Passive voice

Passive voice

1. FORM:

• To make the passive we use be and a past participle. Compare the active and passive forms in these examples:
• Present simple: The government builds hundreds of houses every year.
• Hundreds of houses are built every year by the government.
• Present continuous: the authorities are questioning two men.
• two men are being questioned by the authorities. 
• Present perfect: we have chosen Helen as the new president.
• Helen has been chosen as the new president. 
• Past simple: the police arrested one protester.
• One protester was arrested by the police.
• Past perfect: the police had arrested one protester.
• One protester had been arrested by the police.

• Past continuous: The police was arresting one protester.
• One protester was being arrested by the police.

• Will: They will play the match on Wednesday evening.
• The match will be played on Wednesday evening.

• Would: They would play the match on Wednesday evening.
• The match would be played on Wednesday evening.

2. 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.).

3. TWO OBJECTS passive: (http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/passive.htm)
 
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

4. Verbals in Passive Structures

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.

 

 EXPLICACIÓN EN ESPAÑOL (http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/omgrammar/vozpasiva.htm)

CARACTERISTICAS

1. Se dice que una oración está en VOZ ACTIVA cuando la significación del verbo es producida por la persona gramatical a quien aquél se refiere: Pedro de Mendoza founded Buenos Aires. (Pedro de Mendoza fundó Buenos Aires).

2. Se dice que una oración está en VOZ PASIVA cuando la significación del verbo es recibida por la persona gramatical a quien aquél se refiere: Buenos Aires was founded by Pedro de Mendoza. (Buenos Aires fue fundada por Pedro de Mendoza).

3. Se forma con el auxiliar del verbo to be y el participio pasado del verbo que se conjuga.

4. El complemento de la oración activa pasa a sujeto de la pasiva. Como en castellano, el sujeto de la activa se puede conservar como sujeto agente.

5. Cuando un verbo tiene dos complementos se pueden hacer dos estructuras de pasiva: a) A book was sent to Tom by Mr. Smith, Un libro fue enviado a Tom por Mr. Smith. b) Tom was sent a book by Mr. Smith (pasiva idiomática). Esta estructura no es posible en castellano.

MODELO DE VERBO EN VOZ PASIVA TO BE SEEN = SER VISTO

PRESENTE I am seen, soy visto you are seen, eres visto he is seen, es visto we are seen, somos vistos you are seen, sois vistos they are seen, son vistos PRETERITO PERFECTO I have been seen, he sido visto you have been seen, has sido visto he has been seen, ha sido visto we have been seen, hemos sido vistos you have been seen, habéis sido vistos they have been seen, han sido vistos

PASADO I was seen, fui visto you were seen, fuiste visto he was seen, fue visto we were seen, fuimos vistos you were seen, fuisteis vistos they were seen, fueron vistos FUTURO I shall be seen, seré visto you will be seen, serás visto he will be seen, será visto we shall be seen, seremos vistos you will be seen, seréis vistos they will be seen, serán vistos

PRETERITO PLUSCUAMPERFECTO:  I had been seen, había sido visto CONDICIONAL:  I should be seen, sería visto FUTURO PERFECTO:  I shall have been seen, habré sido visto CONDICIONAL PERFECTO:  I should have been seen, habría sido visto

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VOZ ACTIVA Y PASIVA: REGLAS PRACTICAS EN 4 PASOS.

1. La voz pasiva se forma con el verbo to be conjugado más el participio del verbo principal. En inglés es mucho más frecuente que en español y, normalmente, aparece cuando no es importante quien realiza una acción sino el hecho en sí. Por eso, no siempre que veamos una pasiva, tenemos que traducirlo literalmente, puesto que en español suena más forzado. Sólo es posible el uso de la voz pasiva con verbos transitivos (verbos que llevan complemento directo).

VOZ ACTIVA Tom writes a letter Tom is writing a letter Tom was writing a letter Tom wrote a letter Tom has written a letter Tom had written a letter Tom will write a letter Tom is going to write a letter Tom can write a letter Tom could write a letter Tom must write a letter Tom may write a letter Tom might write a letter

VOZ PASIVA A letter is written by Tom A letter is being written by Tom A letter was being written by Tom A letter was written by Tom A letter has been written by Tom A letter had been written by Tom A letter will be written by Tom A letter is going to be written by Tom A letter can be written by Tom A letter could be written by Tom A letter must be written by Tom A letter may be written... A letter might be written...

