Passive
Form of Passive
Aktive Passive
Simple Present
Mr Smith writes the delivery notes.
The delivery notes are written (by Mr Smith).
Present Progressive
Mr notes.
Smith is writing the delivery
The delivery notes are being written (by Mr Smith).
Simple Past
Mr Smith wrote the delivery notes.
The delivery notes were written (by Mr Smith).
Present Perfect
Mr Smith has written the delivery notes.
The delivery notes have been written (by Mr Smith).
Past Perfect
Mr Smith had written the delivery notes.
The delivery notes had been written (by Mr Smith).
Future
Mr Smith will write the delivery notes.
The delivery notes will be written (by Mr Smith).
Ausiliary Verbs
Mr Smith must write the delivery notes.
The delivery notes must be written (by Mr Smith).
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 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
Tense Subject Verb Object
Simple Present
Active: Passive: Rita writes A letter is written a letter. by Rita.
Simple Past
Active: Rita wrote a letter. Passive: A letter was written by Rita.
Present Perfect
Active: Rita has written a letter.
Passive: A letter
has written
been
by Rita.
Future I
Active: Rita will write a letter.
Passive: A letter
will written be
by Rita.
Hilfsverben
Active: Rita can write a letter.
Passive: A letter
can written be
by Rita.
Examples of Passive
Tense Subject Verb Object
Present Progressive
Active: Passive: Rita is writing A letter is being written a letter. by Rita.
Past Progressive
Active: Rita was writing Passive: A letter was being written a letter. by Rita.
Past Perfect
Active: Rita had written a letter. Passive: A letter had been written by Rita.
Future II
Active: Rita will have written a letter. Passive: A letter will have been written by Rita.
Conditional I
Active: Rita would write a letter. Passive: A letter would be written by Rita.
Conditional II
Active: Rita would have written a letter.
Passive: A letter
would written
have been
by 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.
Subject Verb Object 1 Object 2 Active: Rita wrote a letter to me. Passive: A letter was written to me by Rita. Passive: I was written a letter by 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.
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