Passive Voice

Passive Voice

In previous weeks, we discussed the main three aspects of past and present tense. In addition to these verb forms, we have active and passive forms of the verbs. Active verbs are the forms we have discussed so far.

Objectives

Recognize the use of passive voice
Change active to passive voice in controlled contexts
Use passive voice to add formality

What is Passive Voice?

A verb is a word that expresses an action, state, or occurrence. Often when we use a verb, we are expressing the action connected to the subject. The subject is the noun that is the doer of the verb. This is what we call active voice.

We are going to use two new vocabulary words to make our discussion of passive voice less confusing: agent and receiver. The agent is the doer of the action; in an active sentence, this is the subject. The receiver is the receiver of the action; in an active sentence, this is the object.


Active Voice: The agent acts upon the verb. The verb is done by the agent.; Example: Alice sings the song. (Alice is performing this action. Alice is the agent.)

However, in more formal speaking, we often use the passive voice. The passive expresses the action connected to the receiver. The receiver moves before the verb, and the verb structure changes. This changes the focus from who did the verb to the receiver that was acted upon.


Passive Voice: The receiver receives the verb. The focus is on the receiver which is acted upon.; Example: The song was sung by Alice. (Alice is still performing the action, but our focus has shifted to the receiver--the song.)

Think of this change of voice like moving the camera from the agent to the receiver of the verb.

Example:

We built a snowman.

The snowman was built by us.

The sun melted the snowman.

The snowman was melted by the sun.

The Structure

To change a verb from active to passive, you need to be sure that the verb has a receiver (transitive verbs). If there is only an agent with no receiver of the verb (intransitive verbs), it cannot become a passive sentence.

An accident happened last weekend. (Happen does not have a receiver. It cannot be passive.)

He caused an accident last weekend. (Caused has a receiver. This can be passive.)

If there is a receiver for the verb, you can change the focus from the agent to the receiver.

An accident was caused by him last weekend.

This is how you make a passive sentence:

AGENT + VERB + RECEIVER

changes to

RECEIVER + BE + PAST PARTICIPLE (+ BY AGENT)

Look at the table to see more examples of passive voice.

	Present Tense Verbs
The bird	eats	the seeds.
The seeds	are eaten	by the bird.
The man	is walking	the dog.
The dog	is being walked	by the man.
The coworkers	have signed	the card.
The card	has been signed	by the coworkers
	Past Tense Verbs
The bird	ate	the seeds.
The seeds	were eaten	by the bird.
The man	was walking	the dog.
The dog	was being walked	by the man.
The coworkers	had signed	the card.
The card	had been signed	by the coworkers

Notice that the tense and aspect stays the same when the verb changes from active to passive, but the verb be shows the aspect. The main verb is always in the past participle. The agent and receiver switch places.

One more note on the structure: Passive voice does not always include the by + subject phrase. If it is not relevant to what the speaker is saying or is obvious, they may not include it.

The house was built (by a builder) last year.

This is obvious and is unlikely to be included.

Why Use Passive Voice?

There are a few reasons why we use the passive voice in our speaking.

When we don't know the agent or don't want to point fingers
- My bike was stolen this morning.
- The dishes weren't washed last night.
When the action and the receiver are important and the agent is distracting or unimportant
- My book will be published soon.
- The Internet was started not too long ago.
In science or teamwork when the result should be the focus
- Five planets have been known since ancient times.
- The product was created to help people.

Changing the focus by using either active or passive voice shows control over the language. This grammar form allows you to focus on what you think is most important.

As we have mentioned many times, it would be very unusual to speak only in the passive voice. You will see it mixed in with other forms of verbs.

Exercise 1: Listen

Here is some practice to help you recognize and use the passive voice.

Utah Monolith Video

Watch this video and listen for examples of passive voice. This is also a great example of how different tenses and aspects are used together to create an interesting narrative.

Answer Key

It was a three-sided, ten-foot-high sculpture installed in the middle of the desert...
I mean, scientists are literally counting sheep, the cliché of how to fall asleep, when they are roused into a new and dramatic sort of consciousness by an otherworldly artwork.
"The metal structure has been removed" Utah official said on Saturday.
And outside of Wendover, Utah, you can find Nancy Holt's Sun Tunnels, which, like a lot of my favorite art, cannot really be described or photographed effectively.
... satellite photographs tell us that the obelisk was installed sometime in 2016, and McCracken died in 2011.

Artwork Video

Watch this video and listen for examples of passive voice. There is not a transcript for this video and she speaks quickly. You may need to listen to it more than once.

Answer Key

Exercise 2: Active or Passive?

Write 5 sentences that can be made passive (transitive verbs like tell = can have an object).
- Ex. The professor tells stories to explain the main idea.
Write 5 sentences that cannot be made passive (intransitive verbs like laugh = cannot have an object).
- Ex. The class laughed when I made a joke.
Mix the sentences in a random order.
Your teacher will put you in a breakout room with a partner. Read your sentences to a partner.
Your partner will say active for sentences that can only be in active voice or passive for sentences that can be in passive voice.
You and your partner will change the sentences into passive voice.
- Ex. The stories are told (by the professor) to explain the main idea.
Repeat the activity with your partner's list of sentences.
Be prepared to share your passive sentences with the class.

Exercise 3: Great Inventions & Discoveries

Your teacher will assign you to a group to work with and tell you how much time you have for this activity.
As a group, choose a famous invention or discovery.
Prepare a short explanation of your choice using a combination of active and passive voice and different aspects of the past. Include some present sentences to explain the impact of that invention/discovery on the world now.
Make sure everyone in the group has the prepared explanation.
Your teacher will then put one person from each group into a new group.
Share the explanation your first group prepared with the new group.

Exercise 4: Kahoot!

Go to https://kahoot.it and type the Game PIN your teacher gives you.
Your teacher will explain how to play the game. There will be a variety of question types:
- Identify if a sentence is active or passive.
- Identify if a verb can have an object.
- Put the words in order to make a passive sentence.

Review

Using active and passive voice to intentionally shift the focus of the sentence is a useful grammar skill.

Here are some important reminders:

Remember that the active and passive forms will both be in the same tense and aspect.
Only transitive verbs (that can have objects) can be used in passive voice.
Passive voice should not be used consistently. It is only used to change the focus.

This content is provided to you freely by EdTech Books.

Access it online or download it at https://edtechbooks.org/advanced_mid_listening__speaking/passive_voice.