The passive voice
In English, like in other languages,
there are always different sides to a
story…
BUT
When the focus is on the action and not the
person performing it
OR
- If it’s obvious who’s performing the action
- If you don’t know who’s performing it
- Or you don’t want to mention the person…
-
In English, we use the passive voice.
Form of passive
When rewriting active sentences in passive
voice, note the following structure:

Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle
TENSE
ACTIVE
PASSIVE
PRESENT SIMPLE
THIS SINGER WRITES MANY SONGS.
MANY SONGS ARE WRITTEN BY THIS SINGER.
PAST SIMPLE
THIS SINGER WROTE MANY SONGS.
MANY SONGS WERE WRITTEN BY THIS SINGER.
FUTURE SIMPLE
THIS SINGER WILL WRITE MANY SONGS.
MANY SONGS WILL BE WRITTEN BY THIS SINGER.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS THIS SINGER IS WRITING MANY SONGS.
MANY SONGS ARE BEING WRITTEN BY THIS SINGER.
PAST CONTINUOUS
THIS SINGER WAS WRITING MANY SONGS.
MANY SONGS WERE BEING WRITTEN BY THIS
SINGER.
PRESENT PERFECT
SIMPLE
THIS SINGER HAS WRITTEN MANY SONGS.
MANY SONGS HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BY THIS SINGER.
PAST PERFECT SIMPLE
THIS SINGER HAD WRITTEN MANY SONGS.
MANY SONGS HAD BEEN WRITTEN BY THIS SINGER.
MODALS
THIS SINGER SHOULD WRITE MANY SONGS.
MANY SONGS SHOULD BE WRITTEN BY THIS
SINGER.
MODAL PERFECTS
THIS SINGER MUST HAVE WRITTEN MANY
SONGS.
MANY SONGS MUST HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BY THIS
SINGER.
HAVE TO
THIS SINGER HAS TO WRITE MANY SONGS.
MANY SONGS HAVE TO BE WRITTEN BY THIS
SINGER.
BE GOING TO
THIS SINGER IS GOING TO WRITE MANY
SONGS.
MANY SONGS ARE GOING TO BE WRITTEN BY THIS
SINGER.
Forms
Affirmative sentences
(to be + past participle main verb)
e.g. The job was finished.
 Negative sentences
(add not)
e.g. The job was not finished.
 Questions
(questions start with to be, subject is placed between
auxiliary verb and participle)
e.g. Was the job finished?

More types of questions…

If the active question contains a modal verb or an
auxiliary verb, the passive question will start with
those verbs, just like in the active voice.
e.g.Will the job be finished?

If the question contains an interrogative word,
word order of the subject and auxiliary is changed
EXCEPT when the interrogative word is the
subject.
e.g.Where will the video clip be filmed?
e.g.Who was hit by a car?
How ?
 Step 1:
Find out the tense of the active sentence’s
main verb.
 Step 2:
Put the verb ‘to be’ in the same tense
 Step 3:
Take the first object (direct or indirect)
that follows the verb in the active
sentence and use it as a subject.
 Step
4:
Take the active sentence’s subject and
place it at the end of the sentence
preceded by ‘BY’.
SPECIAL CASES

Verbs like say, think, believe, know, report,
etc. can take two passive structures:
1. It is said that subject + verb.
(Which in spanish would be se dice que…)
e.g. It is said that Eric Clapton is ...
2.
Subject + passive verb + infinitive.
(spanish: Se/ todo el mundo/ la gente)
e.g. Eric Clapton is considered to be a …
SPECIAL CASES (2)

