Today we will learn how to build phrases in such a way as to emphasize the impact on any animate or inanimate object.
The article contains explanations of the rules and exercises.
Active, Passive Voice in English: Definition
What are active and passive voices? Active and Passive Voice are grammatical forms that determine how the object is related to the action, or how the effect produced is related to the object in the phrase. Present in every language. Known in English as:
- Active Voice.
- Passive voice.
Active, or the so-called real, voice is used most often: the author of the performed act is the subject, and the action itself is the predicate. The noun is active, since it itself makes an impact on someone or something.
Mike is doing his homework at the moment. Mike is doing his homework at the moment.
Passive Voice - passive, or the so-called Noun is used as an addition, and the action is used as a predicate, the impact is made on someone or something.
The homework is being done by Mike at the moment. - Homework is being done by Mike at the moment.
Usage options
The passive voice complicates the perception of the statement too much, so the excessive use of such a grammatical form is not very welcome. However, there are separate options when it is impossible to do without the use of the passive voice:
- The author of the performed act is unknown (the act was carried out anonymously, it is not clear by whom or what the impact was made):
This book was ripped yesterday. This book was torn yesterday.
- The author of the impact is not significant (the person who committed the impact is not important):
The project will be finished by tomorrow. - The project will be finished tomorrow.
- The author of the action is already clear (obvious from the context):
The burglar was arrested last month. - The burglar was arrested last month.
- We care about the action itself, but not the author (in news headlines and announcements, when we are interested in what happened, and not who arranged it):
The jazz concert will be held on Tuesday. - A jazz concert will be held on Tuesday.
- The action can be carried out by anyone (in recipes, instructions):
The milk is heated and added to the dough. - The milk is heated and added to the dough.
- In documents (in official announcements, abstracts):
This article is meant as an example of a research paper. - This article is presented as an example of a research paper.
Active and Passive Voice Exercises
Task 1. Determine which usage rules are found in the following phrases, connect the sentence number with the letter of the rule. There may be several options, as you can see from the picture.
Passive forms
Consider next the forms of the Passive Voice. The passive form of the predicate uses a part of speech denoting the action “to be” (“to be”) in the third person singular or plural of a certain time (for example, “is”, “are”) and the main (semantic) part of speech denoting the effect, in the third form.
The part of speech denoting the action "to be" changes into the corresponding form when the time in which the act of action is performed changes. The semantic part of speech denoting the impact remains unchanged: it is always used as In English, this form of the part of speech denoting the action is called Past Participle or Participle II.
Parts of speech denoting the action performed are divided into two types: correct and incorrect. The latter are exceptions to the grammatical rule for the formation of certain temporary forms.
The third form of the correct parts of speech denoting action looks similar to the past tense: -ed is added at the end:
- to love - loved;
- to play - played.
Irregular parts of speech denoting action have a special third form that must be remembered in each particular case. At the initial stage, you can use a special table of exceptions. But the most common parts of speech that indicate the action performed, which are quickly remembered, are incorrect:
- to drink - drunk;
- to eat - eaten.
The part of speech denoting the action "to be" in the passive voice goes through the same changes as the predicate in the active voice. Adverbs of time (including adverbs of frequency) are a good clue to determine the time of the impact.
When constructing questions, the part of speech denoting the action performed is placed before the subject. When asking a question, think first about the effect being carried out, and then about the object or subject on which it is being carried out.
In negatives, the particle "not" follows the auxiliary part of speech denoting the action "to be". Never make the most common mistake of putting the body of speech indicating impact before "not"! In this case, "not" comes before the main verb, she shares auxiliary and main verbs.
Passive voice and tenses
As we can observe, only the part of speech denoting the action “to be” changes. The main part of speech denoting the action does not change.
Another important observation is that not all tenses are present in the passive voice. In the following cases, they must be replaced:
- Present Perfect Continuous is replaced by:
He has been cooking this meal since 5 p.m. - This meal has been cooked since 5 p.m.
Translation: He has been preparing this meal since 5:00 pm. - The food was prepared from 17:00.
- Past Perfect Continuous is replaced by Past Perfect:
Peter had been doing the research for 3 months. - The research had been done for 3 months.
