Active Voice, Passive Voice

There are two special forms for verbs called voice:

1. Active voice
2. Passive voice
The active voice is the "normal" voice. This is the voice that we use most of the
time. You are probably already familiar with the active voice. In the active voice,
the object receives the action of the verb:
active

subject

verb

object
>

Cats

eat

fish.

The passive voice is less usual. In the passive voice, the subject receives the
action of the verb:
passive

subject

verb

object

<
Fish

are eaten

by cats.

The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb:
subject

verb

object

active

Everybody

drinks

water.

passive

Water

is drunk

by everybody.

Now we'll look at the passive voice in more detail

Passive Voice
The passive voice is less usual than the active voice. The active voice is the
"normal" voice. But sometimes we need the passive voice. In this lesson we look
at how to construct the passive voice, when to use it and how to conjugate it.

Construction of the Passive Voice

The structure of the passive voice is very simple:
subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past participle)
The main verb is always in its past participle form.
Look at these examples:

subject

auxiliary verb (to

be)

main verb (past

participle)

Water

is

drunk

by everyone.

100
people

are

employed

by this
company.

am

paid

in euro.

We

are

paid

in dollars.

Are

they

paid

in yen?

not

Use of the Passive Voice

We use the passive when:

we want to make the active object more important

we do not know the active subject
subject

verb

object

give importance to active object

(President Kennedy)

President
Kennedy

was killed

by Lee Harvey
Oswald.

active subject unknown

My wallet

has been
stolen.

Note that we always use by to introduce the passive object (Fish are
eaten by cats).
Look at this sentence:
He was killed with a gun.
Normally we use by to introduce the passive object. But the gun is not the active
subject. The gun did not kill him. He was killed by somebody with a gun. In the
active voice, it would be: Somebody killed him with a gun. The gun is the
instrument. Somebody is the "agent" or "doer".

Conjugation for the Passive Voice

We can form the passive in any tense. In fact, conjugation of verbs in the passive
tense is rather easy, as the main verb is always in past participle form and the
auxiliary verb is always be. To form the required tense, we conjugate the
auxiliary verb. So, for example:

present simple: It is made

present continuous: It is being made
present perfect: It has been made

Here are some examples with most of the possible tenses:

infinitive

to be washed

simple

continuous

perfect simple

perfect continuous

present

It is washed.

past

It was washed.

future

It will be washed.

conditional

It would be washed.

present

It is being washed.

past

It was being washed.

future

It will be being washed.

conditional

It would be being washed.

present

It has been washed.

past

It had been washed.

future

It will have been washed.

conditional

It would have been washed.

present

It has been being washed.

past

It had been being washed.

future

It will have been being washed.

conditional

It would have been being washed.

Now check your understanding

Active / Passive Verb Forms

Sentences can be active or passive. Therefore, tenses also have "active forms" and
"passive forms." You must learn to recognize the difference to successfully speak
English.

Active Form
In active sentences, the thing doing the action is the subject of the sentence and the
thing receiving the action is the object. Most sentences are active.
[Thing doing action] + [verb] + [thing receiving action]
Examples:

Passive Form
In passive sentences, the thing receiving the action is the subject of the sentence and the
thing doing the action is optionally included near the end of the sentence. You can use
the passive form if you think that the thing receiving the action is more important or
should be emphasized. You can also use the passive form if you do not know who is
doing the action or if you do not want to mention who is doing the action.
[Thing receiving action] + [be] + [past participle of verb] + [by] + [thing doing action]
Examples:

Active

Passive

Simple Present

Once a week, Tom cleans the house.

Once a week, the house is cleaned by

Tom.

Present
Continuous

Right now, Sarah is writing the letter.

Right now, the letter is being written by

Sarah.

Simple Past

Sam repaired the car.

The car was repaired by Sam.

Past
Continuous

The salesman was helping the

customer when the thief came into the
store.

The customer was being helped by the

salesman when the thief came into the
store.

Present Perfect

Many tourists have visited that castle.

That castle has been visited by many

tourists.

Present Perfect
Continuous

Recently, John has been doing the

work.

Recently, the work has been being

done by John.

Past Perfect

George had repaired many cars before

he received his mechanic's license.

Many cars had been repaired by

George before he received his
mechanic's license.

Past Perfect
Continuous

Chef Jones had been preparing the

restaurant's fantastic dinners for two
years before he moved to Paris.

The restaurant's fantastic dinners had

been being prepared by Chef Jones for
two years before he moved to Paris.

Simple Future

Someone will finish the work by 5:00

PM.

The work will be finished by 5:00 PM.

BE GOING TO

Sally is going to make a beautiful

dinner tonight.

A beautiful dinner is going to be

made by Sally tonight.

Future
Continuous

At 8:00 PM tonight, John will be

washing the dishes.

At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes will be

being washed by John.

At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going to be

washing the dishes.

At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes are

going to be being washed by John.

They will have completed the project

before the deadline.

The project will have been

completed before the deadline.

WILL

Simple Future

WILL

Future
Continuous
BE GOING TO

Future Perfect
WILL

Future Perfect

They are going to have completed the

project before the deadline.

The project is going to have been

completed before the deadline.

The famous artist will have been

painting the mural for over six months
by the time it is finished.

The mural will have been being

painted by the famous artist for over six
months by the time it is finished.

BE GOING TO

The famous artist is going to have been

painting the mural for over six months
by the time it is finished.

The mural is going to have been being

painted by the famous artist for over six
months by the time it is finished.

Used to

Jerry used to pay the bills.

The bills used to be paid by Jerry.

Would Always

My mother would always make the

pies.

The pies would always be made by my

mother.

Future in the
Past

I knew John would finish the work by

5:00 PM.

I knew the work would be finished by

5:00 PM.

I thought Sally was going to make a

beautiful dinner tonight.

I thought a beautiful dinner was going

to be made by Sally tonight.

BE GOING TO

Future Perfect
Continuous
WILL

Future Perfect
Continuous

WOULD

Future in the
Past
WAS GOING TO

The Passive Voice

America was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492.
>An apple is being eaten by Peter.
>Shoes are made in this factory.
They built this bridge in the 13th century.
>This bridge was built in the 13th century.
They built the house in two months. > help: The house...
2. We will carry the luggage upstairs.
3. Everyday John feeds the cat.
4. They have not caught the murderer yet.
5. The fog caused the accident. The police called the ambulance. The insurance will
cover the damage. ANSWERS 1. The house was built in two months. 2. The luggage will be
carried upstairs. 3. Everyday the cat is fed by John. 4. The murder has not been caught yet. 5.
The accident was caused by the fog. The ambulance was called by the police. The damage will
be covered by the insurance.