The Passive Voice
The Passive Voice
THE
PASSIVE
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1 Presentation
Active: I posted the letter on Monday. Passive: The letter was posted on Monday.
In the active sentence the subject (I) causes an action (posted the letter). In the passive sentence, the
cause of the action is unknown or unimportant - we only say what happens to the subject (the letter).
The passive is formed with the verb be (is/are/was/were etc.) + past participle (e.g. posted)
If we want to say who or what causes the action in a passive sentence, we use by:
The letter was posted by her father. He was hit by a motorbike.
If the verb in a passive sentence has two objects, we can begin with the second object or use to:
Active: The company gave me a new phone.
Passive: I was given a new phone. / A new phone was given to me.
Dialogue
A: His car was sold yesterday.
B: Really? Who bought it?
A: I don’t know, but he got paid a lot of money for it.
THE PASSIVE
Complete the sentences using one of these verbs in the correct form:
3 Active or passive?
Complete the sentences with the verbs in the correct form (active or passive):
1. Tom’s parents died when he was a child, so he (bring up) by his grandparents.
2. I liked your old Facebook profile picture. Why (you/change/it)?
3. My new photos (take) when I was on holiday in Spain.
4. I can’t get in the house. The door (lock)!
5. The shop (close) every day at 5pm.
6. My wallet (steal) while I was at the bar. I think it was that man with the beard.
7. Somebody (steal) my wallet while I was at the bar. I’m never going back there
again!
8. Alan (drive) everywhere. He loves his new car.
9. The president (drive) everywhere. He has his own private chauffeur.
THE PASSIVE
Now try to guess the answers to the questions or work with a partner and ask/answer the questions.
Compare your answers to the correct answers on the next page. How close were you?
Transform the sentences below into the passive voice. In some sentences you can use ‘get’ as well as
‘be’.
THE PASSIVE
Key
3. Active or passive?
1. was brought up
2. did you change it/have you changed it
3. were taken
4. is locked
5. closes
6. was stolen
7. stole
8. drives
9. is driven
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