Passive Voice
The passive voice is less usual than the active voice. The active
voice is the "normal" voice. But sometimes we need the passive voice. In this
lesson we look at how to construct the passive voice, when to use it and how to
conjugate it.
Construction of the Passive Voice
The structure of the passive voice is very simple:
subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past
participle)
The main verb is always in its past participle form:
| |
base |
past |
past participle |
| regular |
work |
worked |
worked |
| irregular |
sing |
sang |
sung |
Look at these examples:
| subject |
auxiliary verb (to be) |
main verb (past participle) |
|
| Water |
is |
drunk |
by everyone. |
| 100 people |
are |
employed |
by this company. |
| I |
am |
paid |
in euro. |
| We |
are |
not paid |
in dollars. |
| Are |
they |
paid |
in yen? |
Use of the Passive Voice
We use the passive when:
- we want to make the active object more important
- we do not know the active subject
| |
subject |
verb |
object |
| give importance to active object (Kennedy) |
President Kennedy |
was killed |
by Lee Harvey Oswald. |
| active subject unknown |
My wallet |
has been stolen. |
? |
Note that we always use by to introduce the passive
object (Fish are eaten by cats).
| EnglishClub.com Tip |
Look at this
sentence:
- He was killed with a
gun.
Normally we use by to introduce the
passive object. But the gun is not the active subject. The gun did not kill
him. He was killed by somebody with a gun. In the active voice,
it would be: Somebody killed him with a gun. The gun is the instrument.
Somebody is the "agent" or "doer". |
Conjugation for the Passive Voice
We can form the passive in any tense. In fact, conjugation of
verbs in the passive tense is rather easy, as the main verb is always in past
participle form and the auxiliary verb is always be. To form the
required tense, we conjugate the auxiliary verb. So, for example:
- present simple: It is made
- present continuous: It is being made
- present perfect: It has been made
Here are some examples with most of the possible tenses:
| infinitive |
to be washed |
| simple |
present |
It is washed. |
| past |
It was washed. |
| future |
It will be washed. |
| conditional |
It would be washed. |
| continuous |
present |
It is being washed. |
| past |
It was being washed. |
| future |
It will be being washed. |
| conditional |
It would be being washed. |
| perfect simple |
present |
It has been washed. |
| past |
It had been washed. |
| future |
It will have been washed. |
| conditional |
It would have been washed. |
| perfect continuous |
present |
It has been being washed. |
| past |
It had been being washed. |
| future |
It will have been being washed. |
| conditional |
It would have been being washed. |
Check your understanding
>> |
