CHAPTER 12.

THE PASSIVE VOICE

1. Use of the passive voice
As explained in the preceding chapter, the Active Voice of a verb is used when the subject of the
verb refers to the person or thing performing the action described by the verb.
In contrast, the Passive Voice of a verb is used when the subject of the verb refers to the person or
thing receiving the action described by the verb. Only a verb which can take an object can be put
into the assive Voice.
!he assive Voice is more commonly used in "nglish than it is in other "uropean languages such as
#erman or $rench. As well as being used in everyday "nglish, the assive Voice is used extensively
in official documents and scientific papers.
In the following examples, the verbs in the assive Voice are underlined.
e.g. !he ball was struck by the boy.
#old has been found by the explorers.
In these examples, the verbs was struck and has ee! fou!" are in the assive Voice. !he subjects
a## and $o#" refer to things receiving the actions described by the verbs.

2. %or&atio! of the i!"icative &oo" of the passive voice
$or every tense in the Active Voice, there is a corresponding tense in the assive Voice. In the
assive Voice, the verb to e acts as an auxiliary. !he assive Voice tenses of an "nglish verb are
formed from the corresponding conjugations of to e, followed by the past participle of the verb.
a. The si&p#e prese!t i!"icative
$or instance, the %imple resent Indicative of to e, and the %imple resent Indicative of the
assive Voice of the verb to show are conjugated as follows&
Si&p#e Prese!t I!"icative Si&p#e Prese!t I!"icative
of To 'e of Passive Voice of To Show
I am I am shown
you are you are shown
he is he is shown
she is she is shown
it is it is shown
we are we are shown
they are they are shown
. The other i!"icative te!ses
%imilarly, the other Indicative tenses of the assive Voice of the verb to show are conjugated as
indicated in the following table. !he corresponding tenses of the verb to e are included for
purposes of comparison.
The ver To 'e co&pare" with the Passive Voice of the ver To Show
Prese!t Co!ti!uous Prese!t Co!ti!uous
I am being I am being shown
you are being you are being shown
he is being he is being shown
she is being she is being shown
it is being it is being shown
we are being we are being shown
they are being they are being shown

Prese!t Perfect Prese!t Perfect
I have been I have been shown
you have been you have been shown
he has been he has been shown
she has been she has been shown
it has been it has been shown
we have been we have been shown
they have been they have been shown

Prese!t Perfect Co!ti!uous Prese!t Perfect Co!ti!uous
have been being I have been being shown
you have been being you have been being shown
he has been being he has been being shown
she has been being she has been being shown
it has been being it has been being shown
we have been being we have been being shown
they have been being they have been being shown

Si&p#e Past Si&p#e Past
I was I was shown
you were you were shown
he was he was shown
she was she was shown
it was it was shown
we were we were shown
they were they were shown

Past Co!ti!uous Past Co!ti!uous
I was being I was being shown
you were being you were being shown
he was being he was being shown
she was being she was being shown
it was being it was being shown
we were being we were being shown
they were being they were being shown

Past Perfect Past Perfect
I had been I had been shown
you had been you had been shown
he had been he had been shown
she had been she had been shown
it had been it had been shown
we had been we had been shown
they had been they had been shown

Past Perfect Co!ti!uous Past Perfect Co!ti!uous
I had been being I had been being shown
you had been being you had been being shown
he had been being he had been being shown
she had been being she had been being shown
it had been being it had been being shown
we had been being we had been being shown
they had been being they had been being shown

Si&p#e %uture Si&p#e %uture
I will 'shall( be I will 'shall( be shown
you will be you will be shown
he will be he will be shown
she will be she will be shown
it will be it will be shown
we will 'shall( be we will 'shall( be shown
they will be they will be shown

%uture Co!ti!uous %uture Co!ti!uous
I will 'shall( be being I will 'shall( be being shown
you will be being you will be being shown
he will be being he will be being shown
she will be being she will be being shown
it will be being it will be being shown
we will 'shall( be being we will 'shall( be being shown
they will be being they will be being shown

%uture Perfect %uture Perfect
I will 'shall( have been I will 'shall( have been shown
you will have been you will have been shown
he will have been he will have been shown
she will have been she will have been shown
it will have been it will have been shown
we will 'shall( have been we will 'shall( have been shown
they will have been they will have been shown

