive voice is used and how to form such sentences in all tenses.
From the article you will learn:
- General rules for using the passive voice in English
- Table of the use of passive voice in all tenses
What is active and passive voice in English?
First, let's look at what voice is and why it is needed in the English language.
Pledge expresses an attitude towards action, that is, it shows:
- the person/object itself performs the action (I brought a letter)
- a person/object experiences the effect of someone on himself (the letter was brought)
Accordingly, in English there are two types of collateral:
1. Active voice- the actor himself performs actions.
For example:
Clients signed an agreement (clients are an actor and they performed a certain action).
2. Passive voice- the actor experiences the action of another person.
For example:
The contract is signed (the contract was not signed by himself, the action was performed on him).
When do we use passive voice?
3 Uses of Passive Voice in English
As I said, the passive voice is used when an action is performed on something/someone. In such sentences, the main emphasis is always on the action itself.
These may be the following cases:
1. When we do not know who performed the action.
For example: The bank was robbed (we don’t know who did it).
2. When it is not important to us who performed the action, but the action itself is important.
For example: This house will be built next year (it doesn’t matter to us who does it, it’s important to us that it will be built).
3. When we don't want to say who exactly did it(if something bad happened and we don't want to blame anyone).
For example: The holiday is ruined (we don’t want to say who ruined it).
Now let's look at the rules for constructing such sentences in English.
General rules for constructing the passive voice in English
I’ll say right away that constructing such sentences in English is not difficult. To do this you need:
1. Put the object/person on whom the action is performed in first place in the sentence.
For example:
A letter….
Letter…
A car...
Car…
Children….
Children…
2. Put the verb to be in second place in the right tense.
Let's look at this through the three most used tenses in English:
- Present Simple (simple present tense) - am, are, is
- Past Simple (simple past tense) - was, were
- Future Simple (simple future tense) - will be
For example:
A letter is….
Letter….
A car was….
The car was...
Children will be….
Children will...
3. The action itself (verb) that was performed on the actor should be put in the past tense.
There are regular and irregular verbs in English. You can find out whether a verb is correct or not by looking it up in the dictionary.
Depending on the verb we:
- add the ending -ed if the verb is correct (prepare - prepared)
- put it in the 3rd form if the verb is not regular (send - sent)
For example:
A letter is delivered.
The letter is being delivered.
A car was sold.
The car has been sold.
Children will be punished.
Children will be punished.
If we want to add that an action is performed by someone or with the help of something, we can use prepositions by and with.
UsagebyAndwithin passive voice
1. We use by to say that an action will be performed by someone. We put it at the end of the sentence, and after it the character (by Tom, by Mary).
For example:
The documents were sent by his secretary.
The documents were sent by his secretary
2. We use with to say that an action will be performed using some tool. We put with at the end of the sentence, and after it the tool itself (with a knife, with a pen)
For example:
The picture will be painted with a pencil.
The picture will be drawn in pencil.
We talked in detail about how to construct passive voice in 3 simple tenses in these articles:
- Future Simple Passive - simple future tense in the passive voice in English
However, in some cases the passive voice is also used in other tenses.
Let's see what such proposals look like.
Table of the use of the passive voice in all tenses of the English language
Since the passive voice is most often used in 3 simple tenses, we will not dwell in detail on the rest, but will consider a general table of use.
As you can see from the three simple tenses, the principle of construction remains the same in all tenses.
Everything that changes - this is the verb to be. We put it on at the right time.
Here's how it happens.
| Time | Use case | How the verb to be changes | Examples | |
| Present Simple Present simple |
We are talking about a regular action that occurs in the present tense. |
Dinner is cooked by mom. The rooms are cleaned every day. |
||
| Present Continuous Present continious |
We are talking about an action that is currently being performed and is a process. |
|
Dinner is being cooked. The rooms are being cleaned now. |
|
| Present Perfect Present completed |
Speak m about an action that happened in the past but has meaning now. However, now we can see the result of this action. |
|
Dinner has been cooked. The rooms have been cleaned recently. |
|
| Past Simple Past simple |
We are talking about a fact that happened in the past. |
Dinner was cooked by mom. The rooms were cleaned yesterday. |
||
| Past Continuous Past continuous |
We say that some process occurred in the past (usually used when this process was interrupted by another action). |
|
Dinner was being cooked when he came. The rooms were being cleaned when they arrived. |
|
| Past Perfect Past completed |
We say that the action was completed (we received the result) by a certain period in the past. Typically used when we show the order of actions in the past (one action was performed before the second). |
had been |
Dinner had been cooked before he came. The rooms had been cleaned before they arrived. |
|
| Future Simple Future Simple |
We are talking about a fact that will happen in the future. |
will be |
Dinner will be cooked. The rooms will be cleaned tomorrow. |
|
| Future Perfect Future completed |
We are talking about an action that will end (we will get a result) by a certain point in the future. | will have been | Dinner will have been cooked by 9 o'clock. Dinner will be prepared at 9 o'clock. The rooms will have been cleaned by morning. |
|
As you may have noticed, there are some difficult tenses missing from the table. Why? They're just never used in the passive voice. We replace them with simpler times.
