PASSIVE VOICE
Past Simple
Did Daniel write a letter in January?
Was a letter written in January by Daniel?
Daniel did not write a letter in January.
A letter was not written in January by Daniel.
I baked a chocolate cake.
A chocolate cake was baked by me.
In the passive voice the subject pronouns change for the object pronouns.
In the passive is: was / were + past participle (3rd form of the verb).
The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
The verb must be always in past participle.
For the passive voice in past you just have to use the verb BE in past.
Present Simple
Does Emily write a letter?
Question
Is a letter written by Emily?
María does not open the door.
Negative
The door is not opened by María.
My mother cleans the house.
Affirmative
The house is cleaned by my mother.
Remember
if you want to introduce the doer you have to introduce with the preposition BY
In the passive is: am / is / are + past participle (3rd form of the verb).
The subject and verb must always agree in number.
The past participle always stays the same. Only the form of be changes.
Use the passive form if you think that the thing receiving the action is more important or should be emphasized.
English has two voices
Passive voice
A cake is cooked by my mom.
It is used when we focus on the object of the sentence.
Active voice
My mom cooks a cake.
It is used when the subject of the sentence does the action.
Bibliography
Wolfson, M. (s.f.). Active vs. Passive Voice: What’s the Difference? What Should I Use? Why Does It Matter? Recovered from: https://www.aje.com/arc/writing-with-active-or-passive-voice/
UNAM. (2017). Use of the passive voice in past simple. Recovered from: https://avi.cuaed.unam.mx/repositorio/moodle/pluginfile.php/2443/mod_resource/content/10/contenido/index.html
Mendizba, M. (2018). Passive Voice - Present and Past. Recovered from: https://es.slideshare.net/MarcoAntonioMendizba/passive-voice-present-and-past-117141497
Brain Pop Ell. (s.f.). Passive Voice: Present Simple. Recovered from: https://ell.brainpop.com/level3/unit1/lesson1/summary/
A passive sentence consist of
Sometimes, the agent and other complements.
The verb in Past Participle
3. eaten
2. ate
1. eat
3rd form of the verb.
The verb to be in the correct tense.
Past
Were
Was
Present
Are
Is
Am
Subtopic
The subject.
Is often used
In news reports and academic writing.
The Big Bang theory is studied by Albert Einstein.
To explain directions and instructions.
Soccer is played with eleven players on the team.
When we talk about art, science, or literature.
The logical method is used for Mathematics.
Definition
Example
Past passive
The ball was chased by the dog.
Present passive
The ball is chased by the dog.
The passive voice emphasizes the recipient of the action or sometimes the action itself.
