1. The Passive Voice

2. Voice
Active / Passive
The subject does something
The boss hired a new secretary
Something happens to the subject
A new secretary was hired by the boss

3. The Passive Voice: Form
A passive sentence consists of:




The subject.
The verb to be in the correct tense.
The past participle of the verb needed.
Sometimes, the agent and/or other complements.
Subject
+
The workers +
verb “to be”
+ Past participle
+
were
(+…)
fired
Attention!!
•The agent shows who performed the action.
•It is introduced by means of the the preposition BY.
For example:
Subject
My sister
+
+
verb “to be”
was
+ Past participle
+
Agent
+
+
by the new manager
hired

4. The Passive Voice: Uses
We use the passive voice when::
 we want to emphasize the action more than the
subject performing it, because the action is more
important.
Example:
More and more computers are sold every day.
 the subject performing the action is obvious or
unknown.
Example:
The thief was arrested two hours ago.
 we want to avoid an active sentence whose subject is
“somebody”, “nobody”, “someone” etc.
Example:
The bank was robbed.

5. An active sentence can become a passive sentence
A passive sentence can become an active sentence

6. An active sentence can become a passive sentence
A passive sentence can become an active sentence
Active:
The secretary
sent
the letters

7. An active sentence can become a passive sentence
A passive sentence can become an active sentence
Active:
The secretary
Passive: The letters
sent
were
the letters
sent
by
the secretary

8. An active sentence can become a passive sentence
A passive sentence can become an active sentence
Active:
The secretary
Passive: The letters
sent
were
the letters
sent
by
the secretary

9. An active sentence can become a passive sentence
A passive sentence can become an active sentence
Active:
The secretary
Passive: The letters
sent
were
the letters
sent
by
the secretary

10. An active sentence can become a passive sentence
A passive sentence can become an active sentence
Active:
The secretary
Passive: The letters
sent
were
the letters
sent
by
the secretary

11. An active sentence can become a passive sentence
A passive sentence can become an active sentence
Active:
The secretary
Passive: The letters
sent
were
the letters
sent
by
the secretary

12. An active sentence can become a passive sentence
A passive sentence can become an active sentence
Active:
The secretary
Passive: The letters
sent
were
the letters
sent
by
the secretary

13. An active sentence can become a passive sentence
A passive sentence can become an active sentence
Active:
The secretary
Passive: The letters
But!!!
sent
were
the letters
sent
by
the secretary
Sometimes, there are two possibilities, when the verb has two objects (direct/
indirect)…
a prize to the best workers
The manager gave
the best workers a prize

14. An active sentence can become a passive sentence
A passive sentence can become an active sentence
When the verb in the active sentence has two objects, we
can make two different passive sentences:
• Active sentence
The manager gave
a prize to the best workers
the best workers a prize
•Passive sentence
-A prize was given to the best workers by the manager
-The best workers were given a prize by the manager

15. Active/ Passive verb tenses
Tense
Active
Passive
Present simple
The company hires new
workers every year.
New workers are hired by the company
every year.
Present
Continuous
The company is hiring new
workers now
New workers are being hired by the
company.
Past Simple
The company hired new
workers last year.
New workers were hired by the company
last year.
Past Continuous
The company was hiring new
workers yesterday.
New workers were being hired by the
company yesterday.
Presente perfect
simple
The company has hired new
workers.
New workers have been hired by the
company.
Future simple
The company will hire new
workers.
New workers will be hired by the
company
Past perfect
simple
The company had hired new
workers.
New workers had been hired by the
company.
Modals
The company can hire new
workers.
New workers can be hired by the
company.
Modal perfects
The company must have hired
new workers.
New workers must have been hired by
the company.

16. The End