So, we have looked at the use of the passive voice in English. Now let's move on to the practical task.
Reinforcement task
Translate the following sentences into English. Leave your answers in the comments.
1. The door is open.
2. The letter will be delivered by evening.
3. Job done.
4. The car is being washed now.
5. The house will be sold.
6. The fence was painted yesterday.
When comparing the English language with the Russian language, one can notice that some grammatical features and structures have much in common and are used in the same situations. Thus, the linguistic structure of English includes some grammatical phenomena and categories, in particular, the division into voices - active and passive (they are also called active and passive voice, respectively). If the situation with the active voice is clear, then for the passive form it is necessary to give some explanations and describe why such a construction is used.
What is Passive Voice
If we define the active voice, then we can say that most sentences belong here, since the passive is used less often. - this is a situation where the subject of a sentence is an independent performer of an action. Unlike the active, the passive voice in English is a grammatical construction associated primarily with the verb form and showing that the action is not performed by the subject itself; the subject undergoes the action rather than performs it. To put it simply, active and passive voice in English differ in that in the first the performer does something himself, and in the second he does not.
To clearly demonstrate how this looks in the language, it is worth giving examples of sentences that compare these two types of voice:
- · He buys meet at the market every Saturday – Every Saturday he buys meat at the market(the subject, i.e. “he”, is the independent performer of the action)
- · Meat is bought at the market every Sunday – Meat is bought at the market every Saturday(the subject, i.e. “meat,” cannot be an independent performer; the action is performed not by him, but on him)
How is Passive Voice formed?
Comparing Active and Passive Voice, you can notice the difference in the forms of the same tense. The formation of the passive voice is impossible without the presence of two important grammatical factors:
1. Auxiliary verb to be, used in the form of the required tense – am, is, are, was, were, been, will be.
2. The form of the semantic verb in Passive Voice must necessarily be in , or, more simply put, be the third, if you refer to the table of irregular verbs (if the verb is regular, the ending will simply be –ed).
This order is typical for almost all types of tense forms.
Note: when forming any Continuous form, the presence of the verb to be is also required, but here the form of the verb will be being, since otherwise it will not be possible to show duration.
- Finally his name was called and he stepped forward - In the end, his name was called and he stepped forward
- She saw that the test had been changed and felt fear - She saw that the test was changed and felt fear
- He felt with satisfaction that he was being stared at - He noted with satisfaction that they were looking at him
Questions in Passive Voice
Questions in the passive voice are formed quite standardly. Here the rules are the same as in the active voice, where interrogative sentences are: the initial position in the sentence will be taken by the auxiliary verb of the required tense (if it is not there, then to be is brought forward in the appropriate form). Next should come the subject, followed by the rest of the passive form and other minor members of the sentence. Interrogative sentences in the passive voice look like this:
- Have you already been asked to come? – Have you already been asked to come?
- Was he invited to the party yesterday? – Was he invited to a party yesterday?
Negative sentences in the passive voice
The Passive Voice with negation is also simple in its formation: the standard particle not is added to the auxiliary verb (the verb to be, if the main verb is missing), and this rule is valid for all forms of the passive:
- He will not be allowed to use this car without my permission - He will not be allowed to use this car without my permission
- The juice hasn’t been drunk yet, there is some more left - The juice hasn’t been drunk yet, there is a little left
Verbs for Passive Voice
Despite its apparent simplicity, the passive voice in English cannot be used with all verbs. As a rule, verbs in transitive or, as they are also called, causative form are awarded such a privilege.
The transitivity of an English verb is explained simply: if a word expressing an action can be given an addition, direct or indirect, then it is called transitive. Examples of such verbs are bring, eat, open, come, call and many others. If this cannot be done, then the verb is called intransitive and usually does not appear in Passive Voice (sit, fly, jump, live, etc.).
