Passive voice - Level II

In English, a normal sentence starts with a noun as a subject, a verb and a number of objects, like the direct object; this is known as an active sentence or voice. However, speakers can also start the same sentence by starting with the object acting as subject to put emphasis on the result or the recipient of the action, subverting the order of the sentence. This is known as a passive sentence.

In this post we will learn about the passive voice at level II, so the explanation is in English and the examples shown have an intermediate difficulty.

Uses of the passive voice

We use the passive voice in English for:

1. Changing the focus on the receiver of the action.

• The teenager found the diamond in the cave = The diamond was found in the cave.
• The soldiers are fighting the enemy unit = The enemy unit is being fought.
• Every Wednesday Pablo prepares pasta = Every Wednesday pasta is prepared.
• Xena will defeat the blonde warrior at the beach = The blonde warrior will be defeated at the beach.

2. Those situations the agent who performs the action is unknown, obvious or unimportant.

• The window situated in my office has been broken for a while.
• I regret to inform you that your car has recently been stolen and we can’t find it.
• The starving kitten that we found last week was finally fed and survived.
• The space satellite that is going to being launch soon is being constructed as we speak.

3. Expressions or sentences that are impersonal in nature (in Spanish they usually begin with ‘se’).

• It is said that Santa Claus knows everything, when you are sleeping or when you are awake.
• It was known by everyone in town that her family got its riches through crime and deceit.
•  It is believed that at the end of their lifespan elephants always migrate to the same spot to die in peace.
• It has been suggested that the solution to the problem was to be solved in an unconventional manner.

4. Writing technical, historical or scientific texts.

• The adamantium metal was bonded to the subject’s bones successfully in yesterday’s experiment.
• Warp travel was discovered by Zefram Cochrane in 2061, marking the beginning of humanity’s exploring of the cosmos.
• Salt is added to the meal only after the sauce in the pan has boiled for at least five minutes.
• The bolt is inserted into Figure A, then it needs to be screwed tight. Then, the motor can be started safely.

Structure of the passive voice

An active English sentence would be read as:

• Gabriel is forging a sword right now.
• She waters her cacti every week.

In the first sentence, ‘Gabriel’ is the subject, ‘is forging’ is the verb in a present continuous tense, ‘a sword’ is the direct object and ‘right now’ is an object complement. In a passive sentence, the active object acquires the role of subject and the previous active subject becomes the passive agent, and thus it will be read like this:

• A sword is being forged right now (by Gabriel)*.
• The cacti are watered  every week (by her)*.

*The passive agent, in most cases, can be omitted as it is not always necessary to understand the meaning of the sentence.

There can be the case of a sentence having two objects in it, like:

• My boyfriend gave me a book as a present.

When an active sentence has two objects, both can be used as the passive subject, but not at the same time, it is up to the speaker to decide which to use. Once the subject has been decided, the other object remains with its previous syntactic function in the sentence.

• I was given a book as a present / A book was given to me as a present

Verb tenses in the passive form

When transforming an active sentence into passive, an auxiliary ‘to be’ is added to the verb phrase, and the main verb uses the past participle form. The following table shows examples of how it is implemented in a sentence.

Verbal tense	Active voice	Passive voice
Present simple	Tom starts a game.	A game is started by Tom.
Present continuous	Tom is starting a game.	A game is being started by Tom.
Present perfect simple	Tom has started a game.	A game has been started by Tom.
Present perfect continuous*	Tom has been starting a game.	A game has been being started by Tom.
Past simple	Tom started a game.	A game was started by Tom.
Past continuous	Tom was starting a game.	A game was being started by Tom.
Past perfect simple	Tom had started a game.	A game had been started by Tom.
Past perfect continuous*	Tom had been starting a game.	A game had been being started by Tom.
Future simple	Tom will start a game.	A game will be started by Tom.
Future continuous*	Tom will be starting a game.	A game will be being started by Tom.
Future perfect simple	Tom will have started a game.	A game will have been started by Tom.
Future perfect continuous*	Tom will have been starting a game.	A game will have been being started by Tom.

* Perfect continuous tenses, as well as the future continuous, often are avoided due to using many auxiliary verbs, but they can be used if needed.

Note: The passive voice is not used in sentences that contain an intransitive verb or linking verbs like seem, sound or prove, as they lack an object, which is needed for the passive’s subject.