THE PASSIVE VOICE

Passive voice is used when the action is more Shakespeare wrote Hamlet
important than the person or thing doing the
action. The agent is usually obvious,
Hamlet was written by Shakespeare
unimportant or unknown. It is often found in
news and scientific reports, adverts, processes,
instructions, polite and formal statements 1. The object of the active becomes the new subject
We form the passive voice with an appropriate in the passive
tense of the verb TO BE + PAST PARTICIPLE 2.- The passive verb changes into its passive form
3.- The subject of the active becomes the by agent

VERB TENSE ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE

PRESENT SIMPLE Once a week, Paul cleans the house Once a week, the house is cleaned by Paul
.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS Tim is sending text messages now Text messages are being sent by Tim now
PAST SIMPLE Helen repaired the car yesterday The car was repaired by Helen yesterday

PAST CONTINUOUS He was delivering the letters The letters were being delivered
PRESENT PERFECT Many tourists have visited that castle That castle has been visited by many tourists
PAST PERFECT Joe had cooked dinner before I arrived Dinner had been cooked by Joe before I arrived
FUTURE SIMPLE Ann will sing a beautiful song A beautiful song will be sung by Ann

FUTURE PERFECT They will have built the house by 2025 The house will have been built by 2025
BE GOING TO His teacher is going to explain the rule The rule is going to be explained by his teacher

Study this sentence

“They gave Lucy a better job in the company.” it contains a verb with two objects: direct
and indirect. Two passives are possible in these cases:

1.- One of them with the indirect object as the subject:

Lucy was given a better job in the company
2.- The with the direct object as subject. Note that the preposition “to” must be used:
A better job in the company was given to Lucy

The passive voice is also used for reporting comments, opinions and rumours. We often employ
verbs like: think, believe, say, consider, expect, suppose, claim, know… Examples:

1.- They claim that Lionel Messi is the best footballer in the world
-It is claimed that Lionel Messi is the best footballer in the world
-Lionel Messi is claimed to be the best footballer in the world (present simple infinitive)

2.-People said that Lord Byron lived on vinegar and potatoes

-It was said that Lord Byron lived on vinegar and potatoes
-Lord Byron is said to have lived on vinegar and potatoes (perfect infinitive)

3.-They believe that the Government is planning new measures for gender equality
-It is believed that the Government is planning new measures for gender equality
-The Government is believed to be planning new measures for gender equality (continuous inf)

We use HAVE + SOMETHING + DONE or GET + SOMETHING + DONE (informal style):

1.- when someone makes something for us:

The mechanic will repair my car in two days
I will have my car repaired in two days.
Ç
2.- to say that something unpleasant has happened to us:
The thief stole her bag last week
She had her bag stolen last week
1. REWRITE THESE SENTENCES IN THE PASSIVE VOICE.
1. She hasn’t opened the bottle of Californian wine yet.

2. Where did they film the movie?

3. They sent a present to our friends in America.

4. The government has introduced taxes on environmental issues.

5. They never tested the bilingual students.

6. When did they find the missing child?

7. Michael grew wonderful flowers in his garden.

8. Mary is feeding the dog that comes every night.

9. People say that Iceland’s waterfalls are wonderful.

10. They didn’t give us the ticket at the shop.

11. They are making many arrangements to celebrate the Erasmus anniversary.

12. Young people always follow the latest trends in technology.

13. Anne often posts nice messages to the media.

14. People believed that the prisoner had escaped by climbing over the wall.

15. Will they deliver the goods immediately?

16. Visitors find peace and joy at the monastery.

17. We would receive him with open arms.

18. The international community is not paying enough attention to this issue.

19. Many adults are reading Harry Potter’s books.

20. They can sell alcohol in pubs.

21. New Yorkers are placing and receiving calls.

 22. Great predators rarely eat plants.

23. The astronauts are giving the journalists a lot of information.

24. We are going to invite Dr Livingstone to participate in the project.

25. American companies have introduced a new product in Asia.

26. The traffic warden gave the driver a ticket.

27. Radiohead couldn’t release their new record last December.

28. They never gave me instructions.

29. Medical advances have greatly reduced the number of deaths.

30. They say he is very young to work.

31. My father has brought us up in the respect for Human Rights.

32. They say that English is easier than Spanish.

33. The richest countries have provided billions of dollars in aid.

34. We teach taxi drivers a few tricks.

a.
b.

35. The director of the show didn’t choose me at the casting.

36. Governments are analysing the benefits of green energy.

37. Spain won the World Football Championship in 2010.

2.- REWRITE THE SENTENCES INTO THE ACTIVE VOICE:

1. That proposal has never been rejected by the committee.

2. Plastic particles have just been found in sea salt.

3. The house will be cleaned every Saturday.

4. In 1995 a new version of the New Testament was published.

 5. I was never warned against drugs.

6. When did they find the missing child?

7. Michael grew wonderful flowers in his garden.

8. Mary is feeding the dog that comes every night.

9. People say that Iceland’s waterfalls are wonderful.

10. They didn’t give us the ticket at the shop.

11. They are making many arrangements to celebrate the Erasmus anniversary.

12. Young people always follow the latest trends in technology.

13. Anne often posts nice messages to the media.

14. People believed that the prisoner had escaped by climbing over the wall.

15. Will they deliver the goods immediately?

16. Visitors find peace and joy at the monastery.

17. We would receive him with open arms.

18. The international community is not paying enough attention to this issue.

19. Many adults are reading Harry Potter’s books.

20. They can sell alcohol in pubs.

21. New Yorkers are placing and receiving calls.

1.-
_________________________________________________________________________________________
2.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
3.-
_________________________________________________________________________________________
4.-
_________________________________________________________________________________________
5.-
_________________________________________________________________________________________
6.-
_________________________________________________________________________________________
7.-Two children were found near the White Tower.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
8.-The scheme had been introduced by the Mayor, Ken Livingstone.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
9.-Many illegal copies are being sold on street corners.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
10.- Although help has been offered by some non-profit organizations, the situation of the newly
arrived immigrants is very poor.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
11.-Humanitarian causes have often been supported by Spanish society.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
12.-All these deaths could have been avoided by health workers.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
13.-The car is being repaired in the garage.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
14.-The instructions have been changed.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
15.-This car was manufactured in Japan by Toyota.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
16.-The test will be given at five o'clock this afternoon.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
17.- All work will have been completed by five o'clock this evening.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
18.- Portuguese has always been spoken in this village.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
19.- I’ve just been stung by a mosquito.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
20.- The papers are being made public now.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
21.- I was bullied at school when I first came to the UK.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

3.-USE THE WORDS IN THE BOXES TO MAKE A MEANINGFUL SENTENCE.

USE ALL AND ONLY THE WORDS IN THE BOXES WITHOUT CHANGING
THEIR FORM.
1.- have / house / you / your /did / painted / when / ?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
2.- be / a / to / learner / said / fast / I’m
_________________________________________________________________________________________
3.- his/ were/ it / said / was / useless /that /ideas
_________________________________________________________________________________________
4.- longer/ the / a / given /been / employees /have /holiday
_________________________________________________________________________________________
5.- week / being / are /people / /company / at / my/ hired /this
_________________________________________________________________________________________
6.- at / weekend / I / cleaned / usually / house / have / my / the
_________________________________________________________________________________________
7.- just / brought / garage / Kate / had / car / to / her / has / the
_________________________________________________________________________________________
8.- yesterday / washed / his / Tom / car / had.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
9.- watered / They / having / right / garden / are / their / now
_________________________________________________________________________________________
10.- believed / He / to / fire / started / was / the / have
_________________________________________________________________________________________