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.
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.