Passive Voice-William GómezE6

 

PASSIVE VOICE                                                                                                                        

Use: We use passive voice when we want to focus the attention on the object, the subject works as a passive element in the sentence.

Rule: Object + to be (According to the tense) + past participle (Main Verb) + by + Subject (Object Pronoun)

           

           ACTIVE                                                        

-She sends a report every day                                 

-Jill interviewed two candidates for the new post                            

-They are launching a new product at this moment

-Ardila Lule has bought most companies in Colombia

-We are going to present a new proposal of marketing at the lecture                  

-The branch will meet the sales target in December

•       The direct complement (Object) becomes the subject in the PASSIVE VOICE.

          PASSIVE

-A report is sent by her every day

-Two candidates were interviewed (by Jill) for the new post

-A new product is being launched (by them) at this moment

-Most companies in Colombia have been bought by Ardila Lule

-A new proposal of marketing is going to be presented (By us) at the lecture.

                                                  Let’s see a famous example of a multinational brand…

ACTIVE	PASSIVE
I read a book every month.	A book is read by me every month.
She is making dinner now.	Dinner is being made by her now.
They bought too many branches.	Too many branches were bought by them.
They were discussing the budget.	The budget was being discussed.
I have done all the work.	All the work has been done by me.
We´ve been watching that movie..	That movie has been being watch.
She had cleaned everything.	Everything had been cleaned by her.
They had been learning that	That had been being learnt by them.
I will pay that.	That will be paid by me.
He´ll have finished the work.	The work will have been finished.

                                                   Take a look!

•       The agent subject (person who carries out the action) can be present in the passive voice, sometimes it is optional, not mandatory. It has to be preceded by BY.

Example: Active-The employees made a mistake when packing the goods.

                Passive-A mistake was made (By the employees) when packing the goods

•       The indirect complement of an active voice can become as well in the subject of a passive voice. This is not possible in Spanish.

Example:  Active- Our boss gave us a bonus.

                 Passive Direct Object- A bonus was given to us (By our boss)

                 Passive Indirect Object- We were given a bonus (By our boss)

More examples:

-          They told her the truth     She was told the truth.

-          He paid me                       I was paid by him. 

-          They sent him a letter     He was sent a letter.  

•  Not all verbs can be used in the passive voice, we can only use verbs accompanied by a Direct Object.

Examples:

-          I went to the cinema.

-          She´ll become a doctor when she grows up. 

-          We aren´t happy in this company. 

Created by William Gómez 21/02/2018