) expresses a PERSON (or OBJECT) that DOES an ACTION. The action is directed at the person (or object) expressed by the noun or pronoun in the complement function.
V passive voice The SUBJECT (noun or pronoun) expresses the PERSON (or OBJECT) TO WHICH THE ACTION, expressed by the verb-predicate, is directed. But the object in the passive voice is often absent, since the focus is not on the person (or object) performing the action, but on the object of the action and its result.
Notice
Intransitive verbs, that is, verbs that cannot have a direct object with them (to live, to arrive, etc.), cannot be used in the form of a passive voice.
Education Passive Voice
Passive voice (Passive Voice) is formed using the auxiliary verb to be in the appropriate tense and Participle II of the semantic verb (or the third form of the semantic verb).
to be (changeable part) + Participle II (unchangeable part)
Depending on the tense form used, the verb to be changes, which is an indicator of person, number and time.
The letter is written. The letter has been written.
The letter was written. The letter was written.
The letter will be written. The letter will be written.
The verb to write in Passive Voice (in the affirmative form)
| Indefinite | Continuous | Perfect | |
|---|---|---|---|
| present | The book is written. | The book is being written. | The book has been written. |
| Past | The book was written. | The book was being written. | The book had been written. |
| Future | The book will be written. | The book will have been written. | |
| Future in the Past | The book would be written. | The book would have been written. |
Verbs in Continuous Tenses in English language rarely used in Passive Voice.
affirmative form
Passive form of the verb to tell in Simple/Indefinite Tenses
The text is written. (Present Indefinite Passive)
The text is written.
I am sent to Moscow.(Present Indefinite Passive)
They send me to Moscow.
The boy was taken to the Zoo.(Past Indefinite Passive)
The boy was taken to the zoo.
This book was being translated by two students.(Past Continuous Passive)
This book was translated by two students.
I have been invited to the theatre.(Present Perfect Passive)
I was invited to the theater
The work will have been finished by Sunday.(Future Perfect Passive)
The work will be finished by Sunday.
negative form
negative form is formed with the negative particle not, which is placed after the first auxiliary verb.
I am not sent to Moscow. (Present Indefinite Passive)
They don't send me to Moscow.
The book was not being translated. (Past Continuous Passive)
The book has not been translated.
The students were not shown a new text-book.(Past Indefinite Passive)
The students were not shown the new textbook.
I have not been invited to the arte.(Present Perfect Passive)
I was not invited to the theatre.
The work will not have been finished by Sunday. (Future Perfect Passive)
The work won't be finished by Sunday.
Interrogative form
Interrogative form formed by putting the first auxiliary verb before the subject.
Is the text written? (Present Indefinite Passive)
Is the text written?
Am I sent to Moscow? (Present Indefinite Passive)
Am I being sent to Moscow?
Was the boy taken to the Zoo? (Past Indefinite Passive)
Did they take the boy to the zoo?
Were the students shown a new text-book? (Past Indefinite Passive)
Have the students been shown a new textbook?
Have you been invited to the theatre? (Present Perfect Passive)
Have you been invited to the theatre?
Had the text been written by Sunday? ( past perfect passive)
Was the text written by Sunday?
Shall I have been invited there? (Future Perfect Passive)
Will I be invited there?
Interrogative-negative form
In the INTERROGATE-NEGATIVE FORM, the auxiliary verb to be or the first auxiliary verb in the complex form is placed before the subject, and the negation not after the subject.
Is the text not written? Text not written?
Is the text written?
Has the text not been written? Text not written?
Abbreviated forms:
I am shown.= I'm shown.
He is shown.= He's shown.
The text has not been written.= The text hasn't been written, etc.
Use
The passive voice is used:
- 1. When the fact or subject of the action is of more interest than the actor.
My window was broken yesterday. My window was broken yesterday.
(It's more important to me that the window was broken than who broke it.)
This school was built in a short time. This school was built in a short time.
(We are not interested in who built the school. The main thing is that it was built quickly.)
