ACTIVE and PASSIVE VOICE

Verbs have two voices: an active voice and a passive voice. Voice as the form of a verb shows whether the subject of the verb does the action (the active voice) or whether the action is done to it (the passive voice). Accordingly, we can write a sentence in either of the two different ways.

1. Active and Passive VoiceWe can write a sentence in two different ways. We can do it by using the verb to indicate whether the subject performs an action (active voice) or receives the action (passive voice). We usually write active sentences. Why we want to write passive sentences is explained in Part 4.

The verb is in the active voice when the subject,which can be a person or thing performs the action

Cats ate the fish. (Subject: cats; verb: ate: object: fish)The doer of the action is the cats. The verb ate is in the active voice and is followed by the object.)

The verb is in the passive voice when the action is done to the subject.

The fish was eaten by cats. (Verb: eaten; subject: fish)In this passive sentence, the subject is the fish. The subject in the active voice cats now becomes the object of the verb eaten.

As can be seen, changing the active sentence into a passive voice causes the subject to become the object, and the object become the subject. The verb phrase used in the passive sentence is the verb to be followed by the past participle of the verb. The passive verb follows the tense of the active verb. For example, if the active verb is in the simple present tense, the passive verb too is in the simple present tense.

Only verbs that take on an object  (transitive verb) can be a passive verb.

He runs away. The sun shines brightly. The boss feels tired today.

Each of the above three sentences does not have an object, so it’s not possible to convert them into passive sentences.

In the passive sentence, we use the preposition by to be followed by the object. We use it to show who or what does or has done the action. We can omit by and in most cases, it does not affect the clarity of the meaning of the sentence.  We use it when we think it is necessary.

2. Tenses in the Passive Voice

The use of a tense in a passive sentence must be the same as that in the active voice.

Simple present

Active: The big monkey scratches the small monkey. Passive: The small monkey is scratched by the big monkey.

Simple present continuous

Active: Their dog is chasing my cat. Passive: My cat is being chased by their dog.

Present perfect

Active: The men have loaded the sheep onto trucks. Passive: The sheep have been loaded onto trucks (by the men).

Simple past

Active: My wife kicked me on my knee. Passive: I was kicked on my knee (by my wife).

Past continuous

Active: The gang members were discussing the planned robbery. Passive: The planned robbery was being discussed (by the gang members).

Past perfect

Active: The hunter had shot two wild boars. Passive: Two wild boars had been shot by the hunter.

Simple future

Active: The children will blow up these balloons. Passive: These balloons will be blown up (by the children).

Future continuous

Active: She will be painting the doghouse. Passive: The doghouse will be being painted (by her).

Future perfect

Active: The police will have questioned the suspects. Passive: The suspects will have been questioned (by the police).

Modals

Active: He should/must sell his car. Passive: His car should/must be sold (by him).

Modal continuous

We may be building a giant sandcastle. A giant sandcastle may be being built (by us).

Modal perfect

Active: A suicide bomber might/could have detonated the bomb. Passive: The bomb might/could have been detonated by a suicide bomber.

3. Passive Sentence with Two Objects

A verb can have two possible passive voices when it takes two objects: a direct object and an indirect object. Normally, it is the indirect object (the first object that appears first in an active sentence) which becomes the subject of the passive sentence. We can however also use the direct object as the subject.

Active: The salesman showed him (indirect object) a new computer (direct object). / The salesman showed a new computer to him.

Passive: He was shown a new computer. Passive: A new computer was shown to him.

Active: We lent Bob some money. / We lent some money to Bob. Passive: Bob was lent some money. Passive: Some money was lent to Bob.

Active: Jack sent Jill a birthday card. Passive: Jill was sent a birthday card by Jack. Passive: A birthday card was sent to Jill by Jack.

4. Reasons For and Against passive voice

We use the passive voice for the following reasons:

when we do no know who performs the action.The bank was broken into last night.

when it is important to know who performs an action.This beautiful oil painting was done by my grandmother.

when it is not important to know who did the action.All these household wares were imported from Hong Kong.

when the action itself is more important than the doer.The two siblings were killed in a road accident.

when we are interested only in what happened rather than who or what did it.The 24-foot python was caught in that village.

when we wish to emphasize the person or thing acted on rather than the one who did it.John was presented with a bravery award yesterday.

when we choose not to name the one who performed the action to cover up a fault.The work was poorly done.

when it is felt necessary to evade responsibility by some people or organization.The family matter is being dealt with by someone.

Reasons for not using the passive voiceThe passive voice uses too many words, and at times can be difficult to understand. The active voice expresses in fewer words and is easy to understand. Writing tends to become clearer when unnecessary words are not used.

Passive: The protesters were kicked, punched and handcuffed by the police before they were taken away in the police van. (Words:19 / Characters: 93)

Active: The police kicked, punched and handcuffed the protesters before taking them away in a police van. (16/82)

5. More on passive voice

The passive sentence requires a verb that has an object (transitive verb). The following sentences show some verbs are both transitive and intransitive. The intransitive verb does not take an object, so it does not allow the construction of a passive sentence.

Transitive: They laughed at me.Intransitive: They laughed.

Transitive: My father was reading a newspaper.Intransitive: My father was reading.

Sometimes, it is necessary to name the one who did the action. Not doing so can make no sense to the passive sentence.

The match was won. My dog was knocked down. His leg was bitten.

The three sentences appear incomplete making it necessary to name the doers.

The match was won by Liverpool. My dog was knocked down by a bus. His leg was bitten by a snake.

Notices often make use of the passive voice.

Guests are advised not to leave their belongings unattended.

We need to be sure of what we say. If we are not certain of our facts, we can exercise caution by using ‘It is said that … ‘, ‘He is said to be  …. ‘.

It is said that sweets are the main culprits of obesity among children. He is said to be the leader behind the kidnapping of the President’s son.

We can use get instead of auxiliary verb to be, especially in our everyday conversation. I got cheated by the salesman (in place of I was cheated by the salesman).

Some verbs such as the reflexive verb are not used in the passive voice.

He would talk to himself when no one was around. (The word himself is a reflexive verb.)

Long hair really suits her. (Not: She is really suited by long hair.)

Some verbs are used more frequently in the passive than in the active.

He was born with a rare skin disease. The species was doomed to extinction.