%uture Perfect Co!ti!uous %uture Perfect Co!ti!uous
I will 'shall( have been being I will 'shall( have been being shown
you will have been being you will have been being shown
he will have been being he will have been being shown
she will have been being she will have been being shown
It will have been being it will have been being shown
we will 'shall( have been being we will 'shall( have been being shown
they will have been being they will have been being shown

c. Su&&ar( of the for&atio! of the i!"icative te!ses of the passive voice
!he following table summari)es the formation of the Indicative tenses of the assive Voice.
The %or&atio! of the I!"icative )oo" of the Passive Voice
Te!se Au*i#iar( Ver %or&
%imple resent am*is*are past participle
resent +ontinuous am*is*are being past participle
resent erfect have*has been past participle
resent erfect +ontinuous,, have*has been being past participle

%imple ast was*were past participle
ast +ontinuous was*were being past participle
ast erfect had been past participle
ast erfect +ontinuous,, had been being past participle

%imple $uture will 'shall( be, past participle
$uture +ontinuous,, will 'shall( be being past participle
$uture erfect will 'shall( have been past participle
$uture erfect +ontinuous,, will 'shall( have been being past participle
, !he other modal auxiliaries form conjugations in the same way as shown for wi## and sha##.
,, !he resent erfect +ontinuous, ast erfect +ontinuous, $uture +ontinuous, and $uture erfect
+ontinuous tenses of the assive Voice are cumbersome, and are rarely used. Only the more
commonly used tenses of the assive Voice will be discussed below.

+. ,uestio!s a!" !e$ative state&e!ts
As is the case for other "nglish conjugations, verbs in the assive Voice form -uestions and
negative statements using the first auxiliary.
a. ,uestio!s
!o form a -uestion, the first auxiliary is placed before the subject. $or example&
Affir&ative State&e!t ,uestio!
.ou were shown the sights. /ere you shown the sights0
%he is being shown the sights. Is she being shown the sights0
1e will have been shown the sights. /ill he have been shown the sights0
/e should be shown the sights. %hould we be shown the sights0
. -e$ative state&e!ts
!o form a negative statement, the word !ot is placed after the first auxiliary. $or example&
-e$ative State&e!ts
.ou were not shown the sights.
%he is not being shown the sights.
1e will not have been shown the sights.
/e should not be shown the sights.
c. -e$ative .uestio!s
!o form a negative -uestion, the first auxiliary is placed before the subject, and the word !ot is
placed after the subject. 1owever, when contractions are used, the contracted form of !ot follows
immediately after the auxiliary. +ontractions are often used in spoken "nglish. $or example&
/ithout Co!tractio!s
/ere you not shown the sights0
Is she not being shown the sights0
/ill he not have been shown the sights0
%hould we not be shown the sights0
/ith Co!tractio!s
/eren2t you shown the sights0
Isn2t she being shown the sights0
/on2t he have been shown the sights0
%houldn2t we be shown the sights0

0. Cha!$i!$ the voice of a ver
/hen the verb of a sentence is changed from the Active Voice to the assive Voice and the other
words in the sentence are left unaltered, a change in meaning results. In the following examples, the
verbs are underlined.
e.g. Active Voice& 1e is driving to the airport.
assive Voice& 1e is being driven to the airport.
!he person referred to by the subject of the first sentence is behaving actively3 the person is doing
the driving. !he person referred to by the subject of the second sentence is behaving passively3
someone else is doing the driving.
4sing the first person singular of the verb to show as an example, the following table compares the
most commonly used tenses of the Indicative 5ood of the assive Voice with the corresponding
tenses of the Active Voice.
Te!se Active Voice Passive Voice
%imple resent I show I am shown
6egative %tatement& I do not show I am not shown
resent +ontinuous I am showing I am being shown
resent erfect I have shown I have been shown

%imple ast I showed I was shown
6egative %tatement& I did not show I was not shown
ast +ontinuous I was showing I was being shown
ast erfect I had shown I had been shown

%imple $uture I will show I will be shown
$uture erfect I will have shown I will have been shown

