Verb voice tells whether the verb is in the active or
passive voice.
Active
Voice :
The subject of the sentence performs the action of the
verb.
Example : the dog bit the boy
(The dog, the subject of the sentence, is performing
the action of biting.)
Passive
Voice :
The subject of the sentence receives the action of the
verb.
The doer of the action in the passive voice may either
appear in a "by the . . ." phrase or be omitted.
Example : the boy was bitten by the dog.
Hint
:
To spot the passive voice :
Look at the verb phrase. It will always include a form
of the "to be" verb, such as "is",
"are," "was", or "is being".
Look for a "by the ..." phrase. The subject
of the action, if named, is in this "by the ..."
phrase.
Some suggestions for choosing active or passive voice
:
Choosing Active
Voice
The active verb is often easier to understand than the
passive because the active voice explains who or what
is doing the action.
Less clear: The entrance exam
was failed by over one-third of the applicants to the
school.
Revised: Over one-third of the
applicants to the school failed the entrance exam.
The active verb is more concise than the passive verb
because fewer words are needed.
Wordy: The action on the bill
was considered by the committee.
Better: The committee considered
acting on the bill.
The active verb emphasizes the subject of the action
and is often more direct and dramatic.
Less direct and dramatic: The
brakes of the car were slammed upon by the driver as her
car sped down the hill.
Direct and dramatic: She slammed
on the brakes as her car sped downhill.
To change passive
to active :
Find the person who acts and make it the subject.
passive: The book was read by
most of the class
active: Most of the class read
the book.
Choosing Passive Voice
The passive voice is useful when the subject of the action
is unknown or unimportant.
The lock was broken when the police arrived on the scene
of the crime. The experimental liver transplant was performed
successfully.
The passive voice focuses attention on the action rather
than on the subject of the action.
"Rules are made to be broken," he said defiantly.
The passive verb is sometimes preferred in scientific
writing-- but not always.
The hydrogen experiment was used to verify the previous
results.
To change active
to passive:
Use the subject of the active voice sentence in a "by
the . . ." phrase, and use a verb with a form of
"to be" and the -ed form of the main verb.
Example:
active: The committee vetoed the action.
passive: The motion was vetoed by the committee.
PRESENT / FUTURE MODALS
The
passive form follows this pattern
Modal
+ be + past participle
|
Active:
|
Passive:
|
WILL / WON'T (WILL NOT)
- Sharon will
invite Tom to the party.
- Sharon won't
invite Jeff to the party.
(Sharon will
not invite Jeff to the party.)
|
WILL / WON'T (WILL NOT)
- Tom will
be invited to the party by Sharon.
- Jeff won't
be invited to the party by Sharon.
(Jeff will
not be invited to the party by Sharon.)
|
| |
|
|
Active:
|
Passive:
|
CAN / CAN'T (CAN NOT)
- Mai can
foretell the future.
- Terry can't
foretell the future.
(Terry can
not foretell the future.)
|
CAN / CAN'T (CAN NOT)
- The future
can be foretold by Mai.
- The future
can't be foretold by Terry.
(The future
can not be foretold by Terry.)
|
| |
|
|
Active:
|
Passive:
|
MAY / MAY NOT and MIGHT / MIGHT NOT
- That firm
may offer Katya a new job.
- That firm
might offer Katya a new job.
- The students
may not do the homework.
The students
might not do the homework.
|
MAY / MAY NOT and MIGHT / MIGHT NOT
- Katya may
be offered a new job by that firm.
Katya might
be offered a new job by that firm.
The homework
may not be done by them.
The homework
might not be done by the them.
|
| |
|
|
Active:
|
Passive:
|
SHOULD / SHOULDN'T
- Students
should memorize English verbs.
Children shouldn't
smoke cigarettes.
|
SHOULD / SHOULDN'T
- English
verbs should be memorized by students.
Cigarettes
shouldn't be smoked by children.
|
| |
|
|
Active:
|
Passive:
|
OUGHT TO
- Students
ought to learn English verbs.
(negative ought
to is rarely used)
|
OUGHT TO
- English
verbs ought to be memorized by students
|
| |
|
|
Active:
|
Passive:
|
HAS TO / DOESN'T HAVE TO and HAVE TO / DON'T
HAVE TO
- She has
to practice English every day.
- Maria doesn't
have to clean her bedroom today.
- Sara and
Miho have to wash the dishes today.
The kids don't
have to clean their rooms today.
|
HAS TO / DOESN'T HAVE TO and HAVE TO / DON'T
HAVE TO
- English
has to be practiced every day.
- Her bedroom
doesn't have to be cleaned today.
- The dishes
have to be washed by them today.
Their rooms
don't have to be cleaned today.
|
| |
|
|
Active:
|
Passive:
|
BE SUPPOSED TO
- I am
supposed to type the essay.