2. El sujeto agente se expresa con by. Sin embargo, en la mayoría de las ocasiones se prescinde del sujeto ya que no nos interesa saber quién exactamente ejecuta la acción. Si una oración activa tiene complemento directo e indirecto, cualquiera de los dos complementos puede ser sujeto paciente de la pasiva: ACTIVE: Someone gives me a dog PASSIVE 1: A dog is given to me PASSIVE 2: I am given a dog (forma pasiva idiomática) La forma pasiva de doing, seeing, etc es being done, being seen, etc. ACTIVE: I don't like people telling me what to do PASSIVE: I don't like being told what to do En ocasiones en las que ocurre algo a veces imprevisto, no planeado o fortuito para la formación de la voz pasiva se prefiere usar get y no be: get hurt, get annoyed, get divorced, get married, get invited, get bored, get lost

3. Las construcciones impersonales (se dice, se comenta, etc.) son muy típicas de la pasiva y difíciles de traducir para los hispanoparlantes. Este tipo de construcción pasiva -utilizada cada vez con mayor frecuencia en los medios- se forma con la estructura sujeto + to be + participle: It is reported (Se informa); It is said (Se dice); It is known (Se sabe); It is supposed (Se supone); It is considered (Se considera); It is expected (Se espera). Veamos algunos ejemplos: ACTIVE: Everybody thinks Cathy works very hard. PASSIVE 1: Cathy is thought to work very hard. (Se piensa que Cathy...) PASSIVE 2: It is thought that Cathy works very hard. (Se piensa que Cathy...) ACTIVE: They believe Tom is wearing a white pullover. PASSIVE 1: Tom is believed to be wearing a white pullover. (Se cree que...) PASSIVE 2: It is believed that Tom is wearing a white pullover. (Se cree que...)

4. USOS ADICIONALES DE SUPPOSE a) Se usa en afirmativo para acciones que estaban planeadas, que se supone que van a realizar, u obligaciones que uno debería cumplir. You were supposed to be here at 9:00 am!! b) Otras veces, el uso de supposed indica que estos planes o obligaciones finalmente no se cumplieron: The train was supposed to arrive at 5 o'clock. (but it arrived at 8 o'clock) You were supposed to go to the supermarket. (but you didn't go) c) Por el contrario, en negativo, supposed significa la no conveniencia o prohibición de hacer algo: You are not supposed to smoke here. (you are not allowed to smoke here) You are not supposed to copy our web files. (you must not copy our web files)

 

FORM SUMMARY

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE TENSES CHART

 http://english-zone.com/verbs/pssvchrt.html

SIMPLE PRESENT and SIMPLE PAST The active object becomes the passive subject. am/is/are +  past participle was/were + past participle
Active: Simple Present The movie fascinates me. The movie bores Jack. The movie surprises them.	Passive: Simple Present I am fascinated by the movie. Jack is bored by the movie. They are surprised by the movie.
Active: Simple Past The movie bored me. The movie fascinated Jack. The movie surprised them.	Passive: Simple Past I was bored by the movie. Jack was fascinated by the movie. They were surprisedby the movie.

PRESENT and PAST CONTINUOUS (PROGRESSIVE) Passive form:  am/is/are + being + past participle was/were + being + past participle
Active: Present Continuous I am helping Shannon. June is helping Su and Ling.	Passive: Present Continuous Shannon is being helped by me. Su and Ling are being helped by June.
Active: Past Continuous I was cleaning the bathroom. They were cleaning the bedroom. Susan was cleaning the kitchen and patio.	Passive: Past Continuous The bathroom was being cleaned by me. The bedroom  was being cleaned by them. The kitchen and patio were being cleaned by Susan.

PRESENT PERFECT, PAST PERFECT and FUTURE PERFECT Passive form:  have/has been + past participle had been + past participle
Active: Present Perfect I have mailed the gift. Jack has mailed the gifts.	Passive: Present Perfect The gift has been mailed by me. The gifts have been mailed by Jack.
Active: Past Perfect Steven Spielberg had directed the movie. Penny Marshall had directed those movies.	Passive: Past Perfect The movie had been directed by Steven Spielberg. The movies had been directed by Penny Marshall.
Active: Future Perfect John will have finished the project next month. They will have finished the projects before then.	Passive: Future Perfect The project will have been finished by next month. The projects will have been finished before then.

FUTURE TENSES Passive forms: will + be + past participle is/are going to be + past participle
Active: Future with WILL I will mail the gift. Jack will mail the gifts.	Passive: Future with WILL The gift will be mailed by me. The gifts will be mailed by Jack.
Active: Future with GOING TO I am going to make the cake. Sue is going to make two cakes.	Passive: Future with GOING TO The cake is going to be made by me. Two cakes are going to be made by Sue.

