PASSIVE VOICE
Passive voice is a grammatical construction (grammatical form) in which the subject sentence does not take action, but instead receives action (as a receiver of action ). The action is followed up by another agent (as a doer of action ) who can be mentioned or not. In contrast to the active voice , the subject is directly related to the verb by acting as the actor of the action. Active sentences may be changed to passive, especially active sentences that use a transitive verb (need to be followed by a direct object ).
Passive Voice function
To explain sentences where the subject is an inanimate object
The first function of the passive voice is to explain sentences whose subject cannot do a verb. Or in short, if the subject is an inanimate object. What is meant by inanimate objects here is not only physical objects, but also abstract objects, such as thoughts, values, feelings, and the like.
Example:
§ Those buildings were ruined by weather anomaly (passive voice)
§ The weather anomaly ruined those buildings (active voice)
Now try to compare the two examples above, the first sentence uses the passive voice and the second uses the opposite. At first glance, there is no obvious difference between the two sentences of the passive and active voice. In fact, the first sentence is easier to read than the second sentence. Especially if the sentence above is included in a news or report.
To Describe an Event for which the Perpetrator is Unknown
The second function of the passive voice is to explain a sentence whose subject is not known with certainty. Due to this, the object of the final sentence has to be the subject in order for the sentence to be understood.
Example:
§ My wallet was stolen when I strolled on this way (passive)
§ Someone stole my wallet when I strolled on this way (active)
Literally, the two examples above make sense , but the second sentence seems less effective. So since the culprit is unknown, it's better to use the first sentence which uses the passive voice form.
To describe an event whose object is more important than the subject
The third function of the passive voice is to describe events that focus on the object, not on the subject. This means that the object of the sentence is much more important to discuss than the subject.
This type of sentence can be found in scholarly presentations or other focused discussions. So for example, there is a meeting with the aim of reviewing "robots with human intelligence". So the focus of the meeting was a discussion of the object "robots with human intelligence".
Example:
§ The experiment is conducted between June and September 2019 in Komodo Island, Indonesia (passive)
§ We conducted the experiment between June and September 2019 in Komodo Island, Indonesia (active)
The focus of the two examples above is actually the same, namely telling about an experiment. However, if the second sentence is used, it is as if the focus is the activities of the person conducting the experiment, not the experiment. From this alone it is clear that in this condition, the passive voice is more appropriate.
To Describe Two Events in One Sentence
Well, here comes the passive voice function that people rarely talk about! The passive voice can be used in sentences that want to include two or more verbs. One goal: so that the sentence sounds varied. Now as an example, try to compare the two sentences below:
Example:
§ When Faza went to school, some punk kids beat her and confiscate her pocket money
§ When Faza went to school, she was beaten and her pocket money is confiscated by some punk kids
Again, the two sentences above do not have a significant difference. However, for storytelling, generally the sentence form like the second example is preferred.
Forming the passive voice
The passive voice in English is composed of two elements:
the appropriate form of the verb 'to be' + past participle
| Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative | Negative interrogative |
|---|---|---|---|
| The house was built in 1899. | The house wasn't built in 1899. | Was the house built in 1899? | Wasn't the house built in 1899? |
| These houses were built in 1899. | These houses weren't built in 1899. | Were these houses built in 1899? | Weren't these houses built in 1899? |
To clean, passive voice
| Subject | + to be (conjugated) | + past participle | + rest of sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple present | |||
| The house | is | cleaned | every day. |
| Present continuous | |||
| The house | is being | cleaned | at the moment. |
| Simple past | |||
| The house | was | cleaned | yesterday. |
| Past continuous | |||
| The house | was being | cleaned | last week. |
| Present perfect | |||
| The house | has been | cleaned | since you left. |
| Past perfect | |||
| The house | had been | cleaned | before they arrived. |
| Future | |||
| The house | will be | cleaned | next week. |
| Future continuous | |||
| The house | will be being | cleaned | tomorrow. |
| Present conditional | |||
| The house | would be | cleaned | if they had visitors. |
| Past conditional | |||
| The house | would have been | cleaned | if it had been dirty. |
| Inifinitive | |||
| The house | must be | cleaned | before we arrive. |
Passive voice with infinitives
The infinitive passive voice is used after modal verbs and other most verbs normally followed by an infinitive.
Examples
- You have to be tested on your English grammar.
- John might be promoted next year.
- She wants to be invited to the party.
- I expect to be surprised on my birthday.
- You may be disappointed.
Passive voice with gerunds
Gerunds are used after prepositions and verbs normally followed by a gerund.
Examples
- I remember being taught to drive.
- The children are excited about being taken to the zoo.
- The children are excited to be taken to the zoo.
- Most film stars hate being interviewed.
- Most film stars hate to be interviewed.
- Poodles like to be pampered.
- Poodles like being pampered.
Using "to be born"
"To be born" is a passive form and is most commonly used in the past tense. However, in some cases, the present or future tense is appropriate.
Examples
- I was born in 1976.
- Where were you born?
- Around 100 babies are born in this hospital every week.
- We don't know on exactly which day the baby will be born.
Sometimes the passive is formed using the verb to get or to have instead of the verb to be. A separate page deals with these alternative ways to form the passive voice.
Exceptions to Transitive Verbs
Not all transitive verbs, verbs that have direct objects, can be supplied. Some verbs such as have, become, lack, look like, and mean will sound unnatural in meaning when supplied.
Examples of Unpascable Verb Sentences
for more details, please watch the video about passive voice below
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