THE PASSIVE

VOICEEnglish Grammar

October 29th, 2012

THE PASSIVE VOICE

Let’s check the passive voice:

And now let’s discuss about it:

WHAT’S THE PASSIVE VOICE?

USES

Passive sentences focus on the person

or thing receiving an action.

This camcorder was manufactured in Japan.

Active sentences focus on the person or

thing performing the action.

Japan manufactured this camcorder.

STRUCTURE

In order to create a sentence using the

passive, we use:

OBJECT + BE + PAST PARTICIPLE

My wallet was stolen.

TENSES

We can use the passive with different

verb tenses:

My wallet was stolen.

My book is going to be reviewed.

Apples are grown around here.

“BY PHRASE”

If we want to mention the performer of

the action, we use:

BY + THE PERFORMER

This sweater was made by my mom.

VERBS

Can we use the passive with all types of

verbs?

Yes, we can use

TRANSITIVE and

INTRANSITIVE VERBS.

No, we only use

TRANSITIVE verbs.

CORRECT!

We only use the passive with

TRANSITIVE verbs, because they have an

object.

INCORRECT!

The passive focuses on the object of the verbs,

and INTRANSITIVE verbs DO NOT HAVE AN

OBJECT!

ANALYSIS

In case you want to talk

about a famous work of art,

which grammatical

construction would you

use? The passive or the

active voice?

ANSWER

If you want to talk about a famous work

of art, the best choice is to use the

PASSIVE VOICE, since the important

thing is the object of the action.

EXAMPLES:

The “Mona Lisa” was painted by Leonardo da

Vinci.

The Statue of Liberty was build in 1886.

The Taj Mahal was designed by the Emperor

Shah Jahan.

THANK

YOU!