Passive Sentence (english task part 14)

One can change the normal word order of many active sentences (those with a direct object) so that the subject is no longer active, but is, instead, being acted upon by the verb - or passive.

Note in these examples how the subject-verb relationship has
changed.

Because the subject is being "acted upon" (or is passive), such sentences are said to be in the passive voice.

NOTE: Colorful parrots live in the rainforests cannot be changed to passive voice because the sentence does not have a direct object.

To change a sentence from active to passive voice, do the following:

1. Move the active sentence's direct object into the sentence's subject slot

2. Place the active sentence's subject into a phrase beginning with the preposition by

3. Add a form of the auxiliary verb be to the main verb and change the main verb's form

Because passive voice sentences necessarily add words and change the normal doer-action-receiver of action direction, they may make the reader work harder to understand the intended meaning.

As the examples below illustrate, a sentence in active voice flows more smoothly and is easier to understand than the same sentence in passive voice.

It is generally preferable to use the ACTIVE voice.

To change a passive voice sentence into an active voice sentence, simply reverse the steps shown above.

1. Move the passive sentence's subject into the active sentence's direct object slot

2. Remove the auxiliary verb be from the main verb and change main verb's form if needed

3. Place the passive sentence's object of the preposition by into the subject slot.

Because it is more direct, most writers prefer to use the active voice whenever possible.

The passive voice may be a better choice, however, when

the doer of the action is unknown, unwanted, or unneeded in the sentence

Examples

the writer wishes to emphasize the action of the sentence rather than the doer of the action

Examples

the writer wishes to use passive voice for sentence variety.

Passive Sentence

In a passive sentence, the subject does not perform the action in the sentence. In fact, the action is performed on it.

Examples:

Anita was driven to the theatre.
(In this example, "Anita" is the subject of the sentence - subject of the verb "was". However, she did not perform the action of the verb "to drive". The action was done to her; she was the recipient of the action.)

Nowadays, kites are protected.
("kites" - passive subject, i.e., the action is being done to them)

The olives are stoned and crushed in this area.
("olives" - passive subject, i.e., the actions are being done to them)

In a passive sentence, the person or thing doing the action is usually preceded by the word "by".

Examples:

Anita was driven to the theatre by Carla.

Nowadays, kites are protected by law.

The olives are stoned and crushed in this area by my son.

The opposite of a passive sentence is an active sentence, in which the subject does perform the action of the
verb.

	Active	Passive
Simple Present	Once a week, Tom cleans the house.	Once a week, the house is cleaned by Tom.
Present Continuous	Right now, Sarah is writing the letter.	Right now, the letter is being written by Sarah.
Simple Past	Sam repaired the car.	The car was repaired by Sam.
Past Continuous	The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the store.	The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the store.
Present Perfect	Many tourists have visited that castle.	That castle has been visited by many tourists.
Present Perfect Continuous	Recently, John has been doing the work.	Recently, the work has been being done by John.
Past Perfect	George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license.	Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's license.
Past Perfect Continuous	Chef Jones had been preparing the restaurant's fantastic dinners for two years before he moved to Paris.	The restaurant's fantastic dinners had been being prepared by Chef Jones for two years before he moved to Paris.
Simple Future will	Someone will finish the work by 5:00 PM.	The work will be finished by 5:00 PM.
Simple Future be going to	Sally is going to make a beautiful dinner tonight.	A beautiful dinner is going to be made by Sally tonight.
Future Continuous will	At 8:00 PM tonight, John will be washing the dishes.	At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes will be being washed by John.
Future Continuous be going to	At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going to be washing the dishes.	At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes are going to be being washed by John.
Future Perfect will	They will have completed the project before the deadline.	The project will have been completed before the deadline.
Future Perfect be going to	They are going to have completed the project before the deadline.	The project is going to have been completed before the deadline.
Future Perfect Continuous will	The famous artist will have been painting the mural for over six months by the time it is finished.	The mural will have been being painted by the famous artist for over six months by the time it is finished.
Future Perfect Continuous be going to	The famous artist is going to have been painting the mural for over six months by the time it is finished.	The mural is going to have been being painted by the famous artist for over six months by the time it is finished.
Used to	Jerry used to pay the bills.	The bills used to be paid by Jerry.
Would Always	My mother would always make the pies.	The pies would always be made by my mother.
Future in the Past Would	I knew John would finish the work by 5:00 PM.	I knew the work would be finished by 5:00 PM.
Future in the Past Was Going to	I thought Sally was going to make a beautiful dinner tonight.	I thought a beautiful dinner was going to be made by Sally tonight.

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Passive Sentence (english task part 14)

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