Translation: Peter did the research for 3 months. - The study was conducted for 3 months.
- Future Continuous is replaced by Future Simple:
Tomorrow at 2 o'clock Helen will be cleaning this apartment. - This apartment will be cleaned tomorrow at 2 o'clock.
Translation: Tomorrow at two o'clock Helen will be cleaning this apartment. This apartment will be cleaned tomorrow at two o'clock.
- Future Perfect Continuous is replaced by Future Perfect:
Mike will have been driving the truck for 2 years by next week. - The truck will have been driven for 2 years by next week.
Translation: Mike will be driving a truck for two years by next week. - The truck will be used for two years by next week.
Task 2. Put the verb "do" in the correct form.
Change of collateral
If you want to replace Active Voice - Passive Voice, that is, to convert a phrase in the active voice into a passive form, you need to remember the features of the grammatical structure of voices.
In an active voice phrase, the subject comes first, the predicate comes second, and the object comes at the end. In the passive voice, the object takes the place of the subject.
Replacing Active Voice - Passive Voice is carried out in several stages:
- Decide which noun is the subject and which is the object:
someone broke into their apartment yesterday.
- Determine at what time the impact is carried out:
In our version - Past Simple.
- At the beginning of the phrase, put an object (instead of the subject), use the semantic part of speech denoting the effect made in the third form and place the part of speech denoting the action “to be” in front of it in the required tense form:
Their apartment was broken into yesterday.
The presence of two objects increases the number of options for constructing a phrase in the passive voice:
Nick brought Kate a book. - Nick brought Kate a book.
- Kate was brought a book. A book has been brought to Kate.
- A book was brought to Kate. - The book was brought by Kate.
Both options are valid, but it's better to use the form where the subject is an animate pronoun.
Task 3. What voice is preferable to use in the following cases: Active Voice, Passive Voice?
Prepositions "by" and "with"
Additions are used in combination with these prepositions when it is necessary to mention who the author of the action is and in what ways the impact is carried out.
Sherlock Holmes was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. - Sherlock Holmes was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
The preposition "with" indicates in what ways (auxiliary materials or tools) the impact is performed:
The soup is mixed with a spoon. - The soup is stirred with a spoon.
The use of these prepositions is optional, with the exception of questions beginning with the words “who” (by whom?) And “what” (by what?).
Who was Hercule Poirot created by? - Who was created
What was the fire caused by? - What caused the fire?
In the formal style of speech, prepositions are often placed at the beginning of the phrase:
By what was the fire caused? - What caused the fire?
By whom was Hercule Poirot created? Who created Hercule Poirot?
With what is the soup stirred? - What's wrong with the soup?
Task 4. Put the verbs in the correct form Active and Passive Voice.
Modal verbs
How they work the Passive Voice and modal verbs - we will analyze further. Modal verbs are never used on their own, but only in combination with a part of speech denoting the effect produced, in an indefinite mood. If they are present in the description of the effect, in the passive voice the part of speech denoting the effect produced is transformed:
modal verb + "be" + Participle II
She might start research in July. (She may start research in July.) - Her research might be started in July.
We should fill in that form by hand. (We must fill out this form by hand.) - That form should be filled in by hand.
If the phrase contains the following parts of speech denoting impact:
- to hear (hear);
- to help (help);
- to make (in the meaning of "force");
- to see (see),
after the main and auxiliary verbs, there is another one in the indefinite mood (with the particle "to"):
I was made to clean the house. - They made me clean the house.
Mary will be helped to bake this cake. Mary will help bake this cake.
Greetings, my dear readers.
Doesn't it sound scary - "passive voice"? Questions immediately arise, what did he do that made him “suffer” so much? In reality, behind the proud name lies simply the grammatical phenomenon of "passive".
Okay, so be it, so that you better understand the topic and do not get confused in all these names - let's give it a separate lesson called the passive voice in English, or "passive" in the common people. Today we are waiting for the rules with examples and the education of this time. And then you can consolidate the theory and.
What it is
Let's immediately understand what a "passive voice" is with examples.
I cooked the dinner.- I cooked dinner.
From this sentence, it becomes clear that the action is performed by a certain person, that is, me. It turns out that this is a valid voice, or all those sentences and that we usually use.