- 2. When the character is unknown or for some reason it is considered unnecessary to mention him.
My case was stolen. My suitcase was stolen.
(The main thing is the fact of theft. Who stole it is unknown.)
Business letters are written on special forms. Business letters written on special forms.
- 3. In constructions with a formal subject it, when passive verbs denote mental or physical perception, sentence, order, decision, etc. (with verbs such as to say - talk, to announce- announce to explain- explain, to think - think, to know- know, to believe - believe, to demand - demand, to decide- solve, to agree - agree and etc.). This construction (in the passive voice) is followed by a subordinate clause with the union that.
It is said that she turned the job down. She is said to have given up her job.
She is expected to win. She is expected to win.
Radio is known to have been invented by Popov. It is known that the radio was invented by Popov. (Radio was invented by Popov.)
If you are interested in this topic, then you are probably already familiar with the extensive system of English tenses. In this language, there are 12 temporal aspects, each of which expresses certain circumstances of the commission of actions. In turn, such a grammatical concept as active and passive voice in English is associated with aspects of time. Today we will find out what is the fundamental difference between these categories, in what ways they are formed and whether they can be used interchangeably.
The voice of the verb in English is intended to express the relationship between the subject, the object and the actions performed.
Most often, speech constructions carry information that a particular person performs actions on an object.
- Oleg is repairing my car now - Olegrepairsminecar.
In this case, the actor is expressed by the subject, and the object of the action is expressed by the object. This is a typical combination of active voice (active voice), because the emphasis is on the performer.
But sometimes there are situations in which the object plays leading role, and the character is in the background or is not indicated at all. In this case, the complement actually takes on the functions of the subject.
- Mycaris being repaired now - My car is being repaired now.
Such a construction is a vivid example of a passive voice (passive voice), because in the center of attention is an object that does not produce actions itself, but is subjected to someone else's influence. Notice how the behavior changes English verb depending on the collateral used. In the following sections, we will dwell on this issue in detail and analyze the grammatical moments of the formation of English verb forms, and also find out if there are situations that can be expressed by only one specific voice.
Active and passive voice in English - comparative tables and examples
To understand the meaning of the active and passive voice, as well as to understand the difference between them, we will compile two tables with construction formulas and examples.
Formation of active voice
If you have worked through the entire system of tenses in English, then you are already very familiar with the active voice. It includes proposals of any aspect, provided that in them the main person independently performs the actions. In other words, the standard structure is used: subject (the subject that performs the action) + predicate (the active form of the verb) + object (the object on which the action is directed).
Let's remember how the active voice is formed, and give examples of sentences. For convenience, we divide the tabular material into three groups of times.
| Active voice (Active voice) | |||
| Aspect | Statement | Negation | Question |
| Present tenses (Real tenses) | |||
| Simple | infinitive
(for 3 persons inf. + s(- es) my friend writes fairy tales for children. My friend writes fairy tales for children. They write tests every Friday. They write tests every Friday. | don't / doesn't + inf
.
my friend doesn't write fairy tales for children. My friend does not write fairy tales for children. They don't write tests every Friday. They don't write tests every Friday. | Do / does + inf
. ?
Does your friend write fairy tales for children? Does your friend write fairy tales for children? Do they write tests every Friday? Do they write tests every Friday? |
| Continuous | am/are/is + plus
. I
(-ing form ) Now I am cooking pancakes. NowI amcookingpancakes. We are doing a school newspaper now. We are in charge of the school newspaper. | am/are/is + not + more
. I
(-ing form ) Now I am not cooking pancakes. Now I don't cook pancakes. We are not (aren't) doing a school newspaper now. We don't run the school newspaper. | am/are/is + plus
. I
(-ing form )? Are you cooking pancakes now? Younowcookingpancakes? Are we doing a school newspaper now? Are you making a school newspaper now? |
| Perfect | has/have + plus
. II
(past participle) She has already solved this problem. She has already solved this problem. You have already cleaned these rooms. You've already cleaned those rooms. | has/have + not + par
. II
(past participle) She has not (hasn't) solved this problem yet. She hasn't solved the problem yet. You have not (haven't) cleaned these rooms yet. You haven't cleaned these rooms yet. | has/have + plus
. II
(past participle)? Has she solved this problem already? Has she already solved this problem? have you cleaned these rooms already? Have you cleaned these rooms yet? |
| Perfect Continuous | has/have + been + moreover
. I (-ing form
)
I have been writing I am writing mine homework already half an hour. She has been waiting for me for ten minutes. She waited 10 minutes for me. | has/have + not + been + moreover
. I (-ing form
)
I haven't been writing my homework for half an hour. I don't write my homework for half an hour. She hasn't been waiting for me for ten minutes. She didn't wait 10 minutes for me. | has/have + been + moreover
. I (-ing form
)?
