Instituto Comercial de Osorno Miss

Soledad Sandoval Molina

English Department
Passive vs. Active Voice
The active voice is used when focusing on the subject who performs the
action and the direct object is the goal or the recipient

SIMPLE PRESENT SIMPLE PAST

The movie fascinates The movie fascinated
Jack. Jack.
The movie bores Jack. The movie bored Jack.
The movie surprises The movie surprised
them them

We usually use the passive voice when the action of the verb is more
important than who or what did the action. It is generally used for technical or
scientific descriptions

SIMPLE PRESENT SIMPLE PAST

am/is/are + past was/were + past
participle participle
I am fascinated by the I was bored by the movie.
movie. Jack was fascinated by the
Jack is bored by the movie. movie.
They are surprised by the They were surprised by the
movie. movie.

Sometimes we need to show WHO or WHAT REMEMBER:

does the action of the verb. In
these case we use an agent. This is introduced by the preposition BY.
To be + Past Participle – (by)

Modals + Be + Past participle – (by)

(can-must-should-may)
 Instituto Comercial de Osorno Miss
Soledad Sandoval Molina
English Department

Identify and underline examples of passive and active voices in Simple

Present in the following articles

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct Passive tense,

then ask questions that match the answers below.
The Pompidou Center 1) _________________ (locate) in Paris, France. It 2)
_______________ (use) as the National Museum of Modern Art and it 3)
___________________ (complete) in 1977. It 4) _______________________(design)
by Rogers and Piano and it 5) ____________________ (make) of glass and
steel. It is a very modern building. It looks like it is inside out because the
pipes, escalators and walkways are all on the outside. Inside, artwork by
Picasso, Matisse, Duchamps and many other famous artists
6)___________________(display). Outside the center, there is a large open
area where artists meet and performances 7)
_____________________________(hold). There are lots of trendy shops and little
cafés, too. The Pompidou Center is an interesting place to visit. It is an
exciting and modern building with lots to see and do inside and outside. No
wonder it 8) ________________________ (visit) by millions of people every year.

1. Q: Where 4.
______________________________? Q:When_____________________________?
A: In Paris, France A: 1977
2. Q: What ____________________________ 5. What
as? ________________________________?
A: The National Museum of Modern Art A: Glass and steel.
3. Q: Who 6. Q: Whose works
_______________________________? ____________________there?
A: Rogers and Piano A: Picasso, Matisse , Duchamps and
many others.
Complete the following news with the appropriate passive form (present or
past)
Instituto Comercial de Osorno Miss
Soledad Sandoval Molina
English Department