The passive voice in our case will look like this:
The dinner was cooked.- Dinner is ready.
Notice that now in the first place we have the very fact that dinner was prepared. That is, there is no need to mention who did it.
This is the phenomenon when you completely no need to specify who is doing the action, or it is necessary to put the action itself in the first place, and the passive is used.
How to translate
Of course, many immediately have a question: how to translate such sentences. And my answer to you is - like the usual ones, we just do not indicate the actor.
The walls were painted yesterday.- The walls were painted yesterday.
New sports center will be opened next month.- A new sports center will open next month.
The dinner hadn't been made by the time I got home. By the time I got home, dinner wasn't ready yet.
How is formed
- In short, the structure of the passive voice is as follows:
Subject + auxiliary verb (to be) + third form verb (V3) + object.
Depending on the time in which the sentence is built, the verb “to be” will change its form. The table below shows how this is done.
The car was broken in an accident.- The car crashed.
The meeting is being held in room 13.- The meeting is in room 13.
The car had been repaired.- They fixed the car.
- In the structure of a negative sentence, a particle is added not to the auxiliary verb.
Subject + auxiliary verb (to be) + not + third form verb (V3) + object.
The room wasn't (was not) cleaned.- The room was not cleaned.
The house wasn't (was not) decorated yet. The house hasn't been decorated yet.
The thieves weren't (were not) caught yet.- The thieves haven't been caught yet.
- In interrogative sentences, the auxiliary verb and subject are reversed.
Auxiliary verb (to be) + subject + third form verb (V3) + object?
Was the television repaired?- Did you fix the TV?
Was the report written?- Have you written a report?
Have the photos been printed?- Have the photos been printed?
You may have noticed that even in the passive voice they must be used correctly, so I have a table for you that will help you remember and quickly navigate the use of tenses (click on the image to enlarge).
I think you noticed that the Future Continuous form of the passive does not exist. If, nevertheless, it becomes necessary to express the duration in the future, then the usual Future Simple will be used.
The same goes for compound tenses: Present Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous and Future Perfect Continuous. There are no passive constructions in them! Use Perfect tenses instead!
Usage rules and examples
The use of passives can be characterized by the following rules:
- When the person performing the action is not known to us, not important or obvious.
Mr. Samson's jewelry was stolen last night.- Mrs. Samson's jewelry was stolen yesterday.
Feel the difference:
The thieves stole Samson's jewelry last night. Thieves stole Mrs. Samson's jewelry last night.
In the passive, it is already obvious to us who did it, and there is no need to say obvious things. Let's see one more example.
The brakes of the car were tested.- The brakes of the car were checked.
Compare:
The mechanic tested the brakes of the car.- The mechanic checked the brakes of the car.
After all, it was already obvious that the brakes of the car were checked by a mechanic. That is why the passive looks much more relevant here.
Mercedes cars are made in Germany. - Mercedes cars are made in Germany.
Mercedes Benz make their cars in Germany.- Mercedes Benz manufactures its cars in Germany.
A completely similar situation, when naming a character, does not make any sense.
If you like to learn English in a fun and effective way, then register with Lingualeo - there is a lot of interesting and free material (simulators, dictionaries, lessons). By the way, there you can take paid specialized courses for different needs. For example, the course « Irregular Verbs» will help you quickly and spontaneously memorize the forms of basic and frequently used irregular verbs in English and learn about some of the features of their use.
- When the action itself is more important than the one who performs it.
Two families were seriously injured in a car accident last night.-Last night, two families were seriously injured in a car accident.
Besides, the passive voice is very often used in formal English, but the real voice is in both variants.
If you want to learn more about the grammatical aspects of the English language in theory and practice, go to mine - there you will find the basic rules and a practical part for each of them.
On this, my dear, we will end our lesson. You can find more information in the video tutorial. But still remember that the best tactic for memorizing new topics is lots and lots of practice. Therefore, we have ahead of us, as well as even more materials and usefulness.
See you soon my loves ;)
AT active pledge the subject denotes the performer of the action, the person or object performing the described action, and the one to whom the action is directed, the so-called. “action receiver” in a sentence is an object.