have you been writing your homework for half an hour? Have you been writing your homework for half an hour already? Has
she been waiting
for you for ten minutes? |
| Past Tenses (Past tenses) | |||
| Simple | inf. + —
ed or
the second form is not ch. my friend wrote fairy tales for children. My friend wrote fairy tales for children. They wrote tests every Friday. They wrote tests every Friday. | didn't + inf
.
my friend didn't write fairy tales for children. My friend didn't write fairy tales for children. They didn't write tests every Friday. They didn't write tests every Friday. | Did + inf
. ?
Did your friend write fairy tales for children? Your friend wrote fairy tales for children? Did they write tests every Friday? Did they write tests every Friday? |
| Continuous | was/were + adverb
. I
(-ing form ) At 8 a.m. I was cooking pancakes. At 8 am I was making pancakes. We were doing a school newspaper at 4 p.m. At 4 o'clock we were making the school newspaper. | was/were + not + adverb
. I
(-ing form ) At 8 a.m. I was not (wasn't) cooking pancakes. At 8 am I wasn't making pancakes. We were not (weren't) doing a school newspaper at 4 p.m. At 4 o'clock we were not making the school newspaper. | was/were + adverb
. I
(-ing form )? Were you cooking pancakes at 8 p.m.? Were you making pancakes at 8 am? Were you doing a school newspaper at 4 p.m.? Were you making the school newspaper at 4 o'clock? |
| Perfect | had+ plus
. II
(past participle) By the time she had solved this problem. By then, she had solved the problem. | had + not + adj
. II
(past participle) By the time she had not (hadn't) solved this problem yet. By that time, she had not yet solved this problem. | had+ plus
. II
(past participle)? Had she solved this problem by the time? Has she solved the problem by then? |
| Perfect Continuous | had + been + moreover
. I
(-ing form ) I had been writing my homework since 5 o'clock. I wrote my homeworkfrom 5 o'clock. | had + not + been + moreover
. I
(-ing form ) I hadn't been writing my homework since 5 o'clock. I haven't written my homework since 5 o'clock. | had + been + moreover
. I
(-ing form )? Had you been writing your homework since 5 o'clock? Have you been writing your homework since 5 o'clock? |
| Future Tenses (Future Tenses) | |||
| Simple | will + inf
.
my friend will write fairy tales for children. My friend will write fairy tales for children. | will + not + inf
.
my friend will not (won't) write fairy tales for children. My friend won't write fairy tales for children. | will + inf
.