%imple, with wou#" I would show I would be shown
erfect, with wou#" I would have shown I would have been shown

1. Cha!$i!$ the voice of a ver whi#e preservi!$ the &ea!i!$ of a se!te!ce
In order to preserve the meaning of a sentence when the Voice of the verb is changed, it is necessary
to alter the order of the words in the sentence.
a. Cha!$i!$ the ver fro& the active voice to the passive voice
/hen a verb which takes an object is changed from the Active Voice to the assive Voice, in order
to preserve the meaning of the sentence, the former object becomes the subject of the verb, and the
former subject may be preceded by the preposition (, and placed after the verb. In the following
examples, the verbs are underlined, and the direct objects of the verbs are printed in bold type.
$or instance, in the sentence&
!he wind is rippling the water.
the verb is ripp#i!$ has the subject wi!" and takes the object water. /hen the verb is put into the
assive Voice and the meaning of the sentence is preserved, the former object, water, becomes the
subject of the verb, and the former subject, wi!", becomes the object of the preposition (, as
follows&
!he water is being rippled by the wind.
Other examples are&
Active& !he s-uirrel ate the !ut.
assive& !he nut was eaten by the s-uirrel.
Active& !he child will open the parce#.
assive& !he parcel will be opened by the child.
In the first pair of examples, the verb ate, in the Active Voice, is changed to was eate!, in the
assive Voice. In order to preserve the meaning, !ut, the object of the verb in the Active Voice,
becomes the subject of the verb in the assive Voice, and is placed before the verb3 and s.uirre#,
the subject of the verb in the Active Voice, becomes the object of the preposition (, and is placed
after the verb.
%imilarly, in the second pair of examples, parce#, the object of the verb in the Active Voice,
becomes the subject of the verb in the assive Voice and is placed before the verb3 and chi#", the
subject of the verb in the Active Voice, becomes the object of the preposition (, and is placed after
the verb.
It should be noted that, when changing the Voice of a verb in a sentence while preserving the
meaning of the sentence, it is necessary to make sure that the verb agrees with its new subject.
e.g. Active& !he boys are mowing the #aw!.
assive& !he lawn is being mowed by the boys.
In the first sentence, the subject o(s is plural3 therefore a plural auxiliary are is used. In the second
sentence, the subject #aw! is singular3 therefore a singular auxiliary is is used. !he agreement of
verbs with noun subjects is discussed in the next chapter.
. Cha!$i!$ the ver fro& the passive voice to the active voice
/hen a verb is changed from the assive Voice to the Active Voice, in order to preserve the
meaning of the sentence, the former subject becomes the object of the verb, and, if the sentence
includes a phrase beginning with the preposition (, the former object of the preposition becomes
the subject of the verb.
e.g. assive& !he clover is being eaten by the cow.
Active& !he cow is eating the c#over.
In this pair of examples, the verb is ei!$ eate!, in the assive Voice, is changed to is eati!$, in the
Active Voice. In order to preserve the meaning of the sentence, c#over, the subject of the verb in the
assive Voice, becomes the object of the verb in the Active Voice, and is placed after the verb3 and
cow, the object of the preposition (, becomes the subject of the verb in the Active Voice, and is
placed before the verb.
Other examples are&
assive& !he wine was ordered by the dealer.
Active& !he dealer ordered the wi!e.
assive& !he deer could have been killed by the poacher.
Active& !he poacher could have killed the "eer.
c. Cha!$i!$ the voice of a ver which takes oth a "irect o2ect a!" a! i!"irect o2ect
/hen a verb in the Active Voice takes both a direct object and an indirect object, either object can
become the subject of the verb when the verb is put into the assive Voice, and the meaning of the
sentence is preserved. !he object which does not become the subject remains as an object. /hen a
verb in the assive Voice takes an indirect object, the indirect object is usually preceded by a
preposition.
e.g. Active& !he guide will show you the &useu&.
assive& .ou will be shown the &useu& by the guide.
assive& !he museum will be shown to you by the guide.
In the first sentence, the verb wi## show, in the Active Voice, takes the direct object &useu&, and
the indirect object (ou. In the second and third sentences, the verb wi## e show! is in the assive
Voice, and the meaning has been preserved by altering the word order and using the preposition (.
In the second sentence, the former indirect object, (ou, is the subject of the verb, and the former
direct object, &useu&, remains the direct object. In the third sentence, the former direct object,
&useu&, is the subject of the verb, and the former indirect object, (ou, is preceded by the
preposition to.
A similar example is&
Active& !he policeman gave you a &e"a#.
assive& .ou were given a &e"a# by the policeman.
assive& A medal was given to you by the policeman.
In the first sentence, the verb $ave, in the Active Voice, takes the direct object &e"a# and the
indirect object (ou. In the second and third sentences, the verb was $ive! is in the assive Voice. In
the second sentence, the former indirect object, (ou, is the subject of the verb, and the former direct
object, &e"a#, remains the direct object. In the third sentence, the former direct object, &e"a#, is
the subject of the verb, and the former indirect object, (ou, is preceded by the preposition to.

