Passive Voice

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Use of Passive Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.

Example: My bike was stolen.

In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.

Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:

Example: A mistake was made.

In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have made a mistake.).

Form of Passive Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column o irregular verbs)

Example: A letter was written.

When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:

the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence

the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)

the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)

Examples of Passive

TenseSubjectVerbObjectSimple PresentActive:Ritawritesa letter.Passive:A letteris writtenby Rita.Simple PastActive:Ritawrotea letter.Passive:A letterwas writtenby Rita.Present PerfectActive:Ritahas writtena letter.Passive:A letterhas been writtenby Rita.Future IActive:Ritawill writea letter.Passive:A letterwill be writtenby Rita.HilfsverbenActive:Ritacan writea letter.Passive:A lettercan be writtenby Rita. Examples of Passive

TenseSubjectVerbObjectPresent ProgressiveActive:Ritais writinga letter.Passive:A letteris being writtenby Rita.Past ProgressiveActive:Ritawas writinga letter.Passive:A letterwas being writtenby Rita.Past PerfectActive:Ritahad writtena letter.Passive:A letterhad been writtenby Rita.Future IIActive:Ritawill have writtena letter.Passive:A letterwill have been writtenby Rita.Conditional IActive:Ritawould writea letter.Passive:A letterwould be writtenby Rita.Conditional IIActive:Ritawould have writtena letter.Passive:A letterwould have been writtenby Rita. 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.

SubjectVerbObject 1Object 2Active:Ritawrotea letterto me.Passive:A letterwas writtento meby Rita.Passive:Iwas writtena letterby Rita..As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. That’s why it is usually dropped.

Personal and Impersonal Passive Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. So every verb that needs an object (transitive verb) can form a personal passive.

Example: They build houses. – Houses are built.

Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive sentence (as there is no object that can become the subject of the passive sentence). If you want to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you need an impersonal construction – therefore this passive is called Impersonal Passive.

Example: he says – it is said

Impersonal Passive is not as common in English as in some other languages (e.g. German, Latin). In English, Impersonal Passive is only possible with verbs of perception (e. g. say, think, know).

Example: They say that women live longer than men. – It is said that women live longer than men.

Although Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.

Example: They say that women live longer than men. – Women are said to live longer than men.

The subject of the subordinate clause (women) goes to the beginning of the sentence; the verb of perception is put into passive voice. The rest of the sentence is added using an infinitive construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary verbs and that are dropped).

Sometimes the term Personal Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect object of an active sentence is to become the subject of the passive sentence.

There are three kinds of participles in English: present participle, past participle and perfect participle. You probably know the first two from certain tenses and adjective forms. Apart from that, participles are also used to shorten sentences.

Present Participle The present participle is the ing-form. You surely know this form:

from progressive / continuous tenses (e. g. Present Progressive – I am speaking.

as an adjective form – The film is interesting.

as a gerund – He is afraid of flying.

Not the exceptions in spelling when adding 'ing':

ExceptionExamplefinal e dropped (but: ee is not changed)come – coming (but: agree - agreeing)final consonant after short, stressed vowel is doubledsit – sittingfinal consonant l after vowel is always doubled (in British English)travel – travellingfinal ie becomes ylie – lyingThe present participle can be used to describe the following verbs:

come, go, sit

Example: The girl sat crying on the sofa.

The present participle can also be used after verbs of the senses if we do not want to emphasise that the action was completed. (see Infinitive or Ing-Form)

feel, find, hear, listen to, notice, see, smell, watch

Example: Did you see him dancing?

Furthermore, the present participle can be used to shorten or combine active clauses that have the same subject.

Example: She left the house and whistled. – She left the house whistling.

Past Participle The past participle is the participle that you find in the third column of lists with irregular verbs. You surely know this form:

from perfect tenses (z. B. Present Perfect Simple) – I have spoken.

from passive voice – The letter was written.

as an adjective form – I was bored to death.

For irregular participle forms see third column of irregular verbs. Regular verbs form the past participle by adding ed, however, note the following exceptions in spelling:

Exceptions when adding edExampleafter a final e, only add dlove – lovedfinal consonant after a short, stressed vowel

or l as final consonant after a vowel is doubledadmit – admitted

travel – travelledfinal y after a consonant becomes ihurry – hurriedThe past participle can also be used to shorten or combine passive clauses that have the same subject.

Example: The boy was given an apple. He stopped crying. – Given an apple, the boy stopped crying.

Perfect Participle The perfect participle can be used to shorten or combine clauses that have the same subject if …

… one action (the one where the perfect participle is used) is completed before the next action starts.Example: She bought a bike and cycled home. – Having bought a bike, she cycled home.

… one action has been going on for a period of time when another action starts.Example: He had been living there for such a long time that he didn't want to move to another town. – Having lived there for such a long time, he didn't want to move to another town.

The perfect participle can be used for active and passive voice.

active voice: having + past participle (Having cooked, he set the table.)

passive voice: having been + past participle (Having been cooked, the food looked delicious.)

Use of Participle Clauses If a clause is shortened using a participle construction, the clause is called participle clause.

Example: Watching TV, she forgot everything around her.

In English, participle clauses are mainly used in writing in order to put a lot of information into one sentence.

When shortening or combining clauses with a participle construction, keep the following rules in mind:

Both clauses should have the same subject.

The less important part becomes the participle clause. Important information should always be in the main clause.

Make sure, you use the correct participle form (see above).