Will your friend write fairy tales for children? Will your friend write fairy tales for children? |
| Continuous | will + be + adj
. I
(-ing form ) I will be cooking pancakes at this time. I will cook pancakes at this time. | will + not + be + adverb
. I
(-ing form ) I won't be cooking pancakes at this time. I will not cook pancakes at this time. | will + be + adj
. I
(-ing form ) Will you be cooking pancakes at this time? Will you be making pancakes at this time? |
| Perfect | will + have + moreover
. II
(past participle) She will have solved She will solve this problem by 7 o'clock tomorrow. | will + not + have + moreover
. II
(past participle) She won't have solved this problem by 7 o'clock tomorrow. She won't have solved this problem by 7 o'clock tomorrow. | will + have + moreover
. II
(past participle)? Will she have solved this problem by 7 o'clock tomorrow? Will she solve this problem by 7 o'clock tomorrow? |
| Perfect Continuous | will + have + been + moreover
. I (-ing form
)
I will have been writing my homework from 5 to 6 o'clock. I will be writing my homework from 5 to 6 o'clock. | will + not + have + been + moreover
. I (-ing form
)
I won't have been writing my homework from 5 till 6 o'clock. I will not write my homework from 5 to 6 o'clock. | will + have + been + moreover
. I (-ing form
)
Will you have been writing your homework from 5 till 6 o'clock? Will you be writing your homework from 5 to 6 o'clock? |
As can be seen from the table, when an active predicate is formed, both auxiliary words and action verbs undergo changes.
The active voice is used much more often than the passive voice, and unlike the latter, it is used with all types of verbs.
Formation of the passive voice
After you have mastered all the active forms, you can proceed to the study of the passive voice and its speech structures in English.
The passive type of predicate is not common, but in some situations its use is necessary. Passive voice is used in situations where:
- Artist unknown;
- It is incorrect to name the culprit of the events;
- The result of actions is important, not their performer;
By semantic construction, the active and passive voice in English are diametrically opposed. Sentences in the passive voice are based on the following scheme: subject (object of someone's actions) + predicate (verb in passive) + object with a preposition (performer of actions or means of labor).
Consider how affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences are formed in the passive voice. The grammar table will help us understand the general formulas and consider examples of passive voice. For comparison, it contains the same sentences as in the active voice.
| Passive voice (Passive voice) | |||
| Aspect | Statement | Negation | Question |
| present | |||
| Simple | am/are/is +
moreover
. II
(past participle) This fairy tale is written by my friend. This story was written by my friend. These tests are written by us every Friday. These tests are written by us every Friday. | am/are/is +
+
moreover . II (past participle) This fairy tale isn't written . Thisstorynotwritten. These tests aren't written by us every Friday. These tests are not written by us every Friday. | am/are/is +
moreover
. II
(past participle)? Is this fairy tale written by your friend? Is this story written by your friend? Are these tests written every Friday? Are these tests written every Friday? |
| Continuous | am/are/is + being + more
. II
(past participle) Pancakes are being cooked now. Pancakesnowgetting ready. The school newspaper is being done now. The school newspaper is now being made. | am/are/is + not +
being + moreover . II (past participle) Pancakes aren't being cooked now. Pancakesnownotgetting ready. The school newspaper isn't being done now. The school newspaper is not being made now. | am/are/is + being + more
. II
(past participle)? Are pancakes being cooked now? Pancakesnowgetting ready? Is the school newspaper being done now? The school newspaper is now being made? |
| Perfect | have/has + been + moreover
. II
(past participle) The problem has already been solved . Thisproblemalreadysolved. The rooms have been cleaned . The rooms have been removed. | have/has + not + been + moreover
. II
(past participle) The problem hasn't been solved yet. This issue has not yet been resolved. The rooms haven't been cleaned yet. The rooms have not been cleaned yet. | have/has + been + moreover
. II
(past participle)? Has the problem been solved ? Has this issue been resolved? have the rooms been cleaned already? Are the rooms already cleaned? |
| Past | |||
| Simple | was/were +
moreover
. II
(past participle) This fairy tale was written by my friend. This story was written by my friend. These tests were written by us every Friday. These tests were written by us every Friday. | was/were + not +
moreover . II (past participle) This fairy tale wasn't written by my friend. This tale was not written by my friend. These tests weren't written every Friday. These tests were not written every Friday. | was/were +
moreover
. II
(past participle)? was this fairy tale written by your friend? Was this story written by your friend? Were these tests written every Friday? Were these tests written every Friday? |
| Continuous | was/were + being +
moreover
. II
(past participle) Pancakes were being cooked . Pancakesprepared. The school newspaper was being done at that moment. The school newspaper was just being made at that moment. | was/were + not +
being + moreover . II (past participle) Pancakes werent being cooked at that moment. At that moment the pancakes were not cooked. The school newspaper wasn't being done at that moment. The school newspaper was not being made at that moment. | was/were + being +
moreover
. II
(past participle)? Were the pancakes being cooked at that moment? Were pancakes being prepared at that moment? was the school newspaper being done at that moment? At that moment they were making a school newspaper? |
| Perfect | had
+
+
moreover
. II
(past participle) The problem had been solved by that time.