3. The su2u!ctive &oo" of the passive voice
!he assive Voice tenses discussed so far have all been in the Indicative 5ood. 1owever, verbs in
the assive Voice can also be put into the %ubjunctive 5ood.
It has been seen that all of the tenses in the assive Voice are formed using auxiliaries. As has
already been explained, the %ubjunctive 5ood of tenses using auxiliaries is formed by putting the
first auxiliary into the %ubjunctive 5ood.
4sing the verb to show as an example, the following table illustrates the formation of the tenses of
the %ubjunctive 5ood of the assive Voice.
The Su2u!ctive )oo" of the Passive Voice of the ver To Show
Si&p#e Prese!t Si&p#e Past
I be shown I were shown
you be shown you were shown
he be shown he were shown
she be shown she were shown
it be shown it were shown
we be shown we were shown
they be shown they were shown

Prese!t Co!ti!uous Past Co!ti!uous
I be being shown I were being shown
you be being shown you were being shown
he be being shown he were being shown
she be being shown she were being shown
it be being shown it were being shown
we be being shown we were being shown
they be being shown they were being shown

Prese!t Perfect Past Perfect
I have been shown I had been shown
you have been shown you had been shown
he have been shown he had been shown
she have been shown she had been shown
it have been shown it had been shown
we have been shown we had been shown
they have been shown they had been shown

Prese!t Perfect Co!ti!uous Past Perfect Co!ti!uous
I have been being shown I had been being shown
you have been being shown you had been being shown
he have been being shown he had been being shown
she have been being shown she had been being shown
it have been being shown it had been being shown
we have been being shown we had been being shown
they have been being shown they had been being shown
!he following table summari)es the formation of the %ubjunctive tenses of the assive Voice.
The %or&atio! of the Su2u!ctive )oo" of the Passive Voice
Te!se Au*i#iar( Ver %or&
%imple resent be past participle
resent +ontinuous be being past participle
resent erfect have been past participle
resent erfect +ontinuous have been being past participle

%imple ast were past participle
ast +ontinuous were being past participle
ast erfect had been past participle
ast erfect +ontinuous had been being past participle
a. Use of the si&p#e prese!t su2u!ctive
7ike the %imple resent %ubjunctive of the Active Voice, the %imple resent %ubjunctive of the
assive Voice is often used in subordinate clauses beginning with that in sentences which contain
formal commands, or re-uests.
As can be seen from the preceding table, the %imple resent %ubjunctive of !he assive Voice is
formed from the invariable auxiliary e, followed by the past participle of the verb. !he following
sentences are examples of the use of the %imple resent %ubjunctive of the assive Voice.
e.g. I re-uest that he be invited to speak.
/e asked that our suggestions be considered.
!hey will insist that their colleague be admitted to the association.
. Use of the past for&s of the su2u!ctive
7ike the past forms of the %ubjunctive of the Active Voice, the past forms of the %ubjunctive of the
assive Voice are used in wishes, and in statements containing false or improbable conditions.
e.g. I wish he were allowed to come.
It would have been better if they had been invited.
In the first example, the %imple ast %ubjunctive of the assive Voice, were a##owe", is used in
expressing a wish. In the second example, the ast erfect %ubjunctive of the assive Voice, ha"
ee! i!vite", is used in expressing the false condition the( ha" ee! i!vite".