Passive Voice
Spoken Description
Discover how to form and when to use the passive voice with clear explanations and examples. Improve your writing and speaking skills by using passive constructions like 'The cake was eaten by the kids'.
Descubre cómo formar y cuándo usar la voz pasiva con explicaciones claras y ejemplos. Mejora tu escritura y habla con oraciones pasivas como 'El pastel fue comido por los niños'.
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Passive voice moves the focus from who does an action to who receives it, and it is useful for emphasizing results or when the doer is unknown or unimportant. This guide explains how to form and use passive voice with clear examples.
Key Idea
Passive voice swaps the sentence so the original object becomes the subject, the action is expressed with be + past participle, and the agent can be shown with by or left out.
Formation
To make the passive, use the appropriate form of be followed by the past participle of the main verb; match be to the tense and number of the original sentence.
Present Passive
In the present passive, use am/is/are + past participle to describe actions that happen regularly or states that are currently true.
| Active Sentence | Passive Sentence | |
|---|---|---|
| They clean the windows. | The windows are cleaned. | |
| She writes reports. | Reports are written. |
The floors(clean) every morning.
Complete the present passive sentence
Past Passive
In the past passive, use was/were + past participle to describe actions that were completed in the past.
| Active Sentence | Passive Sentence | |
|---|---|---|
| They painted the fence. | The fence was painted. | |
| He fixed the computer. | The computer was fixed. |
The packages(deliver) yesterday afternoon.
Fill in the past passive form
Future Passive
In the future passive, use will be + past participle to describe actions that will happen.
| Active Sentence | Passive Sentence | |
|---|---|---|
| They will deliver the package. | The package will be delivered. | |
| She will complete the work. | The work will be completed. |
The results(announce) tomorrow.
Complete the future passive sentence
Perfect Passive
The perfect passive uses has/have been + past participle to show that an action was completed recently or has relevance now.
| Active Sentence | Passive Sentence | |
|---|---|---|
| They have cleaned the room. | The room has been cleaned. | |
| He has repaired the car. | The car has been repaired. |
The machine(repair) already.
Complete the sentence with perfect passive
Agents
The agent (doer) in passive sentences is introduced with by and can be included when important or omitted when unknown or irrelevant.
Uses
Passive voice is used to highlight the result of an action, to keep the doer anonymous, and to create a more objective or formal tone.
Summary
Passive voice shifts focus to the action's receiver by using be + past participle; it works for various tenses and for including or omitting the agent with by. Practice turning active sentences into passive to gain fluency.
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