- I am
not supposed to copy the stories.
- Jan is
supposed to clean the living room.
- She isn't
supposed to eat steal things!
- Frank and
Jane are supposed to make dinner.
They aren't
supposed to make dessert.
|
BE SUPPOSED TO
- The essay
is supposed to be typed by me.
- The stories
are not supposed to be copied.
- The kitchen
is supposed to be cleaned by Jan.
- Things aren't
supposed to be stolen!
- Dinner is
supposed to be made by them.
Dessert isn't
supposed to be made by them.
|
|
PAST MODALS
The
past passive form follows this pattern:
modal + have
been + past participle
|
|
Active:
|
Passive:
|
SHOULD HAVE / SHOULDN'T HAVE
- The students
should have learned the verbs.
The children
shouldn't have broken the window.
|
SHOULD HAVE / SHOULDN'T HAVE
- The verbs
should have been learned by them.
The window
shouldn't have been broken by them.
|
| |
|
|
Active:
|
Passive:
|
OUGHT TO
- The students
ought to have learned the verbs.
(negative
ought to is rarely used)
|
OUGHT TO
- The verbs
ought to have been learned.
|
| |
|
|
Active:
|
Passive:
|
BE SUPPOSED TO
- I was
supposed to type the composition.
- I wasn't
supposed to copy the story.
- Janet was
supposed to clean the living room.
- She wasn't
supposed to eat those.
- Frank and
Jane were supposed to make dinner.
They weren't
supposed to make dessert.
|
BE SUPPOSED TO
- The composition
was supposed to be typed.
- The story
wasn't supposed to be copied.
- The living
room was supposed to be cleaned.
- Those weren't
supposed to be eaten by her.
- Dinner was
supposed to be made by them.
Dessert wasn't
supposed to be made by them.
|
| |
|
|
Active:
|
Passive:
|
MAY / MAY NOT and MIGHT / MIGHT NOT
- That firm
may have offered Katya a new job.
- That firm
might have offered Katya a new job.
- The students
may not have written the paper.
The students
might not have written the paper.
|
MAY / MAY NOT and MIGHT / MIGHT NOT
- Katya may
have been offered a new job.
Katya might
have been offered a new job.
The paper
may not have been written by them.
The paper
might not have been written by them.
|
| |
|
SIMPLE PRESENT
and SIMPLE PAST
- The active
object becomes the passive subject, don't forget
the verb to be + the past participle.
|
|
Active:
|
Passive:
|
Simple Present
- The movie
fascinates me.
- The movie
bores Jack.
The movie
surprises them.
|
Simple Present
- I am
fascinated by the movie.
- Jack is
bored by the movie.
They are
surprised by the movie.
|
Simple Past
- The movie
bored me.
- The movie
fascinated Jack.
The movie
surprised them.
|
Simple Past
- I was
bored by the movie.
- Jack was
fascinated by the movie.
They were
surprised by the movie.
|
| |
|
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PRESENT and
PAST CONTINUOUS (PROGRESSIVE)
|
|
Active:
|
Passive:
|
|
Present Continuous
I
am helping Shannon.
June is
helping Su and Ling.
|
Present Continuous
Shannon
is being helped by me.
Su and Ling
are being helped by June.
|
|
Past Continuous
I
was cleaning the bathroom.
They were
cleaning the bedroom.
Susan was
cleaning the kitchen and patio.
|
Past Continuous
The
bathroom was being cleaned by me.
The bedroom
was being cleaned by them.
The kitchen
and patio were being cleaned by
her.
|
| |
|
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PRESENT PERFECT,
PAST PERFECT and FUTURE PERFECT
|
|
Active:
|
Passive:
|
Present Perfect
- I have
mailed the gift.
Jack has
mailed the gifts.
|
Present Perfect
- The gift
has been mailed by me.
The gifts
have been mailed by Jack.
|
|
Past Perfect
Steven Spielberg
had directed the movie.
Penny Marshall
had directed those movies.
|
Past Perfect
The movie had
been directed by him.
The movies had
been directed by her.
|
|
Future Perfect
Jon
will have finished it next month.
They will
have finished it by next week.
|
Future Perfect
It will
have been finished by Jon by next month.
It will have
been finished by them by next week.
|
| |
|
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FUTURE TENSES
|
|
Active:
|
Passive:
|
Future with WILL
- I will
mail the gift.
Jack will
mail the gifts.
|
Future with WILL
- The gift
will be mailed by me.
The gifts
will be mailed by Jack.
|
Future with GOING TO
- I am
going to make the cake.
Sue is
going to make two cakes.
|
Future with GOING TO
- The cake
is going to be made by me.
Two cakes
are going to be made by Sue.
|
To find interactive exercises to practice the passive
voice, visit the website :
http://members.home.net/englishzone/verbs/passive3.html
