Passive Voice

THE PASSIVE VOICE

What is the passive voice?

"Voice" is a grammatical category that applies to verbs. Voice in English expresses the relationship of the subject to the action.

1. Active Voice

Passive voice means that the subject does the action.

In general, the active voice makes your writing stronger, more direct, and, you guessed it, more active. The subject is something, or it does the action of the verb in the sentence.

2. Passive Voice

Passive voice means that a subject is a recipient of a verb’s action.
You may have learned that the passive voice is weak and incorrect, but it isn’t that simple. When used correctly and in moderation, the passive voice is fine. In English grammar, verbs have five properties: voice, mood, tense, person, and number; here, we are concerned with voice. The two grammatical voices are active and passive.

How to Form the Passive

The passive voice in English is composed of two elements : the appropriate form of the verb 'to be' + the past participle of the verb:

Subject verb 'to be' past participle

The house

was

built ...


 

Examples

to clean

Subject verb 'to be' past participle

Simple present:

The house

is

cleaned every day.

 
 

Present continuous:

The house

is being

cleaned at the moment.

 
 
 

Simple past:

The house

was

cleaned yesterday.

 
 
 

Past continuous:

The house

was being

cleaned last week.

 
 
 

Present perfect:

The house

has been

cleaned since you left.

 
 
 

Past perfect:

The house

had been

cleaned before their arrival.

 
 
 

Future:

The house

will be

cleaned next week.

 
 
 

Future continuous:

The house

will be being

cleaned tomorrow.

 
 
 

Present conditional:

The house

would be

cleaned if they had visitors.

 
 
 

Past conditional:

The house

would have been

cleaned if it had been dirty.

NOTE: 'to be born' is a passive form and is most commonly used in the past tense:

  • I was born in 1976. When were you born?
  • BUT: Around 100 babies are born in this hospital every week.

Infinitive form:

infinitive of 'to be' + past participle: (to) be cleaned

This form is used after modal verbs and other verbs normally followed by an infinitive, e.g.

  • You have to be tested on your English grammar
  • John might be promoted next year.
  • She wants to be invited to the party.

Gerund or -ing form:

being + past participle: being cleaned

This form is used after prepositions and verbs normally followed by a gerund

Examples

  • Most film stars hate being interviewed.
  • I remember being taught to drive.
  • The children are excited about being taken to the zoo.

NOTE: Sometimes the passive is formed using the verb to get instead of the verb to be:

  • He got arrested for dangerous driving.
  • They're getting married later this year.
  • I'm not sure how the window got broken.