Passive Voice
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 of 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)
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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