THE PASSIVE VOICE

Slides 1 – 6 taken from learningcenter.fiu.edu

What is Active Voice?

• In the Active voice, the subject performs the action.

For example:Joseph draws a picture.

Joseph is the subject and he is doing something (drawing).

What is passive voice?

• In passive voice the subject is acted upon.

For example:The picture was drawn by Joseph.

In this case, the drawing is the subject and it is being acted upon by Joseph.

When to use passive voice

• Use passive voice when you do not wish to emphasize the subject of the sentence.

Example: Smoking is prohibited. (passive) The management prohibits smoking. (active)

The passive sentence takes attention away from management, so they do not have to be in the role of the “bad guys.”

Passive Voice (con’d)• Also use passive voice when you wish to

emphasize what happened and the person or thing acting is unknown or unimportant.

Example Poisonous gases were found in six factories.

The use of passive emphasizes the finding of

gases, not who found them.

Note: Because passive voice often leads to awkward or wordy

constructions, use passive voice sparingly and with good reason.

When to use active voice Use active voice unless you are required or

have very specific reasons for doing otherwise.

Active voice generally leads to more concise writing.

It clarifies who is performing the action.

Remember: Staying active is a healthy practice, especially in your writing!

Hands onLet’s use the following words as the base for our sentence:

Police / question / suspect

•To make the passive use the verb ‘to BE’ in the same tense as the original sentence.•To make the passive, use the 3rd form or past participle of the main verb. •If you need to mention who is doing the action, use ‘by’ to introduce it.

Present simple

To make the passive use the verb ‘to BE’ in the same

tense as the original sentence – here it is the

present simple tense

To make the passive, use the 3rd form or

past participle of the main verb.

If you need to mention who is

doing the action, use ‘by’ to introduce it.

ACTIVE VOICE:

PASSIVE VOICE

The police question the suspect.

Police / question / suspect

The suspect

is questioned

by the police.

Present continuous

To make the passive use the verb ‘to BE’ in the same

tense as the original sentence – here it is the

present continuous

To make the passive, use the 3rd form or

past participle of the main verb.

If you need to mention who is

doing the action, use ‘by’ to introduce it.

ACTIVE VOICE:

PASSIVE VOICE

The police are questioning the suspect.

Police / question / suspect

The suspect

is being questioned

by the police.

Past simple

To make the passive use the verb ‘to BE’ in the same

tense as the original sentence – here it is the

past simple tense

To make the passive, use the 3rd form or

past participle of the main verb.

If you need to mention who is

doing the action, use ‘by’ to introduce it.

ACTIVE VOICE:

PASSIVE VOICE

The police questioned the suspect.

Police / question / suspect

The suspect

was questioned

by the police.

Past continuous

To make the passive use the verb ‘to BE’ in the same

tense as the original sentence – here it is the past

continuous

ACTIVE VOICE:

PASSIVE VOICE

The police were questioning the suspect.

Police / question / suspect

The suspect

was being questioned

by the police.

Future Simple

To make the passive use the verb ‘to BE’ in the same

tense as the original sentence – here it is the

past continuous

ACTIVE VOICE:

PASSIVE VOICE

The police will question the suspect.

Police / question / suspect

The suspect

will be questioned

by the police.

Future Perfect

To make the passive use the verb ‘to BE’ in the same

tense as the original sentence – here it is the

past continuous

ACTIVE VOICE:

PASSIVE VOICE

The police will have questioned the suspect.

Police / question / suspect

The suspect

will have been questioned

by the police.

Present Perfect

To make the passive use the verb ‘to BE’ in the same

tense as the original sentence – here it is the

past continuous

ACTIVE VOICE:

PASSIVE VOICE

The police have questioned the suspect.

Police / question / suspect

The suspect

has beenquestioned

by the police.

Past Perfect Simple

To make the passive use the verb ‘to BE’ in the same

tense as the original sentence – here it is the

past continuous

ACTIVE VOICE:

PASSIVE VOICE

The police had questioned the suspect.

Police / question / suspect

The suspect

had been questioned

by the police.

Modals Present (e.g.must, can)

To make the passive use the verb ‘to BE’ in the same

tense as the original sentence – here it is the

past continuous

ACTIVE VOICE:

PASSIVE VOICE

The police must question the suspect.

Police / question / suspect

The suspect

must be questioned

by the police.

Modals Past (e.g.must have)

To make the passive use the verb ‘to BE’ in the same

tense as the original sentence – here it is the

past continuous

ACTIVE VOICE:

PASSIVE VOICE

The police must have questioned the suspect.

Police / question / suspect

The suspect

must have been questioned

by the police.