| had +
+
+ moreover . II (past participle) The problem hadn't been solved by that time. By that time the problem was solved. | had +
+ moreover
. II
(past participle)? Had the problem been solved ? The problem was solved? |
| Future | |||
| Simple | will + be +
moreover
. II
(past participle) This fairy tale will be written by my friend. This tale will be written by my friend. | will + be +
moreover
. II
(past participle) This fairy tale won't be written by my friend. This tale will not be written by my friend. | will + be +
moreover
. II
(past participle)? Will this fairy tale be written by your friend? Will this fairy tale be written by my friend? |
| Perfect | +
have +
been + moreover
. II
(past participle) The problem will have been solved . The problem will be solved. | will + not + have +
been + moreover . II (past participle) The problem won't have been solved . The problem will not be solved. | will + have + been + moreover
. II
(past participle)? Will the problem have been solved ? The problem will be solved? |
Passive tenses are formed by changing the form of the auxiliary to be, without affecting the action verb at all.
Note that not all verbs are used in the passive voice in English: passive predicates are formed only by transitive verbs, i.e. verbs that require an addition. In addition, the passive voice is not used in aspects of the perfect continuous and does not have simple continius constructions of the future tense. Thus, only 8 time aspects are available to him.
To say that an action is being performed on an object or person, the English language uses the passive voice.
For instance:
“The car has been repaired. The door is closed. Children are punished. The documents have been signed."
As you can see, in such sentences we focus on the action itself, and not on the one who performed it.
In English, the passive voice is used very often. I think you have seen such sentences more than once in films, books, news, newspapers in English.
In this article, we will look at when the passive voice is used, and how to form such sentences in all tenses.
From the article you will learn:
- General rules for using the passive voice in English
- Table of the use of the passive voice in all tenses
What is active and passive voice in English?
First, let's look at what a pledge is and why it is needed in English.
Pledge expresses attitude towards action, i.e. it shows:
- the person/object itself performs the action (I brought the letter)
- the person/object experiences the action of someone on itself (the letter was brought)
Accordingly, in English there are two types of collateral:
1. Active voice (Active voice)- the actor himself performs actions.
For instance:
Clients have signed a contract (clients are an actor and they have performed a certain action).
2. Passive voice(Passive voice)- the actor experiences the action of another person.
For instance:
The contract is signed (the contract was not signed by himself, the action was performed on him).
When do we use the passive voice?
3 cases of using the passive voice in English
As I said, the passive voice is used when something/someone is being acted upon. In such sentences, the main emphasis is always on the action itself.
These may be the following cases:
1. When we don't know who did the action.
For example: The bank was robbed (we don't know who did it).
2. When it is not important for us who performed the action, but the action itself is important.
For example: This house will be built next year (we don't care who does it, we care that it will be built).
3. When we don't want to say who exactly did it(if something bad happened and we don't want to blame anyone).
For example: The holiday is ruined (we don't want to say who ruined it).
Now let's look at the rules for constructing such sentences in English.
General rules for constructing the passive voice in English
I must say right away that it is not difficult to build such sentences in English. For this you need:
1. Put the object / person on which the action is performed in the first place in the sentence.
For instance:
A letter….
Letter…
A car…
Car…
Children….
Children…
2. Put the verb to be in the right tense in second place.
Let's take a look at the three most used tenses in English:
- Present Simple (simple present) - am, are, is
- Past Simple (simple past tense) - was, were
- Future Simple (simple future tense) - will be
For instance:
A letter is….
Letter….
A car was….
The car was...