Most offers have a valid deposit.
Offers active voice in English
doer of action + I form of verb + receiver of action
For example:
The professor teaches the students.
The professor teaches students.
John washes the dishes.
John is washing the dishes.
Passive voice (Passive Voice)
AT passive voice the subject is a person or thing that is affected by another person or thing. In other words, the performer and recipient of the action are swapped, although the performer of the action may not be specified.
Offers passive voice in English are formed as follows:
action recipient + be + past participle
For example:
The students are taught.
Students are taught.
The dishes are washed.
The dishes are washed.
The passive voice is used:
1. Mainly in cases where the performer of the action is not mentioned in the proposal; he is either unknown, or the speaker does not consider it necessary to report him.
For example:
Is English spoken in many countries?
Is English spoken in many countries?
That book was written a few years ago.
This book was written several years ago.
2. When the performer of the action, although mentioned in the sentence, is not in the center of the speaker's attention; a noun or pronoun expressing the given of the performer of the action is introduced by the preposition by. Please note that in the active voice the performer of the action was the subject, in the passive voice it becomes the object.
For example:
The students are taught by the professor.
Professor teaches students.
The dishes are washed by John.
John does the dishes.
Also, in the sentence of the passive voice, another object can be used, attached by the preposition with, and describing how the action is performed, for example:
The dishes are washed with a bar of soap.
Dishes are washed with a bar of soap.
In English, the scope of the use of verbs in the passive voice is much wider than in Russian. So, any verb that takes a direct or indirect object can be used in the passive voice.
For example:
I gave him a book. (I gave him the book.)
A book was given to him. (The book was given to him.) = He was given a book. (He was given a book.)
They showed me a beautiful picture. (They showed me a beautiful picture.)
A beautiful picture was shown to me. (A beautiful picture was shown to me.) = I was shown a beautiful picture. (I was shown a beautiful picture.)
In English, in the passive voice, verbs that take a prepositional object can be used (for example: to attend to, to send for, and etc.). The proposed object is used as the subject of the passive phrase, and the preposition comes directly after the verb.
For example:
She went after him. – He was gone after.
She followed him. - Follow him.
Ways to translate the passive voice into Russian
There are three ways to translate the passive voice into Russian:
1. With the help of the verb “ to be” + a short participle, for example:
Were his books translated into Russian?
Were whether his books translated into Russian?
2. Verbs ending in -sya, for example:
Letters are delivered by mailmen.
Letters delivered postmen.
3. Indefinitely personal turnover (this method of translation is possible in cases where the performer of the action is not mentioned in the English sentence), for example:
They were taught French last year.
Them taught French last year.
Examples of active and passive voice
The table below shows examples of active and passive voice in all possible tenses. Note that the passive voice is not used in the Present Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous, Future Perfect Continuous, and Future Continuous tenses.
| Active voice | Passive voice | |
| present simple | Once a week, Tom cleans the house. | Once a week, the house is cleaned by Tom. |
| Present Continuous | Right now, Sarah is writing the letter. | right now, the letter is being written by Sarah. |
| past simple | Sam repaired the car. | The car was repaired by Sam. |
| Past continuous | The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the store. | The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the store. |
| Present Perfect | Many tourists have visited that castle. | That castle has been visited by many tourists. |
| Present Perfect Continuous | Recently, John has been doing the work. | |
| past perfect | George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license. | many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's license. |
| Past Perfect Continuous | Chef Jones had been preparing the restaurant's fantastic dinners for two years before he moved to Paris. | |
| Future Simple will | Someone will finish the work by 5:00 PM. | The work will be finished by 5:00 PM. |
| Future Simple be going to | Sally is going to make a beautiful dinner tonight. | A beautiful dinner is going to be made by Sally tonight. |
| Future Continuous | At 8:00 PM tonight, John will be washing the dishes. | |
| Future Perfect | they will have completed the project before the deadline. | The project will have been completed before the deadline. |
| Future Perfect Continuous | The famous artist will have been painting the mural for over six months by the time it is finished. | |
| used to | Jerry used to pay the bills. | The bills used to be paid by Jerry. |
| would always | my mother would always make the pies. | The pies would always be made by my mother. |
| Future in the Past | I knew John would finish the work by 5:00 PM. | I knew the work would be finished by 5:00 PM. |
The passive voice in English or Passive Voice serves to emphasize that the subject does not perform any action. Wait, you say, but what about the predicate, which is always in English sentences? The secret is that the action it expresses is directed to the subject by some other performer. We don't really care if it's listed or not.
