THE PASSIVE

 We form the passive by using the verb to be followed by the past participle:
e.g. Active: The police officer saw the robber at the airport.
Passive: The robber was seen at the airport.

 Only verbs with an object (transitive verbs) can be made passive.

e.g. They sent the letter> The letter was sent.
They arrived late. (cannot be made passive)
*Some transitive verbs cannot be made passive in some uses. For example like and love.
I like this place. (a passive form of this sentence is not possible)
 Verbs with both direct and indirect objects can be made passive in two ways:
e.g. Active: They sent me the letter.
Passive 1: The letter was sent to me. (Direct object as subject)
Passive 2: I was sent the letter. (Indirect object as subject- it sounds weird in Spanish but it is
actually the most common form in English, as it gives prominence to a person)

e.g. Active: A witness gave some information to the police

Passive 1: Some information was given to the police
Passive 2: The police was given some information

 The passive is used quite often in English, both in speech and writing. We use the
passive when:
o We don’t know who or what did something:
e.g. My bicycle has been stolen

o The action is more important than who did it

e.g. Income tax was introduced in England in 1798

o It is obvious who or what did something

e.g. The thief has been arrested
 THE PASSIVE: OTHER STRUCTURES
1. IT IS SAID THAT…

The passive is often used with say, believe, understand, know and similar verbs used in reporting speech to
avoid an impersonal they or people.

You can use It is said, believed, etc. + that + clause.

e.g. People say that John Wilson lives in New York.

It is said that John Wilson lives in New York.

e.g. People think that the mayor will resign.

It is thought that the mayor will resign.

2. Subject + IS SAID TO…

You can use He, The man, etc. (i.e. the subject of the clause) + is said, believed, etc. + to + infinitive
(e.g. to be) or perfect infinitive (e.g. to have been).

e.g. People say that John Wilson lives in New York.

John Wilson is said to live in New York.

e.g. They say John Wilson is travelling in Africa. (Present continuous)

John Wilson is said to be travelling in Africa. (is said to be+ ing)

e.g. People say John Wilson has arrived in Australia. (Present perfect)
John Wilson is said to have arrived in Australia. (is said to have +ed)

3. HAVE something DONE

When we ask someone else to do something for us, we often use the structure to have something
done.
Compare:

I took a photo of Westminster Bridge = I took the photo myself.

I had my photo taken on Westminster Bridge = I asked someone to take my photo.

Have is the main verb so it changes according to the tense. Then you put the object and the participle
of the verb.
I'm going to have my hair cut tomorrow.
I had my car repaired after the accident.
I had my hair cut. (= The hairdresser cut my hair.)
I'm having my kitchen painted. (= The decorator is painting my kitchen.)
They want to have their car fixed. (= They want the garage to fix their car.)

It is not usually necessary to say who did the action:

The president had the car taken to the airport (by his driver). (= The president's driver took
the car to the airport.)

In informal speech, we sometimes use get instead of have:

I got my hair cut. (= I had my hair cut.)