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DINAR FATIMAH
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12213543
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1EA21
The Passive Voice
Passive
and Active Voices
Verbs are also said to be either active
(The executive committee approved the new policy) or passive (The new
policy was approved by the executive committee) in voice. In the active voice,
the subject and verb relationship is straightforward: the subject is a be-er or
a do-er and the verb moves the sentence along. In the passive voice, the
subject of the sentence is neither a do-er or a be-er, but is acted upon by
some other agent or by something unnamed (The new policy was approved).
Computerized grammar checkers can pick out a passive voice construction from
miles away and ask you to revise it to a more active construction. There is
nothing inherently wrong with the passive voice, but if you can say the same
thing in the active mode, do so (see exceptions below). Your text will have
more pizzazz as a result, since passive verb constructions tend to lie about in
their pajamas and avoid actual work.
We find an overabundance of the
passive voice in sentences created by self-protective business interests,
magniloquent educators, and bombastic military writers (who must get weary of
this accusation), who use the passive voice to avoid responsibility for actions
taken. Thus "Cigarette ads were designed to appeal especially to
children" places the burden on the ads — as opposed to "We designed
the cigarette ads to appeal especially to children," in which
"we" accepts responsibility. At a White House press briefing we might
hear that "The President was advised that certain members of Congress were
being audited" rather than "The Head of the Internal Revenue service
advised the President that her agency was auditing certain members of
Congress" because the passive construction avoids responsibility for
advising and for auditing. One further caution about the passive voice: we
should not mix active and passive constructions in the same sentence: "The
executive committee approved the new policy, and the calendar for next year's
meetings was revised" should be recast as "The executive committee
approved the new policy and revised the calendar for next year's meeting."
Take the quiz (below) as an exercise
in recognizing and changing passive verbs.
The passive voice does exist for a
reason, however, and its presence is not always to be despised. The passive is
particularly useful (even recommended) in two situations:
- When it is more important to draw our attention to the person or thing acted upon: The unidentified victim was apparently struck during the early morning hours.
- When the actor in the situation is not important: The aurora borealis can be observed in the early morning hours.
The passive voice is especially
helpful (and even regarded as mandatory) in scientific or technical writing or
lab reports, where the actor is not really important but the process or
principle being described is of ultimate importance. Instead of writing "I
poured 20 cc of acid into the beaker," we would write "Twenty cc of
acid is/was poured into the beaker." The passive voice is also useful when
describing, say, a mechanical process in which the details of process are much
more important than anyone's taking responsibility for the action: "The
first coat of primer paint is applied immediately after the acid rinse."
We use the passive voice to good
effect in a paragraph in which we wish to shift emphasis from what was the
object in a first sentence to what becomes the subject in subsequent sentences.
The executive committee approved an entirely new policy for dealing with academic suspension and
withdrawal. The policy had been written by a
subcommittee on student behavior. If students withdraw from course work before
suspension can take effect, the policy states, a mark of "IW" . . . .
The paragraph is clearly about this
new policy so it is appropriate that policy move from being the object
in the first sentence to being the subject of the second sentence. The passive
voice allows for this transition.†
Passive
Verb Formation
The passive forms of a verb are
created by combining a form of the "to be verb" with the past participle
of the main verb. Other helping verbs are also sometimes present: "The
measure could have been killed in
committee." The passive can be used, also, in various tenses. Let's take a
look at the passive forms of "design."
|
Tense
|
Subject
|
Auxiliary
|
Past
Participle |
|
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
|||
|
Present
|
The car/cars
|
is
|
are
|
designed.
|
|
Present perfect
|
The car/cars
|
has been
|
have been
|
designed.
|
|
Past
|
The car/cars
|
was
|
were
|
designed.
|
|
Past perfect
|
The car/cars
|
had been
|
had been
|
designed.
|
|
Future
|
The car/cars
|
will be
|
will be
|
designed.
|
|
Future perfect
|
The car/cars
|
will have been
|
will have been
|
designed.
|
|
Present progressive
|
The car/cars
|
is being
|
are being
|
designed.
|
|
Past progressive
|
The car/cars
|
was being
|
were being
|
designed.
|
A sentence cast in the passive voice
will not always include an agent of the action. For instance if a gorilla crushes a tin can,
we could say "The tin can was crushed by the
gorilla." But a perfectly good sentence would leave out the
gorilla: "The tin can was crushed." Also, when an active sentence
with an indirect object is recast in the passive, the indirect object can take
on the role of subject in the passive sentence:
|
Active
|
Professor Villa gave Jorge an A.
|
|
Passive
|
An A was given to Jorge by Professor Villa.
|
|
Passive
|
Jorge was given an A.
|
Only transitive verbs (those that
take objects) can be transformed into passive constructions. Furthermore,
active sentences containing certain verbs cannot be transformed into passive
structures. To have is the most important of these verbs. We can say
"He has a new car," but we cannot say "A new car is had by
him." We can say "Josefina lacked finesse," but we cannot say
"Finesse was lacked." Here is a brief list of such verbs*:
|
resemble
|
look like
|
equal
|
agree with
|
|
mean
|
contain
|
hold
|
comprise
|
|
lack
|
suit
|
fit
|
become
|
Verbals or verb forms
can also take on features of the passive voice. An infinitive phrase in the
passive voice, for instance, can perform various functions within a
sentence (just like the active forms of the infinitive).
- Subject: To be elected by my peers is a great honor.
- Object: That child really likes to be read to by her mother.