Children will be….
Children will…
3. The action itself (verb), which is performed on the acting person, put in the past tense.
In English there are correct and Irregular Verbs. You can find out regular verb or not by looking it up in a dictionary.
Depending on the verb, we:
- add the ending -ed if the verb is correct (prepare - prepared)
- put it in the 3rd form if the verb is not correct (send - sent)
For instance:
A letter is delivered.
The letter is delivered.
A car was sold.
The car has been sold.
Children will be punished.
Children will be punished.
If we want to add that an action is performed by someone or with the help of something, we can use the prepositions by and with.
Usagebyandwithin the passive voice
1. We use by to say that the action will be performed by someone. We put it at the end of the sentence, and after it the character (by Tom, by Mary).
For instance:
The documents were sent by his secretary.
Documents sent by his secretary
2. We use with to say that an action will be performed with some tool. We put with at the end of the sentence, and after it the instrument itself (with a knife, with a pen)
For instance:
The picture will be painted with a pencil.
The picture will be drawn in pencil.
We talked in detail about how to build a passive voice in 3 simple tenses in these articles:
- Future Simple Passive - simple future tense in the passive voice in English
However, in some cases, the passive voice is also used in other tenses.
Let's see what these offers look like.
Table of the use of the passive voice in all tenses of the English language
Since most often the passive voice is used in 3 simple tenses, we will not dwell on the rest in detail, but consider a general usage table.
As you can see from the example of three simple tenses, the principle of construction remains the same at all times.
All that changes is the verb to be. We put it at the right time for us.
Here's how it goes.
| Time | Use Case | How the verb to be changes | Examples | |
| present simple Real simple |
We are talking about a regular action that takes place in the present tense. |
Dinner is cooked by mom. The rooms are cleaned every day. |
||
| Present Continuous Present continious |
We are talking about an action that is currently taking place and is a process. |
|
Dinner is being cooked. The rooms are being cleaned now. |
|
| Present Perfect present completed |
speak m about an action that happened in the past but is relevant now. At the same time, we can now see the result of this action. |
|
Dinner has been cooked. The rooms have been recently cleaned. |
|
| past simple Past simple |
We are talking about a fact that happened in the past. |
Dinner was cooked by mom. The rooms were cleaned yesterday. |
||
| Past continuous past continuous |
We say that some process took place in the past (usually used when this process was interrupted by another action). |
|
Dinner was being cooked when he came. The rooms were being cleaned when they arrived. |
|
| past perfect past completed |
We say that the action was completed (we got the result) by a certain period in the past. Usually used when we show the order of actions in the past (one action was taken before the second). |
had been |
Dinner had been cooked before he came. The rooms had been cleaned before they arrived. |
|
| Future Simple Future Simple |
We are talking about a fact that will happen in the future. |
will be |
Dinner will be cooked. The rooms will be cleaned tomorrow. |
|
| Future Perfect The future is complete |
We are talking about an action that will end (we will get a result) by a certain moment in the future. | will have been | Dinner will have been cooked by 9 o'clock. Dinner will be cooked at 9 o'clock. The rooms will have been cleaned by morning. |
|
As you may have noticed, there are not some complex tenses in the table. Why? It's just that they are never used in the passive voice. We replace them with simpler tenses.
So, we have analyzed the use of the passive voice in English. Now let's move on to the practical task.
Reinforcement task
Translate the following sentences into English. Leave your answers in the comments.
1. The door is open.
2. The letter will be delivered by evening.
3. Job done.
4. The car is being washed now.
5. The house will be for sale.
6. The fence was painted yesterday.
In contact with
Methods of education
Active Voice detects an action coming from a person or object. For example, I cleaned a swimming pool. - I cleaned the pool.
Passive Voice defines an action directed at a person or object. Passive sentences look like this: The swimming pool was cleaned by me. The pool was cleaned by me.
Pay attention to the predicates in both sentences: Buy - was bought, which indicate that the active and passive voices have morphological differences.
