Passive Voice

1. Passive – Use

We only use the passive when we are interested in the object or when we do not know who caused the action.

Example: Appointments are required in such cases.

2. Passive – Form

to be + past participle

How to form a passive sentence when an active sentence is given:

• object of the active sentence becomes subject in the passive sentence
• subject of the active sentence becomes object in the passive sentence (or is left out)

We can only form a passive sentence from an active sentence when there is an object in the active sentence.

Type of sentence	Subject	Verb	Object
Active sentence:	Peter	builds	a house.
Passive sentence:	A house	is built	by Peter.

3. Examples

3.1. Simple Present

Type of sentence	Subject	Verb	Object
Active sentence:	Peter	builds	a house.
Passive sentence:	A house	is built	by Peter.

3.2. Simple Past

Type of sentence	Subject	Verb	Object
Active sentence:	Peter	built	a house.
Passive sentence:	A house	was built	by Peter.

3.3. Present Perfect

Type of sentence	Subject	Verb	Object
Active sentence:	Peter	has built	a house.
Passive sentence:	A house	has been built	by Peter.

3.4. will-future

Type of sentence	Subject	Verb	Object
Active sentence:	Peter	will build	a house.
Passive sentence:	A house	will be built	by Peter.

3.5. Modals

Type of sentence	Subject	Verb	Object
Active sentence:	Peter	can build	a house.
Passive sentence:	A house	can be built	by Peter.

Active and Passive Voice

Transitive verbs have both active and passive forms:

active		passive
The hunter killed the lion.	>>	The lion was killed by the hunter.
Someone has cleaned the windows	>>	The windows have been cleaned

The passive forms are made up of the verb be with a past participle:

	be	past participle
English	is	spoken	all over the world
The windows	have been	cleaned
Lunch	was being	served
The work	will be	finished	soon
They	might have been	invited	to the party

We sometimes use the verb get to form the passive:

Be careful with the glass. It might get broken.
Peter got hurt in a crash.

If we want to show the person or thing doing the action we use by:

She was attacked by a dangerous dog.
The money was stolen by her husband.

We can use the indirect object as the subject of a passive verb:

active		passive
I gave him a book for his birthday	>>	He was given a book for his birthday.
Someone sent her a cheque for a thousand euros	>>	She was sent a cheque for a thousand euros.

We can use phrasal verbs in the passive:

active		passive
They called off the meeting.	>>	The meeting was called off.
His grandmother looked after him.	>>	He was looked after by his grandmother.
They will send him away to school.	>>	He will be sent away to school.

Some verbs very frequently used in the passive are followed by the to-infinitive:

be supposed to	be expected to	be asked to
be scheduled to	be allowed to	be told to

John has been asked to make a speech at the meeting.
You are supposed to wear a uniform.
The meeting is scheduled to start at seven. 

Causative Verbs

Causative structures indicate that one thing or person causes another thing or person to do something or be something.

Examples of causatives

Have (give someone the responsibility to do something)

• I had John fix the car
• I had my hair cut

Make (force someone to do something)

• The teacher made the students work in groups
• Our boss made us work extra hours

Get (convince or trick someone into doing something)

• He got the mechanic to repair the machine.
• She got him to read more.

Let (allow someone do something)

• Jane let her son go out
• They let the children play in the yard

Other causative verbs

Other causative verbs include:

allow, help, enable, keep, hold, force, require, persuade

Wish and If only

Wish and ‘If only’ are both used to talk about regrets – things that we would like to change either about the past or the present.

Talking about the present

• If only I didn’t have so much homework I could go to the concert tonight. She has a lot of homework and she can’t go to the concert.
• I wish you didn’t live so far away.
• I wish I knew what to do.

When we talk about present regrets, both wish and if only are followed by the past simple tense. The past tense emphasises that we are talking about something ‘unreal’.

Talking about the past

• I wish I’d studied harder when I was at school. He didn’t study harder when he was at school.
• I wish I hadn’t eaten all that chocolate. I feel sick.
• If only I’d known you were coming.

Both wish and if only are followed by the past perfect tense when we talk about past regrets.

Wish/if only and would

We use wish + would to talk about something in the present that we would like to change – usually something that we find annoying.

• I wish you wouldn’t borrow my clothes without asking.
• I wish it would rain. The garden really needs some water.
• I wish you’d give up smoking. it’s really bad for you.

NB We can only use wish + would to talk about things we can’t change.

So I wish I wouldn’t eat so much chocolate is not possible although we can say I wish I didn’t eat so much chocolate.

Mixed Conditionals

In mixed conditional sentences the time in the ‘if’ clause is not the same as the time in the main clause. There can be various combinations.

• If he’d gone to university he might have a better job.

He didn’t go to university (past)
He doesn’t have a very good job. (present)
This sentence shows the present consequences of a past action.

• If I’d won the competition I’d be going to Florida next week.

She didn’t win the competition (past)
She isn’t going to Florida (future)
This sentence shows the future consequences of a past action.

• If he didn’t have to work tomorrow he wouldn’t be so miserable today.

He has to work tomorrow (future)
He’s miserable. (present)
This sentence shows the present consequence of a future event.

Conditionals 1, 2 and 3

Here is some more practice of conditionals for you to try online.

Go to the link below to start and follow the instructions.

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-conditionals.php

Conditional sentences

This drop-down menu online exercise allows you to test your ability with conditional sentences.

Choose the correct answer for each question from the menu, then check your answers.

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-conditionals-2.php