- Modifier: Grasso was the first woman to be elected governor in her own right.
The same is true of passive
gerunds.
- Subject: Being elected by my peers was a great thrill.
- Object: I really don't like being lectured to by my boss.
- Object of preposition: I am so tired of being lectured to by my boss.
With passive participles,
part of the passive construction is often omitted, the result being a simple
modifying participial phrase.
- [
Having been] designed for off-road performance, the Pathseeker does not always behave well on paved highways.
Use
of Passive
Passive
voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not
known, however, who or what is performing the action.
Example: My
bike was stolen.
In the
example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know,
however, who did it.
Sometimes a
statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example
shows:
Example: A
mistake was made.
In this
case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone
(e.g. You have made a mistake.).
Form of Passive
Subject +
finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs)
Example: A
letter was written.
When
rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:
- the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
- the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
- the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)
Examples of Passive
|
Tense
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Object
|
|
|
Simple Present
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
writes
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
is written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Simple Past
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
wrote
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
was written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Present Perfect
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
has written
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
has been written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Future I
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
will write
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
will be written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Hilfsverben
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
can write
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
can be written
|
by Rita.
|
|
Examples of Passive
|
Tense
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Object
|
|
|
Present Progressive
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
is writing
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
is being written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Past Progressive
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
was writing
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
was being written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Past Perfect
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
had written
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
had been written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Future II
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
will have written
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
will have been written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Conditional I
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
would write
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
would be written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Conditional II
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
would have written
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
would have been written
|
by Rita.
|
|
Passive Sentences with Two Objects
Rewriting an
active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two
objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to
transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.
|
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Object
1
|
Object
2
|
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
wrote
|
a letter
|
to me.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
was written
|
to me
|
by Rita.
|
|
Passive:
|
I
|
was written
|
a letter
|
by Rita.
|
.
As you can
see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. That’s
why it is usually dropped.
Personal and Impersonal Passive
Personal
Passive simply
means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive
sentence. So every verb that needs an object (transitive verb) can form a
personal passive.
Example:
They build houses. – Houses are built.
Verbs
without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive
sentence (as there is no object that can become the subject of the passive
sentence). If you want to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you need
an impersonal construction – therefore this passive is called Impersonal
Passive.
Example: he
says – it is said
Impersonal
Passive is not as
common in English as in some other languages (e.g. German, Latin). In English, Impersonal
Passive is only possible with verbs of perception (e. g. say, think,
know).
Example:
They say that women live longer than men. – It is said that women live longer
than men.
Although Impersonal
Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.
Example:
They say that women live longer than men. – Women are said to live longer than
men.
The subject
of the subordinate clause (women) goes to the beginning of the sentence; the
verb of perception is put into passive voice. The rest of the sentence is added
using an infinitive construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary verbs and that
are dropped).
Sometimes
the term Personal Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect
object of an active sentence is to become the subject of the passive sentence
Passive Voice
Use of Passive
Passive
voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not
known, however, who or what is performing the action.
Example: My
bike was stolen.
In the
example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know,
however, who did it.
Sometimes a
statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example
shows:
Example: A
mistake was made.
In this
case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone
(e.g. You have made a mistake.).
Form of Passive
Subject +
finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular
verbs)
Example: A
letter was written.
When
rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:
- the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
- the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
- the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)
Examples of Passive
|
Tense
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Object
|
|
|
Simple Present
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
writes
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
is written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Simple Past
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
wrote
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
was written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Present Perfect
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
has written
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
has been written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Future I
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
will write
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
will be written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Hilfsverben
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
can write
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
can be written
|
by Rita.
|
|
Examples of Passive
|
Tense
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Object
|
|
|
Present Progressive
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
is writing
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
is being written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Past Progressive
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
was writing
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
was being written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Past Perfect
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
had written
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
had been written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Future II
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
will have written
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
will have been written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Conditional I
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
would write
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
would be written
|
by Rita.
|
|
|
Conditional II
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
would have written
|
a letter.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
would have been written
|
by Rita.
|
|
Passive Sentences with Two Objects
Rewriting an
active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two
objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to
transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.
|
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Object
1
|
Object
2
|
|
Active:
|
Rita
|
wrote
|
a letter
|
to me.
|
|
Passive:
|
A letter
|
was written
|
to me
|
by Rita.
|
|
Passive:
|
I
|
was written
|
a letter
|
by Rita.
|
.
As you can
see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. That’s
why it is usually dropped.
Personal and Impersonal Passive
Personal
Passive simply
means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive
sentence. So every verb that needs an object (transitive verb) can form a
personal passive.
Example:
They build houses. – Houses are built.
Verbs
without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive
sentence (as there is no object that can become the subject of the passive
sentence). If you want to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you need
an impersonal construction – therefore this passive is called Impersonal
Passive.
Example: he
says – it is said
Impersonal
Passive is not as
common in English as in some other languages (e.g. German, Latin). In English, Impersonal
Passive is only possible with verbs of perception (e. g. say, think,
know).
Example:
They say that women live longer than men. – It is said that women live longer
than men.
Although Impersonal
Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.
Example:
They say that women live longer than men. – Women are said to live longer than
men.
The subject
of the subordinate clause (women) goes to the beginning of the sentence; the
verb of perception is put into passive voice. The rest of the sentence is added
using an infinitive construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary verbs and that
are dropped).
Sometimes
the term Personal Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect
object of an active sentence is to become the subject of the passive sentence.