Note: in some cases the passive is formed even with intransitive verbs, but in this case it is usually accompanied by a preposition:
- At last an agreement was come at - In the end, they came to an agreement
- When a boy, he was often laughed at, but later everything changed - When he was a boy, he was often laughed at, but later everything changed
- When he was called for, he didn’t want to answer - When he was called, he didn’t want to answer
Modal Verbs and Passive Voice
The passive voice is formed even easier than with all the others. Since modal verbs can also have a passive form, there is a special case of use with them, but it does not pose any complexity, because here after the modal it is enough to add be and put the main verb following it in the Participle II form. In practice, modal verbs in this form are used quite often, and for such use of Passive Voice, examples can be as follows:
- The work must be done immediately - The work must be done immediately
- This text can not be translated without your help – This text cannot be translated without your help
Features of some temporary forms in Passive Voice
As mentioned above, the tense system provides for passive constructions in English, which are used freely and much more often than in Russian. However, it is worth noting that not all tenses can be in the passive form, and this is important to consider when using this grammatical structure in speech and writing. For this purpose, Passive Voice has a table that shows the basic Passive formulas and indicates those cases when their use is impossible.
Time table in Passive Voice:
| Indefinite | Continuous | Perfect | Perfect Continuous | |
| Past | was/were + V(3) | was/were + being + V(3) | had + been + V(3) | – |
| Present | am/is/are + | am/is/are + being + V(3) | have/has + been + V(3) | – |
| Future | will be + V(3) | – | will have + been + V(3) | – |
There is a completely logical explanation for this: tenses of the category Perfect Continuous, and also the passive voice is not formed in English, since their structure contradicts the norms for the formation of the passive, because they are already supplemented by the verb to be in its original or third form. This means that it will no longer be possible to supplement the construction with anything, since the grammar prohibits this.
Prepositions for Passive Voice
Unlike Active Voice, Passive Voice is often used with prepositions, and this is typical not only for intransitive verbs. Sometimes there is a need to show who or with the help of which the action was performed. There are two standard prepositions here: by (expresses the performer, or agent) and with (expresses the instrument, which is called instrument).
Note: the statement that by is used only with animate nouns, and with with inanimate nouns is erroneous, and several situations with examples can confirm this:
- When he went for a walk to the mountains he was hit by a stone - When he went for a walk to the mountains, he was hit by a stone(the stone was not used as a tool or tool, everything happened by accident)
- The police note that the murder victim was struck with a stone – The police note that the murder victim was hit with a stone(the stone was used as a tool, using it purposefully)
Following the instructions described above will make it easy to distinguish between active and passive voice in English and will not cause inconvenience in forming the desired form.
If the subject denotes a person or thing performing an action, then the predicate verb is used in the form active voice.
If the subject denotes a person or thing being acted upon by another person or thing, then the predicate verb is used in the form passive voice.
Formation of the passive voice
The passive voice is formed using the auxiliary verb to be at the required time And past participles semantic verb.
| Time | Active voice | Passive voice |
|
am/is/are + past participle |
My favorite author writes these humorous books - My favorite author writes these funny books. | These humorous books are written by my favorite author – These funny books are written by my favorite author. |
|
Present Continuous am/is/are being + past participle |
I am looking into it now - This is exactly what I’m doing now. | This matter is being looked into – This issue is being dealt with now. |
|
have/has been + past participle |
They have painted the fence recently - They recently painted the fence. | The fence has been painted recently - The fence was painted recently. |
| Present Perfect Continuous | – | – |
|
was/were + past participle |
They closed this store long time ago - They closed this store a long time ago. | This store was closed long time ago - This store was closed a long time ago. |
|
was/were being + past participle |
I knew they were talking about me - I knew that they were talking about me. | I knew I was being talked about - I knew that they were talking about me. |
|
had been + past participle |
They had introduced them to each other before I arrived - They introduced them to each other before I arrived. | They had been introduced to each other before I arrived - They were introduced to each other before I arrived. |
| Past Perfect Continuous | – | – |
|
will be + past participle |
Next week they will take the whole class to the museum – Next week they will take the whole class to the museum. | Next week the whole class will be taken to the museum - Next week the whole class will be taken to the museum. |
| Future Continuous | – | – |
|
will have been + past participle |
By next summer I will have finished this course - By next summer I will finish this course. | By next summer this course will have been finished - By next summer this course will be completed. |
| Future Perfect Continuous | – | – |
The table shows that the passive voice not used in such tenses as Present Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous, Future Continuous and Future Perfect Continuous. In such cases you can use:
1. Active voice
Tomorrow at this time I will be discussing this project with my colleague - Tomorrow at this time I will discuss this project with my colleague.