Consider how the passive voice is formed. The rule for the formation of a liability directly depends on the actual pledge.
The active voice in English consists of 12 tenses - Present, Past and Future groups Simple, Continuous, Perfect, Perfect Continuous. If you got to the topic of Passive Voice, you already know how these tenses are formed.
There are 4 fewer forms in the passive voice than in the active voice, there are only 8 of them. Passive is formed according to the formula: the verb be in its tense forms + V3. Here is a table showing the transition from active to passive voice:
| Time | Active Voice | Passive Voice | Form |
| present simple | A mechanic checks my car every week. The mechanic checks my car once a week. | My car is checked by mechanic every week. My car is checked by a mechanic once a week. | am/are/is |
| past simple | Mark gave a brooch for my birthday. Mark gave me a brooch for my birthday. | A brooch was given to me for my birthday by Mark. The brooch was given to me for my birthday by Mark. | was/were |
| Future Simple | They will move your car if you leave it there. They will move your car if you leave it here. | Your car will be moved by them if you leave it there. “Your car will be rearranged by them if you leave it here. | will be |
| Present Cont. | Our history teacher is checking our essays. The history teacher checks our essays. | Our essays are being checked by our history teacher. Our essays are checked by a history teacher. | am/are/is being |
| Past Cont. | The local newspaper was publishing color photos of the events during 4 years. The local newspaper published color photographs of the events for four years. | Color photos of the events were being published by the local newspaper during 4 years. The color photographs were published by the local newspaper for four years. | was/were being |
| Present Perf. | Jim has painted all the walls green. Jim painted all the walls in green color. | All the walls have been painted green by Jim. All the walls were painted green by Jim. | have/has been |
| past. Perf. | Police had caught the girl's kidnappers. The police caught the girl's kidnappers. | The girl's kidnappers had been caught by the police. The kidnappers of the girl were caught by the police. | had been |
| Future Perf. | Tom will have cooked the meal by 8 o'clock. Tom will have cooked food by 8 o’clock. | The meal will have been cooked by 8 o'clock by Tom. The food will be cooked by Tom by 8 o'clock. | will have been |
| Modal verbs | They should mend my watch immediately. They must fix my watch immediately. | My watch should be mended immediately by them. My watch must be repaired immediately. | Modal Verb |
In comparative forms, words that are subjects in the active voice become objects in the passive, and objects, on the contrary, play the role of the subject, that is, they change places.
Attention! Future Cont., Future Perf. and the Perfect Cont group. are not used in Passive Voice.
In spoken language, be in Passive Voice can be replaced by got to express a random action. Ex. Tim got hurt while playing basketball. Tim was hurt while playing basketball.
There are a number of verbs that are not used in the passive. They are called intransitive: in the sentence they are not followed by a direct object (the object to which the action passes). Compare: I live in Moscow. - I live in Moscow. The verb live is intransitive, it cannot be used in the passive form: I was lived - they lived me - that's what happens if you put the intransitive verb in the passive voice.
In what cases is it used passive voice:
- the speaker is interested in the action itself, and not in the one who performed it. Ex.: The air was filled with the sound of laughter.
- emphasizes the person performing the action. Ex.: The dining-room was decorated by maids. The dining room was decorated with maids.
- the speaker wishes to make a formal statement or express courtesy. Ex.: The national anthem was sung at the beginning of the ceremony. The national anthem was sung at the beginning of the ceremony.
To show in the passive voice, by whom or what the action is performed, we use by or with (to indicate the materials / tools that the person used).
Ex.: Harry was bitten by a mosquito last night. Harry was bitten by a mosquito last night. This sauce is made with fresh tomatoes. This sauce is made from fresh tomatoes.
As regards the use phrasal verbs and verbs followed by a preposition, then in the passive construction the preposition is placed immediately after the verb. Ex.: The heating has been turned off. – The heating was switched off.
