IBM manufactures Computers.

active S + V + O

passive S + be + V (pp) + by O
Computers are manufactured by IBM.
By which company is each product made or
manufactured ?
Telephones Gerber
Jeans Avon
Baby food AT&T
Cosmetics iBM
Computers Levi Strauss
Oil General Electric
Appliances Gillette
Bandages Exxon
Razors Xerox
Copiers Johnson and Johnson
Computers are manufactured by IBM.

S be + V (pp) by O

PASSIVE VOICE
 PASSIVE VOICE
• 1. Structure.
• 2. Sentence patterns can be changed into
passive voice.
• 3. Usage.
• 4. Agent and Instrument.
 Passive Voice
1. Sentence patterns can be changed into passive :
S V O
1. Someone stole my bag.
-> My bag was stolen.
S V O A
2. She placed the vase in the middle of the dinning table.
-> The vase was placed in the middle of the dinning table.
S V O O
3. I gave her some flowers.
-> She was given some flowers.
-> Some flowers were given to her.
S V O C
4. They considered him a criminal.
-> He was considered a criminal.
-> SVO, SVOA, SVOO, SVOC
 2. Use (TB/p.87)
1. To move more important information to the beginning of the sentence.
Ex : The new swimming pool has just been opened.

2. To be impersonal in a scientific or technical process by talking about what is

done, not who does it.
Ex : Wine is made from grapes.

3. To talk about the subject as the person or thing affected by the action or when
the performer of the action is general or obvious from the contact or
unimportant, or not named.
Ex : My bag was stolen.

4. To avoid personal commands and to avoid implying that we are only talking
about ourselves or our personal actions.
Ex : 1. I can’t do all this work in one day.
-> All this work can’t be done in one day.
2. You must remove your shoes before entering.
-> Shoes must be removed before entering.
• Exercise : Rewrite each sentence in the following passage, using the
passive form where possible. Note that the active verbs to
be considered are underlined.

People have claimed that they can not use tasks

successfully with beginner level students. I (1) designed
the following study so that I could investigate that claim.
I (2)created two groups of students, each with different
proficiency levels. I (3)gave them a task in which I
(4)showed them a set of pictures and (5)asked them to
tell a story. I (6)recorded them as they (7)spoke and then
I (8) examined their stories.
 People have claimed that they can not use tasks
successfully with beginner level students. The
following study (1)was designed so that I could
investigate that claim. Two groups of students
(2)were created, each with different proficiency
levels. (3)They were given a task/ A task was given
to them in which (4)They were shown a set of
pictures/ A set of picture was shown to them and
(5)They were asked to tell a story. They (6)were
recorded as they (7)spoke and then their stories (8)
were examined.
3. Agent and instrument.

1. Agent is identified as by-phrase ( by O ) in passive

sentence.

2. The agent is mentioned if the speaker want to draw

attention to it, but not is not mentioned if it is unknown,
general, obvious or unimportant.

Ex : - I was told by the Embassy that I wouldn’t need a visa.

- I was told I wouldn’t need a visa.
3. Agent and instrument.
by – phrase with – phrase

* For information about causes

and the method of doing
something.
Ex : - Flu is caused by a virus.
- The temperature can be
controlled by adjusting the
thermostat.

* For agent of action * For the thing used to perform the action.
Ex : The rescue was filmed by a Ex : The box was locked with a gold key.
man. ( Verbs : decorate, cover, align, associate,
crowd, fill, … )

* Show the action was * When something is used deliberately for a

accidental, no deliberate. purpose.
Ex : Two passengers were hit by Ex : During the robbery, the manager was hit
flying glass. with a baseball bat.
 Exercise : Fill in the blank with “ by “ or “ with “

1. The girl was bitten by a snake.

2. He was killed with a gun in a murder.
3. Flu can’t be cured by antibiotics.
4. The Christmas tree was decorated with lights.
5. The parked car was hit by a lorry.
6. The bottle was filled with full of water.
7. This project has been associated with Vingroup.
8. This boxes were handed to the customer by the shop assistant.
9. The cat had been fed by Ann before she went to the cinema.
10.That photo was taken with my iPhone last week.
 Passive infinitive
1. Verbs of asking, ordering, allowing etc

(like ask, request, tell, advise, persuade, require, order,

command, allow, forbid, expect, intend, mean, teach) can
usually be used in the passive with a following infinitive.
Eg:
I was asked to send a stamped addressed envelope.
She was told not to come back.
We are allowed to visit Harry once a week.
 Passive infinitive
2. Many verbs of thinking, saying etc
(like consider, presume, suppose, feel, imagine, believe,
think, understand, know, say, report) can be used in the
same way. With these verbs the subordinate clause
normally has a stative verb.
Eg: Smith is considered to be dangerous.
He is known to be violent.
 Passive infinitive
• With the verbs in this group, the exact infinitive structure (simple or perfect)
depends on whether the infinitive is simultaneous with the main verb or
previous in time. This can be best seen if we start with the that-structure.
 
Eg: It is known that she is a good actress.
~ She is known to be a good actress.
 
It was known that she was a good actress.
~ She was known to be a good actress.
 
It is known that she was a good actress.
~ She is known to have been a good actress.

It was known that she had been a good actress.

~ She was known to have been a good actress.
 Passive infinitive
3) Bare infinitive clauses with subject
A few causative verbs and verbs of perception are followed,
in the active, by an object and an infinitive without to.
Examples are see, hear, help, make. In the passive, the to-
infinitive is used instead of the bare infinitive.
Eg: I saw him come out of the house.
~ He was seen to come out of the house.
They made him tell the the truth.
~ He was made to tell the truth.
 Gerund passive
1) Verbs followed by gerunds in active sentences
can be followed by being in passive sentences.
Eg:
Active: I enjoyed taking the children to the zoo.
Passive : The children enjoyed being taken to the zoo
* Other verbs in this pattern include avoid, consider, delay,
deny, describe, imagine, remember, resent. (The verbs in this
group do not have corresponding meanings in active and
passive sentences.)
 Gerund passive
2) After some verbs of perceptions like: hear, see,
notice and other verbs like: send, show, bring,
catch, find, keep, gerund can be used in the
following form:
Active : S + V + O + V-ing
They saw him climbing over the fence.
Passive : S + be + Past participles + V-ing
He was seen climbing over the fence.
 Gerund passive
3) In participle clauses the (present or past) passive ing
form comes at the beginning of a clause and the subject
of the other clauses must be the same.
Eg: Before/After/On being told the truth, he fainted.
Having been dismissed, he decided to find a new job.
 Gerund passive
4) After adjectives, nouns, verbs which take the ing
form and also after prepositions, the ing form can be
used in the passive:
Eg: It’s lovely being told such good news.
It’s fun/a pleasure being helped by someone like you.
She often imagines being followed by someone
He didn’t look forward to being sent abroad on business.