Unit 13: PASSIVE VOICE
1. Definition
The passive voice is used to show interest in the person or object that
experiences an action rather than the person or object that performs the action.
In other words, the most important thing or person becomes the subject of the
sentence.
Examples
● The house was built in 1654. (= we are interested in the house, not in who
built it.)
Sometimes we use the passive voice because we don't know or do not want to
express who performed the action.
Examples
● All the cookies have been eaten.
1. 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 The house Was the house Wasn't the
was built in wasn't built in built in 1899? house built in
1899. 1899. 1899?
These houses These houses Were these Weren't these
were built in weren't built in houses built in houses built in
1899. 1899. 1899? 1899?
To clean, passive voice
Subject + to be + past + rest of
(conjugated) participle sentence
Simple present
The is cleaned every day.
house
Present continuous
The is being cleaned at the moment.
house
Simple past
The was cleaned yesterday.
house
Past continuous
The was being cleaned last week.
house
Present perfect
The has been cleaned since you left.
house
Past perfect
The had been cleaned before they
house arrived.
Future
The will be cleaned next week.
house
Future continuous
The will be being cleaned tomorrow.
house
Present conditional
The would be cleaned if they had
house visitors.
Past conditional
The would have been cleaned if it had been
house dirty.
2. 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.
● The case have been reopened years ago.
3. Passive voice with gerunds
Gerunds are used after prepositions and verbs normally followed by a gerund.
Examples
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.
4. The Passive Causative
Causative verbs (have, let, make, get, help) are used when one person
is causing another to do something. When you combine them together, you are
essentially saying someone caused something to be done (by someone).
LET = PERMIT SOMETHING TO HAPPEN
▪ I don’t let my kids watch violent movies.
MAKE = FORCE OR REQUIRE SOMEONE TO TAKE AN ACTION
▪ The school requires the students to wear uniforms.
HAVE = GIVE SOMEONE ELSE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO DO
SOMETHING
▪ I’ll have my assistant call you to reschedule the appointment.
▪ I’m going to have my hair cut tomorrow.
GET = CONVINCE/ENCOURAGE SOMEONE TO DO SOMETHING
▪ How can we get all the employees to arrive on time?
HELP = ASSIST SOMEONE IN DOING SOMETHING
▪ He helped me carry the boxes.
▪ He helped me to carry the boxes.
▪ Reading before bed helps me relax.
▪ Reading before bed helps me to relax.
