There are two voices in English: active and passive. Passive voice ( Passive Voice) in English is otherwise called passive, and the real (Active Voice) is called active.
When is it appropriate to use one or the other pledge? It is important to understand the difference between passive and active voice.
How to distinguish between passive and active voice?
If a subject refers to the thing or person doing the action , then the verb is used in the active form.
🔊 I write letters to my friend in Moscow.
I writing letters to my friend in Moscow.
If a action is performed on the subject , then the verb is used in the passive form.
Prepositions in the passive voice
Exist marker words that highlight passive voice , are suggestions by and with. See Table 1 below for details of their use.
It is worth noting that the passive voice in English is used more often than in Russian. Tenses in the passive voice are chosen according to the same principles as in the real voice.. We will consider the formation of tenses in the following articles.
In what other cases is the passive voice used?
- If the narrator does not know or does not care who performed the action.
🔊 Some sculptures were stolen from an exhibition last weekend.
sculptures were stolen from the show last weekend.
- If the subject matter or process is more important than actor.
🔊 The forest was destroyed by fire.
Forest was destroyed fire.
- If you intentionally do not want to point out the one who performed the action.
🔊 The balloon has been burst.
The balloon burst.
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 being performed 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:
Item + auxiliary(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 structure 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 difficult times: 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 the ir 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 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 practical part for each of them.
On this, my dear, we will end our lesson. More more information you can find 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 ;)
We would like to start this article by telling you that the passive voice in English is not as difficult to understand as you might think. We actually sympathize with this poor passive structure, as many people hate it.
All you need is a good command and knowledge of the past participle in order to build a beautiful sentence using Passive voice in English.
In this article, you can independently study the passive voice in English (passive voice). You will also learn how the passive voice is formed in English and how to use it. Understand the difference between active and passive voice. Consider a table to compare the active voice and the passive voice, using the appropriate tense.
Active Voice in English
Let's first find out what is a pledge in English?
Pledge is a form of the verb that indicates whether the subject action performs (= active voice) or affects it (= passive voice).
The active voice is the most commonly used in English. And when you think about it, it tends to be much simpler than passive sentences.
We must see the characteristics of this form.
active voice:
- The active subject is at the beginning of the sentence.
- The subject is followed by a verb and an object.
- We can say that the verb is active.
- Active voice clearly tells us who performed the action.
Active voice sentence structure:
Subject + Verb + Object
Example with explanation:
- My daughter has won the prize - My daughter won the prize.
In the above sentence we have subject(my daughter) verb(has won't) addition(prize).
What sentence would you use everyday speech?
- I ate breakfast / the breakfast was eaten by me - I ate breakfast / breakfast was eaten by me.
- They will buy a yacht / the yacht will be bought - They will buy a yacht / the yacht will be bought.
The answer is obvious. However, in some cases it is better to use passive voice. A little later, you will learn exactly when to use the passive voice in English.
What is the passive voice in English?
The passive voice in English is used when the person or thing taking the action is more important than the person or thing doing the action.
Simply put, when we say what a person or thing does, we use Active verb forms. When we say what happened to a person or thing, we often use passive verb forms.
Let's start with how the passive voice is formed.
Formation of the passive voice
The passive voice is formed with the verb in the right tense to be + past participle(past participle or regular verb with the ending -ed). Let's look again at how the passive voice is formed.
The passive voice formula in English:
Passive voice — Table
The table shows the active and passive voice in English. Compare the two examples, paying attention to the underlined words.
| Active Voice | Passive Voice | |
| present simple | They take the photos in Belarus. | The photos are taken in Belarus. |
| Present Continuous | They are taking the photos in Belarus. | The photos are being taken in Belarus. |
| past simple | They took the photos in Belarus. | The photos were taken in Belarus. |
| past continuous | They were taking the photos in Belarus. | The photos were being taken in Belarus. |
| Future Simple | They will take the photos in Belarus. | The photos will be taken in Belarus. |
| Present Perfect | They have taken the photos in Belarus. | The photos have been taken in Belarus. |
| past perfect | They had taken the photos in Belarus. | The photos had been taken in Belarus. |
| Future Perfect | They will have taken the photos in Belarus. | The photos will have been taken in Belarus. |
| Infinitive + to | They used to take the photos in Belarus. | The photos used to be taken in Belarus. |
| Perfect Infinitive | They should have taken the photos in Belarus. | The photos should have been taken in Belarus. |
| -ing form | They talked about taking the photos in Belarus. | They talked about photos being taken in Belarus. |
| Modals + be + p.p | You must take the photos in Belarus. | The photos must be taken in Belarus. |
The windows have been broken Not(the windows have broken).
- 3. Use Present Participle instead of Past Participle
— Someone has broken the windows —>
- The windows have been broken NOT (the windows has been breaking).
- 4. Confuse the plural and singular.
Someone- unit h so after it goes verb has reported.
The windows – plural so we have to say have been broken Not(the windows has been...).
Verbs that cannot be used in the passive
Not all verbs are used in the passive voice. Passive structures are not possible with such as die, cry, arrive which do not have padding (object).
- She died last year - She died last year.
- My baby cried - My baby cried.
Some are also rarely used in the passive. Most of these verbs express a state, not an action.
Examples: have, resemble, lack, etc.:
- I have a flat in the countryside - I have an apartment in the countryside. ( Not A flat is had by me).
- My jacket doesn't fit me - My jacket doesn't fit me. ( Not I'm not fitted by my jacket).
Some prepositional verbs are more commonly used in the asset.
Examples: agree with and walk into:
- I walked into the room Not The room was walked into by me).
- He agreed with his mother ( Not He was agreed with his mother).
When not to use Passive voice in English?
Many students of the passive begin to ‘abuse’ the passive. Here is the important point:
Don't use the passive voice unless you have a reason to.
Here, for example, if you use a passive, especially when writing, think about why you will use passive. Do you need to use it to highlight the beginning of a sentence? Or sound polite and formal? Do you want to highlight the action, and no one performed it? If not, then don't use Passive Voice.
By using the passive, your sentences will be long and complex.
Watch the passive voice video and listen to how the passive voice is used in TV shows.
We have analyzed what the real and passive voice is in English and when exactly to use it in speech. As you understand, the active and passive voice in English has its own characteristics.
Of course, active voice is more common, but having learned the rules of the passive voice, now you can easily understand any text. Learning the passive voice will be difficult if you leave it aside for a long time. But if from time to time to repeat the table and the use at the same time also use this rule in speech, then the rule will have no choice but to obey you and stay with you forever!
Passive voice exercises
Do passive voice exercises. Your task will be to open the brackets in the passive voice, if you find it difficult to answer, do not hesitate to look at the table.
P.S.
Since many people may forget to put dots in the test, we did not use them, so they do not need to be put. If you put a dot, then the score will not be counted.
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. Thus, any verb that takes a direct or indirect addition, 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 “ 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, in English sentence the performer of the action is not mentioned), for example:
They were taught French last year.
Them taught French last year.
Examples of active and passive voice
The following table shows examples of active and passive voice in all possible tenses. Note that the passive voice is not used in tenses present Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous, Future Perfect Continuous and Future Continuous.
| 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. |