Do not be afraid of this linguistic phenomenon - it is very logical and even - let's not be afraid of this word - simple. Passive Voice in English is formed using a verb to be, which must be agreed with the subject in number, person and tense, and the third form of the semantic verb ( V3).
You are very lucky: unlike the active - Active Voice, the passive voice boasts only ten tenses:
- Present Simple: am/is/are + V3The flowers are watered twice a week— Flowers are watered twice a week.
- Present continuous: am/is/are + being + V3The student is being listened to attentively at the moment The student is being listened to attentively at the moment.
- Present Perfect: have/has + been + V3The pictures have been painted this week The pictures were drawn this week.
- past simple: was/were + V3The village was built in 1658 The village was built in 1658.
- Past Continuous: was/were + being + V3
Children were being played with at 10 in the morning yesterday— Yesterday at 10 in the morning we played with the children. - Past perfect: had + been + V3The road had been destroyed before the troops entered the city— The road was destroyed before the troops entered the city.
- Future Simple: shall/will + be + V3A new movie theater will be built here in a year A new cinema will be built here in a year.
- Future Perfect: shall/will + have + been + V3All the work in the garden will have been finished by 3 p.m. All work in the garden will be finished by three o'clock.
- Future-in-the-Past Simple: should/would + be + V3He said that a new servant would be brought to the house the following week He said that a new servant would be brought into the house next week.
- Future-in-the-Past Perfect: should/would + have + been + V3We were informed that the contest would have been interrupted by 3 o'clock— We were informed that the competition would be interrupted by three o'clock.
The passive voice in English has wide scope of use: in addition to colloquial constructions, Passive can often be found in scientific literature, instructions, textbooks, etc. Keep in mind that:
- To form an interrogative sentence, you will need to move the auxiliary verb to a position before the subject:
Will the cake be eaten at once or in a few days? Will the cake be eaten immediately or in a few days?
- For the negative form, it is enough to put the particle not after the auxiliary verb:
The hospital was not reconstructed after the Great Patriotic War— After the Great Patriotic War, the hospital was not rebuilt.
The passive voice arsenal will also allow you to build sentences with modal verbs and even in an imperative mood! However, be careful. Don't get confused by word order:
Go away from the firing range, you can be killed - Leave the range, you can be killed.
Drop back or be captured! “Retreat or be taken prisoner!”
What to do if it is necessary to mention the performer of the action in the proposal? Here are suggestions to help you:
- by- for an animated figure:
The letter was written by my mother The letter was written by my mother.
- with- for the instrument with which the action is performed:
The tea will be stirred with a spoon
— The tea is stirred with a spoon.
And finally, let's discuss the difficult points that will have to be memorized and practiced in writing and in speech:
- In English, many verbs require a specific excuse and with them form Prepositional Passive, and this preposition does not disappear anywhere:
She is spoken of as a woman of great talents- She is spoken of as a woman of great talents.
The surgeon has been just sent for “The surgeon has just been sent for. - Verbs to sell- sell, to wash- wash, to peel- peel off the skin to crease- wrinkle to wear- wear, to bake- bake, to burn- burn is used in an active form, although they will be translated into their native language in a passive form:
The blouse washes and wears well— The blouse is well washed and worn.
The fairy tales of this author sell well— Fairy tales by this author sell well - Remember a group of verbs that are not used in Passive Voice: to seem- seem to lack- lack to become- become to fit- suit, to suit- to arrange to resemble- remind:
Mary resembles her grandmother Jane Mary looks like her grandmother Jane.
they seem to read a lot of science fiction They seem to read a lot of science fiction.
Summarize. The passive voice in English is fraught with many traps that are easy to fall into. First of all, you need to realize that the subject does not perform any action, but is subject to it. Then you need to choose the appropriate tense form and take care of the prepositions. Finally, check the exclusion lists, just in case. Good luck!