PRESENT / FUTURE MODALS The passive form follows this pattern: modal + be + past participle
Active: WILL / WON'T (WILL NOT) Sharon will invite Tom to the party. Sharon won't invite Jeff to the party. (Sharon will not invite Jeff to the party.)	Passive: WILL / WON'T (WILL NOT) Tom will be invited to the party by Sharon. Jeff won't be invited to the party by Sharon. (Jeff will not be invited to the party by Sharon.)
Active: CAN / CAN'T (CAN NOT) Mai can foretell the future. Terry can't foretell the future. (Terry can not foretell the future.)	Passive: CAN / CAN'T (CAN NOT) The future can be foretold by Mai. The future can't be foretold by Terry. (The future can not be foretold by Terry.)
Active: MAY / MAY NOT Her company may give Katya a new office. The lazy students may not do the homework. MIGHT / MIGHT NOT Her company might give Katya a new office. The lazy students might not do the homework.	Passive: MAY / MAY NOT Katya may be given a new office by her company. The homework may not be done by the lazy students. MIGHT / MIGHT NOT Katya might be given a new office by her company. The homework might not be done by the lazy students.
Active: SHOULD / SHOULDN'T Students should memorize English verbs. Children shouldn't smoke cigarettes.	Passive: SHOULD / SHOULDN'T English verbs should be memorized  by students. Cigarettes shouldn't be smoked  by children.
Active: OUGHT TO Students ought to learn English verbs. (negative ought to is rarely used)	Passive: OUGHT TO English verbs ought to be memorized by students.
Active: HAD BETTER / HAD BETTER NOT Students had better practice English every day. Children had better not drink whiskey.	Passive: HAD BETTER / HAD BETTER NOT English had better be practiced every day by students. Whiskey had better not be drunk by children.
Active: MUST / MUST NOT Tourists must apply for a passport to travel abroad. Customers must not use that door.	Passive: MUST / MUST NOT A passport to travel abroad must be applied for. That door must not be used by customers.
Active: HAS TO / HAVE TO She has to practice English every day. Sara and Miho have to wash the dishes every day. DOESN'T HAVE TO/ DON'T HAVE TO Maria doesn't have to clean her bedroom every day. The children don't have to clean their bedrooms every day.	Passive: HAS TO / HAVE TO English has to be practiced every day. The dishes have to be washed by them every day. DOESN'T HAVE TO/ DON'T HAVE TO Her bedroom doesn't have to be cleaned every day. Their bedrooms don't have to be cleaned every day.
Active: BE SUPPOSED TO I am supposed to type the composition. I am not supposed to copy the stories in the book. Janet is supposed to clean the living room. She isn't supposed to eat candy and gum. They are supposed to make dinner for the family. They aren't supposed to make dessert.	Passive: BE SUPPOSED TO The composition is supposed to be typed by me. The stories in the book are not supposed to be copied. The living room is supposed to be cleaned by Janet. Candy and gum aren't supposed to be eaten by her. Dinner for the family is supposed to be made by them. Dessert isn't supposed to be made by them.

PAST MODALS The past passive form follows this pattern: modal + have been + past participle
Active: SHOULD HAVE / SHOULDN'T HAVE The students should have learned the verbs. The children shouldn't have broken the window.	Passive: SHOULD HAVE / SHOULDN'T HAVE The verbs should have been learned by the students. The window shouldn't have been broken by the children.
Active: OUGHT TO Students ought to have learned the verbs. (negative ought to is rarely used)	Passive: OUGHT TO The verbs ought to have been learned by the students.
Active: BE SUPPOSED TO (past time) I was supposed to type the composition. I wasn't supposed to copy the story in the book. Janet was supposed to clean the living room. She wasn't supposed to eat candy and gum. Frank and Jane were supposed to make dinner. They weren't supposed to make dessert.	Passive: BE SUPPOSED TO (past time) The composition was supposed to be typed  by me. The story in the book wasn't supposed to be copied. The living room was supposed to be cleaned by Janet. Candy and gum weren't supposed to be eaten by her. Dinner was supposed to be made by them. Dessert wasn't supposed to be made by them.
Active: MAY / MAY NOT That firm may have offered Katya a new job. The students may not have written the paper. MIGHT / MIGHT NOT That firm might have offered Katya a new job. The students might not have written the paper.	Passive: MAY / MAY NOT Katya may have been offered a new job by that firm. The paper may not have been written by the students. MIGHT / MIGHT NOT Katya might have been offered a new job by that firm. The paper might not have been written by the students.