PASSIVE VOICE

- The Passive voice will be used when we want to change the focus of the sentence
because we don’t know the subject or it isn’t necessary.

- In a Passive sentence, we pay attention to the action itself, not who does it.

- Changes:

o The Direct Object will be the new Passive subject

o The Subject will be the agent (by…)
o We add the verb TO BE in the same verbal tense we have in the Active
sentence.

ACTIVE
Your little boy has broken the window

SUBJECT ACTIVE VERB DIRECT OBJECT

PASSIVE

The window has been broken by your little boy.

PASSIVE SUBJECT PASSIVE VERB BY-AGENT

*We only use BY-AGENT when it is necessary to know who does the action. We normally
omit it.
Penicillin was discovered by Fleming.
We were stopped by a policeman.

-VERBAL CHANGES-

TO BE (active verbal tense) + PAST PARTICIPLE OF THE MAIN VERB

VERB TENSES ACTIVE PASSIVE

SIMPLE PRESENT WRITE (S) AM/IS/ARE WRITTEN

PRESENT CONTINUOUS AM/IS/ARE WRITING AM/IS/ARE BEING WRITTEN

PRESENT PERFECT HAVE/HAS WRITTEN HAVE/HAS BEEN WRITTEN

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SIMPLE PAST WROTE WAS/WERE WRITTEN

PAST CONTINUOUS WAS/WERE WRITING WAS/WERE BEING WRITTEN

PAST PERFECT HAD WRITTEN HAD BEEN WRITTEN

FUTURE WILL WRITE WILL BE WRITTEN

CONDITIONAL WOULD WRITE WOULD BE WRITTEN

“GOING TO” AM/IS/ARE GOING TO WRITE AM/IS/ARE GOING TO BE

WRITTEN

MODAL VERBS:

CAN/MAY…. CAN/MAY…WRITE CAN/MAY…BE WRITTEN

PASSIVE WITH TWO OBJECTS

- When the Active verb has two objects (Direct and indirect), both objects can
become the new Passive subject:
o They gave her a lot of money
 Passive 1: She was given a lot of money (most common)
 Passive 2: A lot of money was given to her.

*Note: The verbs ASK and TELL aren’t usually used in Passive Voice  We say I was
told a terrible secret instead of *A terrible secret was told to me

PASSIVE OF REPORTING VERBS / IMPERSONAL PASSIVE

Verbs that refer to saying or thinking (think, believe, say, report, know,
consider, presume, hope…) are often followed by a to-infinitive form in the passive.

Example: The police think he is in Argentina.

He is thought to be in Argentina.

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 There are FOUR INFINITIVE FORMS, which we will use depending on the tense we have
in the active sentence.

Simple to write escribir

Continuous to be writing estar escribiendo
Perfect to have written haber escrito
Perf. Continuous to have been writing haber estado escribiendo

IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS TYPE OF PASSIVE SENTENCE, WE

1 Take the subject of the second sentence: He

2 Passive verb of the Reporting verb in the same tense as in the active: is
thought
3 The verb of the second sentence in the Infinitive form: to be

WHICH FORM OF THE INFINITIVE DO WE USE?

 If it carries an idea of present or future  Simple: to write

 It it carries an idea of past, whatever the tense (Past Simple, Past Perfect, Present
Perfect)  Perfect: to have written.
 If either of them are in a continuous form, you use the adequate Infinitive
continuous form  to be writing or to have been writing

SOME MORE EXAMPLES:

ACTIVE PASSIVE

They say she works hard. She is said to work hard.

They say she played well.
They said she has done well.
They believe he is having an affair.
They believe he has been having an affair.
affair.
She believes the repairs have been finished.
She is said to have played well.
She was said to have done well.
He is believed to be having an affair.
He is believed to have been having an
The repairs are believed to have been
finished.

IMPERSONAL PASSIVE

PRESENT SIMPLE (will/would)  TO-INFINITIVE

PRESENT CONTINUOUS (will be +ing)  TO BE + V-ING
PAST SIMPLE (present perfect/past perfect)  TO HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE
PAST CONTINUOUS (present/past perfect + v-ing)  TO HAVE BEEN + V-ING

1. People believe that English is the most widely spoken language

 It is believed that English is the most widely spoken language.
 English is believed to be the most widely spoken language.

2. Police have reported that it was Peter who caused the accident.
- It has been reported that it was Peter who caused the accident.
- Peter has been reported to have caused the accident.

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3. A journalist reports that they are leaving Las Vegas tomorrow night.
- It is reported that they are leaving….
- They are reported to be leaving Las …

The lecturer thought that Columbus never realized that he had discovered America.
- It was thought that Columbus never realized…
- Columbus was thought to have never realized that …

4. Their parents thought that the teenagers were dancing at the disco.
- It was thought that the teenagers were ….
- The teenagers were thought to have been dancing at the disco

6. Everybody thinks that she sings beautifully

- It is thought that she sings…
- She is thought to sing …

7. The children reported that their friends were swimming when they disappeared.
It was reported that their friends were…
Their friends were reported to have been swimming when…

CAUSATIVE

- The structure HAVE SOMETHING DONE is used when we have someone making
something for us, normally paid.
o I’m going to have my hair cut.
o She’s having her house redecorated.
 In both examples, the person that does the action is different from
the subject of the sentence.

- We can use it in situations where something bad has happened to people or their
possessions. This is not something they wanted to happen
o I had my finger bitten during a fight
o John had all his money stolen from this hotel bedroom.
- The verb HAVE will be in the same verbal tense we have in the Active Voice.
- SOMETHING refers to the Direct Object in the Active Voice.
- DONE refers to the main verb in the Active Voice conjugated in the Past Participle.