Passive Voice

USING THE AUXILIARY VERB “BE”

The passive voice is formed by using a form of the auxiliary verb “be” (be, am, is, are, was,

were, being, been) followed by the past participle of the main verb.

Active Passive

He loves me. I am loved.

We took our children to the circus. The children were taken to the circus.

A thief stole my money. My money was stolen.

Notice how the “be” auxiliaries change the meaning of the verbs from action to condition or from “doing” to “being.”

He remembers his grandmother. (“he” is doing an action: remembering)

His grandmother is remembered. (“she” is in a condition: being remembered)

In this way, the past participle functions very much like an adjective; it describes the subject.

The woman is pretty. She is a pretty woman

The woman is married. She is a married woman.

VERB TENSES USED IN ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

The following is a summary of active and passive forms of all verb tenses. Remember that in active forms the subject of the sentence is the person or thing that does the action. In passive constructions, the verb is performed by someone or something other than the subject; often, the action is done to the subject by someone else.

Present Time

• Simple Present

Use the simple present tense to make a generalization, to present a state of being, or to

indicate a habitual or repeated action.

Active Passive

base form or “-s/-es” form am/is/are + past participle

Professor Brown teaches at Hunter.

All humans are equal.

Sonia is taught by Professor Brown.

All humans are created equal.

Maria eats in the cafeteria. The cafeteria is cleaned

• Present Progressive

Use the present progressive to describe an ongoing activity or a temporary action.

Active Passive

am/is/are + -ing am/is/are + being + -ed/-en

The students are learning Spanish. Classes are being conducted in Spanish.

He is being hired to work at McDonald’s.

I am working at McDonald’s until I finish school.

• Present Perfect

Use the present perfect to describe an action occurring in the past but relevant to the

present, or extending to the present.

Active Passive

has/have + -ed/-en has/have + been + -ed/-en

Hunter has opened a language institute in East Harlem.

The language institute has been opened to relocate students off the main campus.

Hunter has offered E.S.L courses for twenty years.

E.S.L. courses have been offered since the beginning of Open Admissions

• Present Perfect Progressive

Use the present perfect progressive to describe an ongoing action beginning before now and is still relevant to the present.

Active Passive

has/have + been + -ing has/have + been + being + -ed/-en

Hunter has been awarding BA and MA diplomas for over one hundred years.

Note: Because of awkward construction, the perfect progressive form is not used in the passive

voice. Instead, an adverb may be used to show continuing action: “We have been repeatedly scolded for being late.”

Past Time

• Simple Past

Use the simple past to indicate a general or habitual action occurring in the past or at a

specific time in the past.

Active Passive

base + -ed or irregular form

was/were + -ed/-en

Our family bought all our clothes at Sears when I was young. The clothes were bought by my mother On my fifteenth birthday, my uncle gave me one hundred dollars.The money was given to me to buy new clothes. When I was in high school, my friends and I drove to the mall on weekends.We were always driven to the mall by my friend's older brother. In informal conversation, speakers of English often express habitual behavior in the past using the modal “would.”

Active

would + base

Passive

would + be + -ed/-en

We would usually eat burgers in the food court.

Most of the french fries would be eaten before we got to the table.

• Past Progressive

Use the past progressive to indicate an ongoing action in the past or an action continuing

through a specific past time.

Active Passive

was/were + -ing

was/were + being + -ed/-en

Mary and Paul were dating in those days. One afternoon, Mary was being kissed by Paul when her mother passed by.

• Past Perfect

Use the past perfect to indicate an action completed prior to a particular time or before

another action in the past.

Active Passive

had + -ed/-en

had + been + -ed/-en

Completed:

Mary's mother was shocked because she had forbidden her daughter to date.

Mary had been kissed many times before that day.

• Past Perfect Progressive

Use the past perfect progressive to indicate a continuing action that began before a past

action or time.

Active Passive

had + been + -ing had + been + being + -ed/-en

Mary had been trying to tell her mother about Paul for a long time.

Future Time

• Simple Future

Use the future to indicate an action that is expected to take place at a future time.

