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Passive voice
Alejandro Salto Carr
Created on April 3, 2024
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Transcript
Passive Voice
Alejandro Salto1st Bachillerato
Definition, use and form
To form the passive voice structure we need the help of verb BE (in the specific time of the sentence) to mark the passive, we will change the lexical verb into its participle form, and we need to change subject and object to passive subject and active object by using the preposition BY.
Passive voice is a grammatical device which we use to highlight who or what receives the action of the verb instead of who or what is performing the action described by the verb.
Students buy the tickets
+be
+by
Tickets are bought by students
Ideas to bear in mind
The verbal tenses that appear in the active sentence MUST appear in the passive sentence: Andy may be kissing Jane Jane may be being kissed by Andy
When there are two objects in the sentence that can be used as passive subjects, various options of passivization are possible:
John has given Mary a present
Mary has been given a present by John
A present has been given to Mary by John
Causative passive
In these cases we use auxiliary verbs get and have, although have is slightly more formal than get.
We use this kind of passive when we make somebody to do something for us, normally after you pay them to do so.
I need somebody to paint my house
I need to get my house painted
As you can see, we include the passive subject in between the auxiliary and the verb: I had my hair cut.
Finally, There are some verbs which can have a whole clause or sentence as part of the passive (say, think, find, believe, expect, know, understand, consider, etc.). This passive construction is very common for native speakers: This man is said to be rich. It is believed that tomorrow it will rain. The victim has been found to be also part of the crime. Your mother is expected to arrive on the next flight.
Other types of passive that need to be presented are the Passive Infinitive and Passive Gerund. Passive infinitive is used after verbs tha can take the infinitive: He is waited to be punished for what he did; My bike needs to be repaired. Passive gerund is used after verbs that can take the gerund of after prepositions: My house needs painting; They are afraid of being told off by the teacher.