THE CAUSATIVE
When we arrange sth. to be done for
us:
Subject + have/get + noun + participle.
e.g. I’m having my hair cut.
He’s getting his car repaired. (get:more
informal)
Let’s have a try!
EXERCISE 1 : CHANGE INTO PASSIVE
SENTENCES
1. When have they stolen my watch?
2. A piece of string could not hold up his
trousers.
3. People play football in most countries of the
world.
4. Will the neighbours water our plants while
we are away?
5. He broke his leg in a skiing accident.
EXERCISE 2:
Reuters News Agency
Martin Webb _______________(work) for the Reuters News Agency for ten years.
He describes the company. “Reuters is one of the world’s biggest news agencies.
It________________(supply) news and stock market prices to media and financial
institutions all over the world. It_______________(start) by Paul Reuter in
1849 - with pigeons!
Reuter ________(be) born in 1816 in Germany. During the 1840’s he ________
_______________ (employ) as a bank clerk in Berlin. German bankers _______
_______________(need) to know the price on the Paris stock exchange, but the
French telegraph system only went as far as Belgium. From there the
information _______________(send) to Germany by train. The journey_______
________(take) nine hours. The same information _______________(carry)
by Paul Reuter’s pigeons in only two hours!”
“Reuters _______________(change) a lot since those days. Over the past fifty
years, we _______________(open) offices in many different countries and
we_______________ still _______________(expand). Now, news and stock
market prices_______________(send) all over the world within seconds.”
EXERCISE 3. Rewrite each sentence
using two passive structures. (p61, nº5)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
They haven’t shown me my room yet.
The guide could have given us better advice.
A woman had just sold him the ring.
People think that the exhibition is interesting.
Everyone knows that rock singers make a lot of
money.
People believe that the French are the best
cooks.
EXERCISE 4: Use the correct
causative form (p61, nº6)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Those are beautiful invitations. Where did you …….. them
……….?
Our TV isn’t working. We’ll ……..it………. tomorrow.
They’re not making the food themselves. They’re
……it……..by a professional chef.
My washing machine wasn’t working. I…………….my
clothes……………..by the laundry service.
Your hair always looks good. How often do you
………..it……….?
Maybe you should go to the dentist. ………………you
………………your teeth …………………this year?
Exercise 5: Write a short text about
the fallas (some 100 words) using
passive structures. Some useful
vocabulary:
1) It is generally believed that…
2) It was taken for granted that...
3) It is well known that….
4) It was widely assumed that…
5) It is hoped that…
6) It has been discovered that…
7) It has been decided that…
8) As has been pointed out…
9) It is expected that…
10) It is said that…
EXERCISE 6: Which of the following
sentences is wrong? Correct if
necessary.
1. My father has been give the sack.
2. It’s expect Peter to pass his exams.
3. Nothing has been done to solve the problem by
anybody.
4. Will the project be tackled as soon as possible?
5. She was thought to award the Oscar.
6. Susan is made help at home on Saturdays.
7. Was Tom allow to go to the concert?
8.The party had be organized by the Mayor.
9. A meeting is hold by them every year.
10. Candidates are believed to been honest.
EXERCISE 7: COMPLETE THE SENTENCES (p 60 nº1)
1. Dessert …………… (served) on the terrace now.
2. That type of guitar …………. (not used) since the
1970s.
3. In the future, ………….. Teenagers……………….
(should /put) in jail for shoplifting?
4. Some athletes were expelled from the games after
they …………. (test) for drugs.
5. That was a dangerous thing to do. You …………….
(could/kill).
6. How much money ……………… (spend) on
advertising at the company last year?
7. Daisy walked in while her behaviour …………….
(discuss).
8. Taxes ……………… (have to/ pay) by everybody.
EXERCISE 8: Use the correct active or passive
form. (p60, nº2)
1. The programme ………………..(broadcast) on Channel 4 later
tonight.
2. Kevin ……….. (must/move) the boxes last night.
3. The defendant waited outside while his case …………….
(discuss).
4. We………… (already/pack) most of our things.
5. ………… computer games …………...(sell) in this shop?
6. The book was written after all the research ……..(finish).
7. This painting ……….. (might/paint) by Leonardo da Vinci.
8. ……..you ……………(throw away) all your old notebooks
yesterday?
9. At the moment, the candidates …………… (interview) by the
manager.