Grammar: Passive Structures

Passive Structures

FUNCTIONS OF THE PASSIVE VOICE

The passive voice is used to show interest in the person or object that experiences an action rather than the person or object that performs the action. In other words, the most important thing or person becomes the subject of the sentence.

EXAMPLES

• The passive voice is used frequently. (= we are interested in the passive voice, not in who uses it.)
• The house was built in 1654. (= we are interested in the house, not in who built it.)
• The road is being repaired. (= we are interested in the road, not in the people who are doing the repairs.)

Sometimes we use the passive voice because we don't know or do not want to express who performed the action.

EXAMPLES

• I noticed that a window had been left open.
• Every year thousands of people are killed on our roads.
• All the cookies have been eaten.
• My car has been stolen!

The passive voice is often used in formal texts. Switching to the active voice will make your writing clearer and easier to read.

Passive	Active
A great deal of meaning is conveyed by a few well-chosen words.	A few well-chosen words convey a great deal of meaning.
Our planet is wrapped in a mass of gases.	A mass of gases wrap around our planet.
Waste materials are disposed of in a variety of ways.	The city disposes of waste materials in a variety of ways.

If we want to say who or what performs the action while using the passive voice, we use the preposition by. When we know who performed the action and are interested in him, it is always better to switch to the active voice instead.

Passive	Active
"A Hard Day's Night" was written by the Beatles.	The Beatles wrote "A Hard Day's Night".
The movie ET was directed by Spielberg.	Spielberg directed the movie ET.
This house was built by my father.	My father built this house.

FORMING THE PASSIVE VOICE

The passive voice in English is composed of two elements:
the appropriate form of the verb 'to be' + past participle

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative	Negative Interrogative
The house was built in 1899.	The house wasn't built in 1899.	Was the house built in 1899?	Wasn't the house built in 1899?
These houses were built in 1899.	These houses weren't built in 1899.	Were these houses built in 1899?	Weren't these houses built in 1899?

TO CLEAN, PASSIVE VOICE

Subject	+ to be (conjugated)	+ past participle	+ rest of sentence
Simple present
The house	is	cleaned	every day.
Present continuous
The house	is being	cleaned	at the moment.
Simple past
The house	was	cleaned	yesterday.
Past continuous
The house	was being	cleaned	last week.
Present perfect
The house	has been	cleaned	since you left.
Past perfect
The house	had been	cleaned	before they arrived.
Future
The house	will be	cleaned	next week.
Future continuous
The house	will be being	cleaned	tomorrow.
Present conditional
The house	would be	cleaned	if they had visitors.
Past conditional
The house	would have been	cleaned	if it had been dirty.
Inifinitive
The house	must be	cleaned	before we arrive.

PASSIVE VOICE WITH INFINITIVES

The infinitive passive voice is used after modal verbs and other most verbs normally followed by an infinitive.

EXAMPLES

• You have to be tested on your English grammar.
• John might be promoted next year.
• She wants to be invited to the party.
• I expect to be surprised on my birthday.
• You may be disappointed.

PASSIVE VOICE WITH GERUNDS

Gerunds are used after prepositions and verbs normally followed by a gerund.

EXAMPLES

• I remember being taught to drive.
• The children are excited about being taken to the zoo.
• The children are excited to be taken to the zoo.
• Most film stars hate being interviewed.
• Most film stars hate to be interviewed.
• Poodles like to be pampered.
• Poodles like being pampered.

Sometimes we use the passive voice because we don't know or do not want to express who performed the action.

PASSIVE Sentences WITH TWO OBJECTS

Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.

EXAMPLES

• Active: Rita wrote a letter to me.
• Passive 1: A letter was written to me by Rita.
• Passive 2: I was written a letter by Rita.

USING "TO BE BORN"

"To be born" is an passive form and is most commonly used in the past tense. However, in some cases, the present or future tense is appropriate.

EXAMPLES

• I was born in 1976.
• Where were you born?
• Around 100 babies are born in this hospital every week.
• We don't know on exactly which day the baby will be born.

Sometimes the passive is formed using the verb to get or to have instead of the verb to be. 

You can form sentences that are passive in meaning but not in form by using the verb to get or the verb to have in place of the verb to be. These constructions often describe situations where we want someone else to do something for us or where we are going to hire someone else to do something for us. The subject is active, but he is only doing the "getting". It is the unnamed person who is gotten who will perform the action of the main verb in the sentence. That second person is not explicit in the sentence when the sentence has a passive meaning. We are more interested in the result of the activity than in the person that performs the activity.

EXAMPLES

• I must get my hair cut.
• I must have my hair cut.
• When are you going to get that window mended?
• We're having the house painted.

This type of construction can refer to the completion of an activity, especially if a time expression is used.

EXAMPLES

• We'll get the work done as soon as possible.
• I'll get those letters typed before lunchtime.
• She said she'd have my lunch delivered by noon.
• You should have your roof repaired before next winter.

If the verb refers to something unwanted, it has the same meaning as a passive sentence.

EXAMPLES

• Jim had his car stolen last night.
• Jim's car was stolen.
• They had their roof blown off in the storm.
• Their roof was blown off in the storm.

USING "TO NEED" IN PASSIVE CONSTRUCTIONS

You can also use the verb to need followed by the gerund in an active construction with a passive meaning. The important thing in our minds in these sentences is the person or thing that will experience the action, not the person performing the action.

EXAMPLES

• The ceiling needs painting.
• The ceiling needs to be painted.
• My hair needs cutting.
• My hair needs to be cut.
• That faucet needs fixing.
• That faucet needs to be fixed.