The conjunctions as, because, since and relative pronouns who, which are left out.

The conjunctions before, when are used in the participle clause.

The conjunctions after, while can be used or left out.

Participle Clauses with different Subjects Sometimes participle clauses can be used even if the clauses to be combined do not have the same subject. This is the case for example if the main clause contains one of the following verbs + object:

feel, find, hear, listen to, notice, see, smell, watch

Example: I heard him playing the guitar.

Here, the participle clause must directly follow the object it is relating to. (Note: Some of the verbs mentioned here can also be used with the infinitive. For further information see Infinitive or Ing-Form)

A participle construction is also possible, if both subjects are mentioned (often the word 'with' is put before the subject in the participle clause). This is very formal, however, and not often used.

Example: Mrs Jones went to New York. Mr Smith took up her position.

→ (With) Mrs Jones going to New York, Mr Smith took up her position.

Incorrect Participle Clauses Apart from the exceptions mentioned above, participle clause and main clause should have the same subject. Otherwise the sentences might sound rather strange.

Example: I was driving on the motorway, when the baby started to cry.

→ Falscher Partizipialsatz: Driving on the motorway, the baby started to cry.

In this example you get the feeling that the baby has driven the car. So these participle clauses are considered wrong in standard English. In colloquial English, these 'incorrect participle clauses' are usually okay, and you can even find an example in Shakespeare's Hamlet:

Now, Hamlet, hear. ’Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, a serpent stung me.

As the text goes, it is said that Hamlet's father was bitten by a snake. Strictly speaking, however, the snake was asleep when it bit Hamlet's father.

Auxiliary Verbs are the verbs be, do, have, will when they are followed by another verb (the full verb) in order to form a question, a negative sentence, a compound tense or the passive.

The verb "be" The verb be can be used as an auxiliary and a full verb. As an auxiliary we use this verb for compound tenses and the passive voice. Note that be is an irregular verb:

Simple Present: I am, he/she/it is, we/you/they are Simple Past: I/he/she/it was, we/you/they were Past Participle: been You can tell that in the following sentences be is an auxiliary because it is followed by another verb (the full verb). (For progressive forms use the "-ing" form of the full verb; for passive voice, use the past participle of the full verb.)

Progressive Forms

Present Progressive: He is playing football. Past Progressive: He was playing football. Present Perfect Progressive: He has been playing football. Past Perfect Progressive: He had been playing football. Passive

Simple Present/Past: The house is/was built. Present/Past Perfect: The house has/had been built. Future I: The house will be built. "be" as a full verb

The verb be can also be a full verb. In this case, it's not followed by another verb. If be is used as a full verb, we do not need an auxiliary in negative sentences or questions.

positive sentence: They are fifteen years old. negative sentence: They are not fifteen years old. question: Are they fifteen years old? The verb "have" The verb have, too, can be used both as an auxiliary and as a full verb. As an auxiliary we use this verb to form compound tenses in active and passive voice. (Use the past participle of the full verb.)

Compound Tenses - Active Voice

Present Perfect Simple: He has played football. Past Perfect Simple: He had played football. Present Perfect Progressive: He has been playing football. Past Perfect Progressive: He had been playing football. Compound Tenses - Passive Voice

Present/Past Perfect: The house has/had been built. Note that have is an irregular verb, too:

Simple Present: I/we/you/they have, he/she/it has Simple Past: I/he/she/it/we/you/they had Past Participle: had "have" in positive sentences

As a full verb have indicates possession. In British English, however, we usually use have got (havebeing the auxiliary, got the full verb).

full verb: I have a car. auxiliary verb: I have got a car. "have" in negative sentences and questions

When we use have as a full verb, we must use the auxiliary do in negative sentences and questions. If we use have got, however, we do not need another auxiliary.

have as a full verb: I do not have a car. Do I have a car? have as an auxiliary verb: I have not got a car. Have I got a car? The verb "will" The verb will can only be used as an auxiliary. We use it to form the future tenses.

The auxiliary verb "will"

Future I: He will not play football. Future II: He will have played football. The verb will remains the same for all forms (no "s" for 3rd person singular). The short form for negative sentences is won't.'

Examples: I will, he will I will not = I won't The verb "do" The verb do can be both an auxiliary and a full verb. As an auxiliary we use do in negative sentences and questions for most verbs (except not for be, will, have got and modal verbs) in Simple Present and Simple Past. (Use the infinitive of the full verb.)

The auxiliary "do" in negative sentences

Simple Present: He does not play football. Simple Past: He did not play football. The auxiliary "do" in questions

Simple Present: Does he play football? Simple Past: Did he play football? The verb do is irregular:

Simple Present: I/we/you/they do, he/she/it does Simple Past: I/he/she/it/we/you/they did The full verb "do"

As a full verb we use do in certain expressions. If we want to form negative sentences or questions using do as a full verb, we need another do as an auxiliary.

positive sentence: She does her homework every day. negative sentence: She doesn't do her homework every day. question: Does she do her homework every day? Sentences without the auxiliary "do" In the following cases, the auxiliary do is not used in negative sentences/questions:

the full verb is "be"

Example: I am not angry. / Are you okay? the sentence already contains another auxiliary (e.g. have, be, will)

Example: They are not sleeping. / Have you heard that? the sentence contains a modal verb (can, may, must, need, ought to, shall, should)

Example: We need not wait. / Can you repeat that, please? the question asks for the subject of the sentence

Example: Who sings that song?

Passive voice

participles

auxiliaries