Active Passive

will + base

will + be + -ed/-en

Paul and Mary will marry in June. They will be married by a priest and a rabbi.

or

am/is/are going to + base

am/is/are + going to be + -ed/-en

Mary is going to wear her grandmother's gown. The gown is going to be adjusted to fitnMary.

• Future Progressive

Use the future progressive to indicate an action in future with emphasis on continuing

action.

Active Passive

will + base + -ing will + be + being + -ed/en

Mary and Paul will be spending lots of time on the beach.

Note: Not used in the passive voice.

• Future Perfect

Use the future perfect to indicate a future action expected to be completed before another

future action or time.

Active Passive

will + have + -ed/-en will + have + been + -ed/en

By their wedding date, they will have saved enough money to buy a house.

Note: Not used in the passive voice.

• Future Perfect Progressive

Use the future perfect progressive to indicate an action projected to have been going on for a while before a time in the future.

Active Passive

will + have + been + -ing will + have + been + being + -ed/-en

When they celebrate their first anniversary, they will have been living together for a full year.

Note: Not used in the passive voice.

WHEN TO USE PASSIVE VOICE

Although active voice is generally preferred in academic writing, passive voice is acceptable under certain conditions.

Use passive voice to emphasize the receiver of the action instead of the doer

Quizzes are given regularly. Grades for all students are averaged. Questions are encouraged.

• to keep the focus on the same subject through several sentences or paragraphs

My sister and I grew up and went to school in Jamaica. We were educated according to the British system. In 1997 we were given the opportunity to come to the United States. We decided to finish high school before leaving our own country. We were concerned that the education in this country might not be as good as the one we had there, and we wanted to improve our English too.

• when we do not know who performed the action:

Ray's calculator was made in Germany. The answers have been filled in.

• when we do not wish to mention the doer of the action:

Many problems have been ignored for too long. I was given some bad advice.

Note: This use often reveals an unwillingness to take responsibility (or place it on someone else).

Substitute: For:

“A mistake was made.” “I made a mistake.”

“Not enough has been done to end homelessness.”

“We have not done enough to end homelessness.”

“You have been misinformed.” “You are wrong.”

• when we want to sound objective or avoid using the subject “I”

Studies have shown . . .

It is well-known . . .

Hamlet is considered . . .

It can be assumed . . .

It has been established . . .

PASSIVE VOICE EXERCISES

Turn the verbs in the following sentences into the passive, but do not change the tenses! The original subject disappears because it is not important. 

E.g.: Somebody fetched a chair for Mrs Dixon. => A chair was fetched for Mrs Dixon.

No	Active  Voice	Passive Voice
1.	They speak French at this shop.	French is spoken at this shop.
2.	Somebody stole my car.	My car was stolen.
3.	They have sent the books to the wrong address.	The books have been sent to the wrong address.
4.	Somebody will bring the beer.	The beer will be brought.
5.	Somebody has bought this fur coat.	This fur coat has been bought.
6.	Somebody has left this umbrella behind.	This umbrella has been left behind.
7.	They haven't caught the robbers yet.	The robbers have not been caught yet.
8.	They don't drink ice-cold beer in England.	Ice-cold beer is not drunk in England.
9.	They eat a lot of fish.	A lot of fish are eaten.
10	They drink tea with milk at least five times a day.	Tea with milk is drunk at least five times a day.
11.	They discuss the weather every day.	The weather is discussed every day.
12.	Some men robbed the Glasgow-London mail train in 1961.	The Glasgow-london mail train was robbed in 1961.
13.	They stopped the train between two stations.	The train was stopped between two stations.
14.	They disconnected the engine and the first two coaches.	The engine and the first two coaches were disconnected.
15.	They drove them to a lonely bridge.	They were driven to a lonely bridge.
16.	People discussed the mail robbery all over the world.	The mail robbery was discussed all over the word.
17.	The police caught some of the robbers and found part of the money.	Some of the robbers were caught and part of the money was found.
18.	The court sentenced the men in January 1964.	The men were sentenced in January 1964.
19.	Somebody will look after their children.	Their children looked after.
20.	You have not paid for the car.	The car has not been paid for.