Passives

We make the passive using ‘be’ – in a suitable tense – and the past participle (‘done’, ‘played’ etc.). We use the passive:

1) … when we don’t know, or we are not interested in, who does an action.

• My car was stolen yesterday.

         We don’t know who stole the car.

• A lot of wine is produced in France.

         It’s not important who produces the wine.

2) … when the main topic of the sentence isn’t who did the action.

• Television was invented in the 1920s by John Logie Baird.

         The main topic here is television – we aren’t particularly interested in ‘who’.

• Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

         In English we tend to put the most important thing at the start of the sentence.

3) … more in written English than in spoken English.

• War and Peace was written by Tolstoy.

         You often see the passive in textbooks.

• The mixture is heated to 500˚C.

         Scientific texts especially use the passive.

Tenses

The passive can be used with all tenses - the form of ‘be’ changes.

• What is tiramisu made from?. Present Simple.
• The hall is being painted this week so our class will be in a different room. Present Continuous.
• Oranges have been grown here for centuries. Present Perfect.
• When he got home he found that his flat had been burgled. Past Perfect.
• The work won’t be finished until next week. Future Simple.

Modal verbs also use ‘be’ and the past participle.

• Answers must be written in pencil.
• Competition entrants might be chosen to appear on TV.

Active and passive voice

Transitive verbs have both active and passive forms:

active		passive
The hunter killed the lion.	>>	The lion was killed by the hunter.
Someone has cleaned the windows	>>	The windows have been cleaned

The passive forms are made up of the verb be with a past participle:

	be	past participle
English	is	spoken	all over the world
The windows	have been	cleaned
Lunch	was being	served
The work	will be	finished	soon
They	might have been	invited	to the party

We sometimes use the verb get to form the passive:

• Be careful with the glass. It might get broken.
• Peter got hurt in a crash.

If we want to show the person or thing doing the action we use by:

• She was attacked by a dangerous dog.
• The money was stolen by her husband.

We can use the indirect object as the subject of a passive verb:

active		passive
I gave him a book for his birthday	>>	He was given a book for his birthday.
Someone sent her a cheque for a thousand euros	>>	She was sent a cheque for a thousand euros.

We can use phrasal verbs in the passive:

active		passive
They called off the meeting.	>>	The meeting was called off.
His grandmother looked after him.	>>	He was looked after by his grandmother.
They will send him away to school.	>>	He will be sent away to school.

Some verbs very frequently used in the passive are followed by the to-infinitive:

be supposed to	be expected to	be asked to
be scheduled to	be allowed to	be told to

  

• John has been asked to make a speech at the meeting.
• You are supposed to wear a uniform.
• The meeting is scheduled to start at seven.