2. Passive voice. But it should be remembered that in this case it is necessary to replace tenses that are not used in the passive voice with those that are used in the passive voice.
- Future Continuous -> Future Simple
Tomorrow at 10 o"clock they will be holding a meeting - Tomorrow at 10 o'clock they will hold a meeting.
The meeting will be held tomorrow at 10 o"clock - The meeting will be held tomorrow at 10 o'clock. - Present Perfect Continuous -> Present Perfect
She has been cleaning her flat since morning - She cleans her apartment in the morning.
The flat has been cleaned since morning - The apartment is cleaned in the morning. - Past Perfect Continuous -> Past Perfect
They had been selling furniture for over 20 years before they closed down their shop - They were selling furniture for more than 20 years before they closed their store.
Their furniture had been sold for over 20 years before their shop was closed down – Their furniture was sold for more than 20 years before their store was closed. - Future Perfect Continuous -> Future Perfect
Next week I will have been painting this portrait for 3 months – Next week it will be 3 months since I painted this portrait.
Next week this portrait will have been painted for 3 months – Next week it will be 3 months since this portrait has been painted.
Using the Passive Voice
| Cases of use | Examples |
| 1. Passive voice is used when the speaker is more interested in the action itself, and not in who (or what) it was performed. | This building is very old. It was built many years ago – This building is very old. It was built many years ago. (the speaker is interested in the building itself, and not who built it) |
| 2. The passive voice is used in sentences that begin with an already known fact and end with some kind of “news”, a new additional fact. |
What a lovely book! What a wonderful book! |
| 3. Passive voice is used when talking about the same person or thing. | Yesterday my son spent the whole day at his granny"s. He was taken to the park for a walk. After that he had his lunch. At the end of the day he was given a portion of chocolate ice cream - Yesterday my son spent all day at his grandmother's. He went for a walk in the park. Then he had lunch. And at the end of the day he was given a portion of chocolate ice cream. (we are talking about the same person, the passive voice in this situation helps to avoid the use of the same constructions, making the speech varied) |
| 4. Long explanations are best placed at the end of the sentence. In some cases, this requires using the passive voice. | I will be seen by the same doctor who treated my father last week - I will be examined by the same doctor who treated my father last week. (a long explanation about the doctor is better to put at the end of the sentence, so for this sentence the passive voice is a better construction) |
| 5. Certain verbs that are much more common to use in the passive voice, despite their “active” meaning. |
|
Some features of the use of the passive voice
| Features of use | Examples |
| 1. Passive voice not used with intransitive verbs*. | I am arriving at 3 o"clock tomorrow - I arrive at 3 o'clock tomorrow. (arrive is an intransitive verb, and therefore it is impossible to compose a sentence with this verb in the passive voice) |
| 2. Past participles are used in both passive voice and active voice. Try not to confuse them! |
I have signed the paper - I signed the document. (active voice, Present Perfect Tense) The paper was signed - The document was signed. (passive voice, Past Simple Tense) |
| 3. In sentences with passive voice, the person performing the action is joined by a preposition by, and the instrument with which the action is performed is attached by a preposition with. |
The Pyramids were built by Egyptians – The pyramids were built by the Egyptians. (person who performed the action) The letter was written with a pencil - The letter was written in pencil. (the instrument with which the action was performed) |
|
4. In passive voice, phrasal verbs retain the preposition used with them. This preposition is put at the end of a sentence. |
The tickets have already been paid for – The tickets have already been paid for. (The preposition for belongs to the noun tickets, but is at the end of the sentence) |
*Intransitive verbs- these are those verbs with which it is impossible to use a direct object (translated into Russian as an object in the accusative case without a preposition).
Finally, they arrived - Finally, they arrived. (Arrive is an intransitive verb; it cannot be followed by a direct object)
Transitive verbs denote an action that, in its meaning, transfers to a certain object that can be expressed by a direct object. For example, you can only “wash” something: a window, dishes, a car. The very meaning of the verb implies the presence of an object.
I invited Sally and Sharon – I invited Sally and Sharon. (Invite is a transitive verb, Sally and Sharon is a direct object)
Many verbs in English can be both transitive and intransitive. Compare these offers:
The door opened - The door opened.
She opened the door - She opened the door.