Use of Passive

Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known,
however, who or what is performing the action.

Form of Passive
Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs)
Example: A letter was written.
When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:

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

the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)

the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is
dropped)

Examples of Passive
Tense

Subject
Active: Rita
Simple Present
Passive: A letter
Active: Rita
Simple Past
Passive: A letter
Active: Rita
Present Perfect
Passive: A letter
Active: Rita
Future I
Passive: A letter
Active: Rita
Hilfsverben
Passive: A letter

Verb
writes
is written
wrote
was written
has written
has been written
will write
will be written
can write
can be written

Object
a letter.
by Rita.
a letter.
by Rita.
a letter.
by Rita.
a letter.
by Rita.
a letter.
by Rita.

Examples of Passive
Tense

Subject
Active: Rita
Present
Passive
Progressive
A letter
:
Active: Rita
Past Progressive Passive
A letter
:
Past Perfect
Active: Rita
Passive A letter

Verb
is writing

Object
a letter.

is being written

by Rita.

was writing

a letter.

was being written

by Rita.

had written
had been written

a letter.
by Rita.

Future II

Conditional I

Conditional II

:
Active:
Passive
:
Active:
Passive
:
Active:
Passive
:

Rita

will have written

a letter.

A letter

will have been written

by Rita.

Rita

would write

a letter.

A letter

would be written

by Rita.

Rita

would have written

a letter.

A letter

would have been written

by Rita.

More, less and fewer

We can use more, less and fewer with noun phrases to create comparisons which are similar
to the comparative forms of adjectives and adverbs:
There was more snow this year than last year.
She has more problems than most people.
You should eat less junk food and start to take better care of your health.
There are fewer birds in the countryside now than there were 30 years ago.
Traditionally, we use less with uncountable nouns and fewer with plural countable nouns.
Nowadays, many people use less with plural countable nouns. Some people consider this to
be incorrect, and prefer to use fewer:
I think the room would look better with less furniture. (less + singular uncountable noun)
There were fewer cars on the roads twenty years ago. (fewer + plural countable noun;
traditional correct form)
Less kids take music lessons now than before. (less + plural countable noun; considered
incorrect by some people)
Warning:

We use more + noun phrase, not much + noun phrase, to make a comparison:
Footballers earn more money than other sportsmen.
Not: much money than other sportsmen

More and more, less and less, fewer and fewer

We can use more and more, less and less and fewer and fewer in noun phrases to refer to
things which increase or decrease over time:
There are more and more low-quality reality shows on TV.
I seem to have less and less time to myself these days.
She visited her family on fewer and fewer occasions, till soon she stopped seeing them
altogether.
Most, least and fewest

We can use most, least and fewest with noun phrases to create comparisons which are similar
to the superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs. It is more common to use the before most,
least and fewest, but we can also leave it out:
The points are added up, and the team with the most points wins.
Who got most votes in the election?
The room that has the least furniture would be best for dancing.
The class with the fewest students was always Miss Murrays philosophy seminar.
Traditionally, we use least with singular uncountable nouns and fewest with plural countable
nouns. Nowadays, many people use least with plural countable nouns. Some people consider
this to be incorrect, and prefer to use fewest:
Which horse eats the least food? Thats the one Ill buy! (least + singular uncountable noun)
Of all the models we tested, the B226X had the fewest faults. (fewest + plural countable noun;
traditional correct form)
Of the three cities, Id say Limerick gets the least tourists. (least + plural countable noun;
considered incorrect by some people)
A preference is a technical term in psychology, economics and philosophy
usually used in relation to choosing between alternatives: someone has a
preference for A over B if they would choose A rather than B