We
already know that sentence structure in English, as well as many other
languages, is formed in the following order:
Subject
+ Verb + Object - Right?
Well,
this structure we refer to as the active voice. Sometimes we need to
use a different structure in which the object is emphasized and it
takes the place of the subject. This is referred to as the
passive voice.
In
this lesson we will examine the difference between active and passive.
We also will look at when, why, and how the passive is formed.
What
is the passive voice?
The
passive voice may pose some difficulties not in forming it, but in
using it. Many may find it difficult to decide when the passive
voice may be used. One of the reasons why this difficulty exists is
that there aren't many languages that use passive voice, and in those
languages that do, the passive is formed somewhat differently.
By
now we certainly know that English uses subject-verb-object format. In
this structure, the subject is the main focus and the object is the
secondary focus of the sentence. For example, if "Maria
drew a picture". Maria is the main focus of the sentence and a
picture is the secondary focus.
To
explain this further, it is a good idea to think of action sentences
like the above in terms of a doer and a receiver.
In
the sentence above, the doer is Maria because she did the action; and
the receiver is the picture because it received the action. If we need
to emphasize the object of the sentence, we use it first. The
sentence then will be: "A picture was drawn by Maria." In
this sentence, the doer of the action (Maria) becomes unimportant and
secondary. The focus is on the receiver (a picture).
In
addition to focusing on the object or the receiver of the action,
there is another reason why the passive voice is used. Sometimes we
may need to hide the doer, not mention who did the action at all.
This is often done in advertising. Advertisers often tell us that a
particular product was proven to be the best or number one, but they
never tell us who proved it.
We
will see this in more detail later.
How
is the passive voice formed?
First
let us compare the following sets of sentences:
Active:
- Maria ate the
sandwich.
- Hillary wrote a
book
- The Queen of
England visited Egypt.
- Doctors found a
cure for the flu.
Passive:
- The sandwich was
eaten by Maria.
- A book was
written by Hillary.
- Egypt was
visited by the Queen of England
- A cure for the
flu was found by doctors.
Now
that you looked at these sentences, what do the passive sentences have
in common? Read them again slowly before you answer the question.
Did
you find the similarities? Well, here they are, all the passive
sentences have verb to be and a main verb in the past participles.
BE
+ Past Participle of a verb
So,
it is safe to say that using verb to be and a verb in the past
participle creates the passive voice.
- WAS
+ BROKEN
- HAS
BEEN + WRITTEN
- HAVE
BEEN + SEEN
- HAD
BEEN + PAINTED
The
steps we take to form the passive:
- (1) Emphasize
the object of the sentence by making it the subject.
- To change the
active sentence "Maria ate the sandwich" to passive, we
need to start the sentence with "The sandwich..."
-
- (2) Make the
subject of the active sentence an object in the passive.
- "The
sandwich ...........Maria."
-
- (3) Add the
preposition 'by' before the new object.
- "The
sandwich ........by Maria."
-
- (4) Decide what
tense the main verb is in, and use verb to be in the same tense.
- In the sentence
"Maria ate the sandwich," the verb ate is in the past
tense. Therefore, I use verb to be in the past tense.
- "The
sandwich was ..... by Maria."
-
- (5) Finally,
change the main verb to the past participle.
- Here the main
verb is 'eat' and the past participle is 'eaten'.
- So the new
passive sentence will be:
- The sandwich was
eaten by Maria.
Just
for more practice, let us assume various tenses.
- (1)
Active: Maria
has eaten the sandwich.
-
Passive: The sandwich has been eaten by Maria.
-
- (2)
Active: Maria
had eaten the sandwich.
-
Passive: The sandwich had been eaten by Maria.
-
- (3)
Active: Maria
will be eating the sandwich.
-
Passive: The sandwich will be eaten by Maria.
-
- (4)
Active: Maria
is eating the sandwich.
-
Passive: The sandwich is being eaten by Maria
This
last sentence can be confusing. Let us analyze it.
In
the active, the verb 'eat' is in the present continuous; so, we need
verb to be in the present continuous. Surely you remember that
the continuous is formed by using verb to be + the verb ending in -ing.
This means that verb 'to be' in the present continuous is (is being).
Then we use the past participle of the main verb, so the phrase will
be 'is being' eaten.
If
you are still confused, don't worry. The exercises that will
follow will clarify this for you.
Let
us practice:
Change
the following active sentences into passive. Follow the steps
outlined above.
- 1-
Juan broke the window.
- 2-
Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa.
- 3-
The mechanic fixed the car.
- 4-
Maria cooked dinner.
- 5-
The student wrote the essay.
How
did you do? Very well, I am sure.
Now
compare your responses to mine.
Passive:
- 1-
The window was broken by Juan.
- 2-
The Mona Lisa was painted by da Vinci.
- 3-
The car was fixed by the mechanic.
- 4-
Dinner was cooked by Maria.
- 5-
The essay was written by the student.
Please
note:
The
passive form is not desirable in English writing. It is always better
and more effective to write active sentences.
However,
sometimes using the passive is necessary. This happens in
sentences that do not have an explicit or known doer. In fact, more
than 85 percent of the commonly used passive is used when the sentence
does not have an explicit doer.
For
example:
Grapes
are grown in the valley.
Notice
that there is no doer in this sentence. Of course the doer is implied
as the farmers or the people of the valley, but is not stated.
Here
are some other examples of sentences in the passive because they do
not have an explicit doer:
- -The freeway
construction will be completed in July.
- -Maria's car was
stolen.
- -The papers have
been destroyed.
- -John was hurt
in the accident.
- -The star can be
seen from the balcony.
- -Mr. John should
be elected mayor.
- -More hospitals
should be built.
Notice
that all the sentences above have no doer. So, again, we use the
passive when there is no explicit doer.
