PASSIVE VOICE

PASSIVES

SCIENCE AND RESEARCH

01

Different tenses

• We're surrounded by statistics. (present simple)

• Company B's actually being hugely outperformed (present continuous)

• It was published anonymously on the Web. (past simple)

• The figures were obviously being twisted. (past continuous)

• The article has been published in several well-respected journals (present perfect simple)

• Researchers had been pressured to come up with positive results (past perfect simple)

02

Passives after modal verbs

We can form passives after modal verbs using be +past participle.

• Statistics can be used to manipulate.
• The data will be thoroughly analysed by a team of experts.
• Similar results should have been seen, but for some reason weren't.
• The research must have been funded by someone with a vested interest in the results.

03

get passives

With some verbs, get is often used instead of be. This is more common in informal spoken language than in academic writing or journalism. Get passives often show an action was unexpected or accidental.

• Researchers may get pressured into finding positive results.
• Thousands get hurt every year in avoidable accidents.
• The laboratory got broken into and vandalised.

04

have something done

We often use a form of the verb have + past participle to talk about services we arrange and pay for.

• A food company is having some research done.
• The fish have cancerous cells inserted in their bodies.
• My uncle had a kidney removed.

Note that we can also use get in this way. Get is more common with some verbs, have with others. There are no rules for this. It's best to just learn from examples you meet.

• I got my legs waxed the other day.
• I got my jacket caught in the closing door.

05

Reporting

In academic writing and journalism, we often use reporting verbs in the passive form where the source is unimportant or to suggest a degree of uncertainty.

• So next, statistics - often thought to be the worst kind of lying there is!
• This disease is believed to have a genetic component.
• The government is said to be considering an enquiry.
• It is argued that the research could provide a breakthrough.
• He is alleged to have faked the experiments.

06

-ing forms

We use -ing passive forms after prepositions and some verbs.

• They may worry about not being employed again.
• It was accepted for publication after being reviewed by other experts.
• I hate being interviewed.

07

Reduced relative clauses

If passive are used in relative clauses, the relative pronoun and the verb be are often left out.

• Obviously, research in a respected journal, which has been reviewed by other experts, will be better than something that is / has been published anonymously online.
• A paper that was published recently seems to prove a casual link.
• The sample group consisted of people who had been chosen at radom.

08

Avoiding passives

In a more informal spoken English, we often use you or they to avoid passives.

• You can buy tickets online. (=Tickets can be bought online.)
• They've demolished the building. (=The building has been demolished.)
• You could use statistics to manipulate people if you wanted to. (=Statistics could be used to manipulate ...)

REWRITING

1. A jeep picked up the soldiers from the base.The soldiers ...

2. We ought to invite Susan to the party. Susan ...

3. The police took the angry youth away. The angry ...

4. The teacher had completed our report cards. We ...

5. People think pollution is not a minor problem. Pollution ...

6. The hairdresser was cutting Martha’s hair. Martha ...

7. It is said that this orchestra is the best in the world. This orchestra ...

8. It is believed that the thieves have left the country. The thieves ...

9. He is known to be making a lot of money. It is ...

1o. No one ever discovered the identity of the murdered man.The identity ...

more practice

¡KEEP PRACTISING!

SOURCE: Outcomes Advanced