PASSIVE VOICE

Inglés Profesional 1
Marco Meza

1
 Passive voice is the form
of a verb that stresses
the action over the
subject.
Inglés Profesional 1
 Active voice

Charles threw the garbage yesterday

Subject Verb Object complement

1. The subject performs an action on the object

2. The action is described by the verb
 Passive voice: example

The garbage was thrown by Charles yesterday

Object to be Verb Subject complement

1. The object is the main idea of the expression

2. The passive voice emphasizes the action of a sentence
and makes the subject secondary
3. The performer of the action is referred as a
complementary idea
 Grammar
• In the passive voice, the subject is acted upon rather than
acting
• In the passive voice, the actual subject, the 'doer' of the
action, is either:
• Missing from the sentence
• The garbage was thrown yesterday
• The report was already presented
• Or appears in a prepositional phrase at the end of the
sentence
• The Nobel Price was won by Vargas Llosa
• The report was already presented by the department
 Grammar tips

• Many academics think the passive voice is

unnecessary in most cases and can weaken the
content of a text
• You should avoid the passive voice for most writing
styles.
• It is wordier than the active voice (because it requires
a verb phrase), vaguer and, at its worst, deliberately
deceptive.
 However

• Some fields, notably the sciences, require the passive

voice for the impersonal description of a process.
• The bottle was filled with 100 mL of sample
• When writing or speaking choose the voice most
appropriate for the audience.
• Newton discovered the Law of Gravitation
• The Law of gravitation was discovered by Newton
 Self assessment
Passive voice
 Make sentences in the passive in the given tense

• Technical books – print – in university (Present Simple)

Technical books are printed in my university
• A lot of rice – eat – in Peru (Present Simple)
A lot of rice is eaten in Peru
• Her new expensive necklace – buy – in Bonn (Past Simple)
Her new expensive necklace was bought in Bonn
• My laptop – format – at the moment (Present Continuous)
My laptop is being formatted at the moment
• Salsa songs – broadcast – since yesterday (Present perfect)
Salsa songs have been broadcasted since yesterday
 Make sentences in the passive in the given tense

1. BMW’s – make – in Germany (Present Simple)

• BMW’s are made in Germany.
2. English – speak – in this shop (Present Simple)
• English is spoken in this shop.
3. The oldest house – build – in 1575 (Past Simple)
• The oldest house was built in 1575.
4. The bridge – repair – at the moment (Present Continuous)
• The bridge is being repaired at the moment.
5. The trees – cut down – last winter (Past Simple)
• The trees were cut down last winter.
 Make sentences in the passive in the given tense

6. The picture – paint – tomorrow (Future Simple)

The picture will be painted tomorrow.
7. When I came in – the TV – fix (Past Continuous)
When I came in , the TV was being fixed.
8. The cupboard – repair – recently (Present Perfect Simple)
The cupboard has been repaired recently.
9. The car – find – in the garage (Past Simple)
The car was found in the garage.
10. Breakfast – serve – between 7 and 9 (Present Simple)
Breakfast is served between 7 and 9.
 Make sentences in the passive in the given tense
11. The dog – call- Rover (Present Simple)
The dog is called Rover
12. The meeting – hold – in my office (Past Continuous)
The meeting was being held in my office.
13. The street – close – because of snow (Present Perfect)
The street has been closed because of snow.
14. The banks – close – in two days (Future – Simple)
The banks will be closed in two days.
15. Hundreds of books – write – every year (Present
Hundreds
Simple) of books are written every year.
 Make sentences in the passive in the
given tense
16. After the accident–Joe –take–to the hospital (Past Simple)
After the accident Joe was taken to the hospital.
17. The cap – find – in the corner (Past Simple)
The cap was found in the corner.
18. The robber – not find – by the police – yet (Present Perfect)
The robber has not been found by the police.
19. The search – stop – this evening (Future Simple)
The search will be stopped this evening.
20. Different types of cameras – use (Present Continuous)
Different types of cameras are being used.
Thank you!