PASSIVE VOICE

Definition

The passive voice emphasizes the recipient of the action or sometimes the action itself.

Example

Present passive

The ball is chased by the dog.

Past passive

The ball was chased by the dog.

Is often used

When we talk about art, science, or literature.

Example

The logical method is used for Mathematics.

To explain directions and instructions.

Example

Soccer is played with eleven players on the team.

In news reports and academic writing.

Example

The Big Bang theory is studied by Albert Einstein.

A passive sentence consist of

The subject.

Subtopic

The verb to be in the correct tense.

Present

Am

Is

Are

Past

Was

Were

The verb in Past Participle

3rd form of the verb.

Example

1. eat

2. ate

3. eaten

Sometimes, the agent and other complements.

Bibliography

Brain Pop Ell. (s.f.). Passive Voice: Present Simple. Recovered from: https://ell.brainpop.com/level3/unit1/lesson1/summary/

Mendizba, M. (2018). Passive Voice - Present and Past. Recovered from: https://es.slideshare.net/MarcoAntonioMendizba/passive-voice-present-and-past-117141497

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/

English has two voices

Active voice

It is used when the subject of the sentence does the action.

Example

My mom cooks a cake.

Passive voice

It is used when we focus on the object of the sentence.

Example

A cake is cooked by my mom.

Present Simple

Use the passive form if you think that the thing receiving the action is more important or should be emphasized.

The past participle always stays the same. Only the form of be changes.

The subject and verb must always agree in number.

In the passive is: am / is / are + past participle (3rd form of the verb).

Remember

if you want to introduce the doer you have to introduce with the preposition BY

Example

My mother cleans the house.

Affirmative

The house is cleaned by my mother.

María does not open the door.

Negative

The door is not opened by María.

Does Emily write a letter?

Question

Is a letter written by Emily?

Past Simple

For the passive voice in past you just have to use the verb BE in past.

The verb must be always in past participle.

The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.

In the passive is: was / were + past participle (3rd form of the verb).

Remember

In the passive voice the subject pronouns change for the object pronouns.

Example

I baked a chocolate cake.

Affirmative

A chocolate cake was baked by me.

Daniel did not write a letter in January.

Negative

A letter was not written in January by Daniel.

Did Daniel write a letter in January?

Question

Was a letter written in January by Daniel?