V interrogative sentences with who, whom, which and others will ask. words are always by/with to indicate the person performing the action. Ex.: Who was the window broken by? - Who broke the window? What was the shop destroyed by? Who destroyed the shop?
let verb in the passive voice is replaced to be allowed to. Ex.: He lets me drive his car. He lets me drive his car. I am allowed to drive his car. I'm allowed to drive his car.
Verbs believe, expect, feel, hope, know, report, say, think, etc. are used in the passive in personal and impersonal constructions. In English, it will sound like this: It is believed (that) he had been forced to lie. It is believed that he was forced to lie. Olga is said to have moved to Europe. - They say that Olga went to Europe.
If we want to express that someone forced someone to do something, we use the constructs make/have/has/+ complement + infinitive or get + complement + to infinitive. Ex.: He made Ann sign the contract. He made Ann sign a contract (meaning "to insist on something"). He had Ann sign the contract. He asked Ann to sign the contract (expression of request). He got Ann to sign the contract. He persuaded Ann to sign the contract (persuasion).
Causative constructions
What is Causative Form. When we can't do something on our own, then the one who does it for us comes to the rescue.
The English express this with the help of a causative construction, which is formed in the form: have/has/had + object + V3. Ex.: Mary cuts her hair. Mary has her hair cut. - Mary cut her hair.
Mary is implied to have gone to a salon where her hairdresser cut her hair. Theoretically, she could cut her hair herself, but it would not have turned out very well; for a quality haircut, she turned to a person who knows how to do haircuts well. Let's look at the examples in detail:
| Pr. Simple | They need to organize the concert. They need to organize a concert. | They have the concert organized. They organized a concert. |
| past simple | She paid someone to deliver her dress. She paid someone to deliver the dress. | She had her dress delivered. “The dress was delivered to her. |
| Fut. Simple | Someone will do her make-up before the wedding. Someone will do her makeup before the wedding. | She will have her make-up done. - She's going to get her make-up done. |
| Pr. cont. | They are going to ask the baker to make a cake for Sue's birthday. They are going to ask the baker to make a cake for Sue's birthday. | They are having a cake made. - They make a cake (meaning at the moment). |
| Past Cont. | He was repairing his car. He was repairing his car. | He was having his car repaired. He had his car repaired. |
| Fut. cont. | She will be making a dinner. She will cook dinner. | She will be having a dinner made. - Dinner will be cooked for her. |
| Pr. Perf. | The florist has arranged the flowers for our wedding. The florist designed the flowers for the wedding. | We had the flowers for wedding arranged. We got flowers for the wedding. |
| Past Perf. | He had asked the gardener to water the plants. He asked the gardener to water the flowers. | He had had the plants watered. - His flowers were watered. |
| Pr. Perf. cont. | She has been typing a text. She was typing. | She has been having a text tipped. - They typed a text for her. |
| Past Perf. cont. | He had been tailoring his suits. He was picking out his suits. | He had been having his suits tailored. - He was dressed in costumes. |
| Modal Verbs/Infinitive | We would ask someone to decorate the church hall for the ceremony. We would ask someone to decorate the church hall for the ceremony. Ask Rita to post the letters. – Ask Rita to send letters. | We would have the church hall decorated. “The church hall was decorated for us. You have the letter posted. Your letter has been sent. |
| -ing form | She prefers paying someone to organize her parties. She prefers to pay someone to organize her parties. | She prefers having her parties organized. She prefers to have parties organized for her. |
Attention! Causative is different in usage from Passive. It is found in the Perfect Continuous group.
The causative in Present Simple forms a negation with do/does, and in Past Simple with did. Ex.: Does he have his suits cleaned every week? Does he have his suit cleaned every week? She didn't have her nails painted yesterday. She didn't get her nails done yesterday.
British English is characterized by replacing the verb have/has in the causative with the verb get/got. Ex.: Jim must get his phone fixed soon. Jim should have a telephone installed soon.
Active and passive voices in English
Passive voice in English - learn in 5 minutes
Conclusion
Passive Voice Rules one of the most important, rich in them. Start studying this topic only after you thoroughly learn the tenses of the active voice. Without them, the theme of liability will remain misunderstood.
