5.

1 The passive voice; causative have and get

The passive voice

Tense Example
Simple present Most of the children are taken to school by bus.
Present progressive We aren’t being told the truth about the extent of the damage.
Present perfect Has the amount of waste been reduced?
Simple past The deer was killed by a hunter
Past progressive The forest was being cut down by construction companies.
Past perfect The law hadn’t been changed for years.
will How will the park be affected by the road?
Modals The plans can’t be changed now.
The infinitive This area is too polluted to be used.

 We use the passive voice (be + past participle) when:

a) we don’t know who or what caused something to happen, or when this is not
important.
 A fire was started in a small area of forest near the park entrance.* (= We don’t
know who started the fire.)
b) we want to focus on the action, not what caused it.
 Huge amounts of CO₂ are being added to the atmosphere every year.* (= The
focus here is the CO₂ - we aren’t really interested in who or what is adding it.)
c) it’s obvious from the context who or what caused the action.
 The law has already been changed in many countries.* (= It’s obvious that it was
the government of these countries that changed the law.)

**Be careful!**
 When we say who performed an action, we use by.
 The research is being carried out by the US National Park Service.*
Exercise 1: Passive Voice Identification
Identify whether the sentences are in active or passive voice then change them
from active to passive and vice versa.
1. The new policy has already been implemented by the management.
2. People are often influenced by the media.
3. The company will be taken over by a larger corporation next month.
4. Many books have been written about the topic.
5. The concert was canceled due to bad weather.
6. The chef is cooking a gourmet meal for the guests.
7. The contract has been signed by both parties.
8. The research project was funded by several organizations.

Exercise 2: Passive Voice Transformation

Rewrite the sentences in passive voice.
1) They are renovating the old building.
2) The professor explained the new theory to the students.
3) The government has announced new tax regulations.
4) She will invite all her friends to the party.
5) The workers had completed the construction before the deadline.
6) We can solve this problem by working together.
7) The police arrested the suspect last night.
8) He fixed the broken window yesterday.