Active and passive voice (Part 2)

STUDY this example: This house was built in 1995. This is a passive sentence. Compare it with this one: Somebody built this house in 1995. (active). This house was built in 1995. (passive). We often prefer the passive when it is not so important who or what did the action. In this example, it is not so important who built the house.

 In a passive sentence, if you want to say who did or what caused the action, use by: – This house was built by my son. (= my son built it). Have you ever been bitten by a dog? (= Has a dog ever bitten you?) In passive sentences we use the correct form of be (is) are/ was/were/ have been and many more) + the past participle: (be) done, (be) cleaned; (be) damaged; (be) built and (b) seen.

The passive infinite is be done/ be cleaned/ be built. We use the infinite after modal verbs (will, can, must etc.) and a number of other verbs (for example: have to, be going to, and want to). Compare: Active: We can solve this problem. Passive: This problem can be solved. The new clinic will be opened next year. Richard might be sent to England by his company in May. The music at the party was very loud and could be heard from far away.

This room is to be painted next week. Go away! I want to be left alone. There is a past infinitive form: have been done/ have been cleaned/have been built etc. Active: Somebody should have cleaned the windows yesterday. Passive: The windows should have been cleaned yesterday. My bicycle has disappeared. It must have been stolen. She wouldn’t have been injured if she had been wearing a seat-belt. The weather was awful. The football match ought to have been cancelled.

Complete these sentences with one of the following verbs (in the correct form): arrest, spend wake, hear, knock, carry, check, translate, find, drive, make. Example: The music at the party was very loud and could be heard from far away. A decision will not . . . until the next meeting. That building is dangerous. It ought to . . . down before it falls down. When you go through Customs, your luggage may . . . by a customs officer.

I told the hotel receptionist that I wanted to . . . up to 6: 30. Her new book will probably . . . into a number of foreign languages. If you kicked a policeman, you’d . . . Police are looking for the missing boy. He can’t . . . anywhere. Do you think that less money should . . . on arms? The injured man couldn’t walk and had to . . . I don’t mind driving but I prefer to . . . by other people.

Passive (2) (present and past tenses). These are the passive forms of the present and past tenses: Present simple – am/is/are + done/cleaned etc. Active: Somebody cleans this room every day. Passive: This room is cleaned every day. Many accidents are caused by dangerous driving. I’m not often invited to parties. How many people are injured in accidents every day? Past simple – was/were + done/cleaned. Active: Somebody cleaned this room yesterday. Passive: This room was cleaned yesterday. During the night we were all woken up by a loud explosion. When was that castle built? The house wasn’t damaged in the storm but a tree was blown down. Present continuous – am/is/are being + done/cleaned etc.

Active: Somebody is cleaning the room at the moment. 

Passive: The room is being cleaned at the moment. Look at those old buildings! They are being knocked down. (Shop assistant to customer) Are you being served, madam? Past continuous – was/were being done/cleaned. Somebody was cleaning the room when I arrived. Passive: The room was being cleaned when I arrived. Suddenly I heard footsteps behind me. We were being followed.

Present perfect – have/has been + done/cleaned. Active: The room looks nice. Somebody has cleaned it. Passive: The room looks nice. It has been cleaned. Have you heard the news? The businessman has been shot. Have you ever been bitten by a dog? I’m not going to the party. I haven’t been invited. Past perfect had been + done/cleaned. The room looked much better. Somebody had cleaned it.

Passive: The room looked much better. It had been cleaned. And didn’t know about the change of plans. He hadn’t been told.

Passive 3 – Some verbs can have two objects. For example, offer: They didn’t offer Beatrice the job. (The two objects are Beatrice and the job. So, it is possible to make two different passive sentences: Beatrice wasn’t offered the job. The job wasn’t offered to Beatrice. It is more usual for the passive sentence to begin with the person. Other verbs like offer which can have two objects are: ask, tell, give, send, show, reach and pay.

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