Grammar: Passive Voice

Use of the passive voice:

1. 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.
2. Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice.

Form of the passive voice:
Subject + the appropriate form of to be + Past Participle

Active to Passive: Steps:

• The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.

• The form of the verb is the appropriate form of to be (the tense of the active voice main verb) + the past participle.

• The subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped.)

      Example:  I write a letter  /  A letter is written by me.

Tense	Active	Passive
present simple	I make a cake.	A cake is made (by me).
present continuous	I am making a cake.	A cake is being made (by me).
past simple	I made a cake.	A cake was made (by me).
past continuous	I was making a cake.	A cake was being made(by me).
present perfect	I have made a cake.	A cake has been made (by me).
pres. perf. continuous	I have been making a cake.	A cake has been being made (by me).
past perfect	I had made a cake.	A cake had been made(by me).
future simple	I will make a cake.	A cake will be made (by me).
future perfect	I will have madea cake.	A cake will have been made (by me).

Now, I´m going to give you an exercise to practice:

1.       Penicillin ______ by Alexander Fleming in 1928. (discover)

2.       Statements ______ from all the witnesses at this moment. (take)

3.       Whales ______ by an international ban on whaling. (must protect)

4.       Both weddings _______ by Good Taste. (cater)

5.       A Picasso ____ from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.(steal)

6.       ____ this washing machine ______in Germany? (make)

7.       Tea _____ in China. (grow)

8.       When we reached the airport, we found that all the flights____ due to the storm. (cancel)

9.       The fax _____ until tomorrow morning. (not send)

10.    The soundtrack of a movie _____ always _____ after the filming is finished. (is/add)

Answers:

1.was discovered

2.are being taken

3.must be protected

4.were catered

5.was stolen

6.Was/made

7.is grown

8.had been cancelled

9.won’t be sent

10.is/added