Content
- How is the passive voice constructed?
- When it's used?
- When should the passive voice not be used?
- Examples of passive voice
Thepassive voice It is a way of constructing the sentence that allows to emphasize a state or action instead of the subject that carries it out. For example: The offender was arrested.
It is a change to the natural order of the sentence with the aim of putting the focus on the action or the object.
- See also: Active voice and passive voice
How is the passive voice constructed?
Active voice: Subject / verb / object.
For example: The president made a long speech.
Passive voice: Object / verb to be + participle / by / agent.
For example: A long speech was delivered by the president.
When it's used?
- Little relevant subject. The passive voice is used when the subject is not very relevant to what is to be transmitted, or when the receiver of the message is aware of who carried out the action. For example: America was colonized in 1492 (The prayer in active voice would be: Columbus invaded America in 1492). In some cases, the agent is added last. For example: America was colonized in 1492 by Columbus.
- Non-specific subject. The passive voice is also used when there is no specified subject. In these cases, the pronoun "se" is used followed by the verb in the third person, whether it is plural or singular. For example: Cars are repaired / The resignation of the president is expected.
When should the passive voice not be used?
The passive voice does not apply to the verbs "of emotion" or "of perception". For example, it is incorrect to say: Chocolate is loved by my brother. / The puppy is dear to me.
Neither should the passive voice be used in sentences of progressive tense. For example, it is incorrect to say: The novel was being read by my grandmother. / The pizza was being kneaded by my mother.
Finally, in the passive voice, indirect object complements are not used either. For example, it is incorrect to say: Lucia's car was repaired by Rafael. / The box was brought to Silvia by Manuel.
Examples of passive voice
Next, we will provide examples of active voice sentences first, and their corresponding passive voice version marked in bold.
- Columbus discovered America in 1492.
America was discovered in 1492 by Columbus. - My mom made a vanilla and chocolate cake.
A vanilla and chocolate cake was prepared by my mother. - The boys organized a dance for the end of the year.
An end of the year dance was organized by the boys. - The teacher erased what was written on the board.
What was written on the board was erased by the teacher. - A group of criminals robbed the bank on the corner of my house.
The bank on the corner of my house was robbed by a group of criminals. - The mechanic quickly repaired my dad's car.
My dad's car was quickly repaired by the mechanic. - The ambulance took my grandfather to the hospital.
My grandfather was taken to the hospital by the ambulance. - My uncle painted the entire front of my house.
The entire front of my house was painted by my uncle. - The Rolling Stones closed the Rock festival.
The Rock festival was closed by the Rolling Stones. - My cousin parked the car in the new garage.
The car was parked in the new garage by my cousin. - My music teacher tuned the guitar.
The guitar was tuned by my music teacher. - My mother-in-law left the boys at the school gate.
The boys were dropped off at the school gate by my mother-in-law. - Barack Obama won the last elections in the United States.
The last elections in the United States were won by Barack Obama. - My mom ironed all the sheets in the house.
All the sheets in the house were ironed by my mother. - My neighbor won the neighborhood tennis tournament.
The neighborhood tennis tournament was won by my neighbor. - Man stepped on the moon on July 20, 1969.
The moon was stepped on by man on July 20, 1969. - The boys did not pass the entrance exam to Medicine.
The medical entrance exam was not approved by the boys. - Lionel Messi scored the last goal of the match.
The last goal of the match was scored by Lionel Messi. - Martín wrote the book in less than two weeks.
The book was written by Martín in less than two weeks. - The boys ate the leftover sandwiches.
The sandwiches that were left over were eaten by the boys.
- More examples in: Passive Sentences
