The Passive
- We use passive form be + past participle of the verb to emphasize what happens to, or what is done to, the subject of the sentence, rather than what the subject of the sentence does.
- Borders between countries are being broken down.
- We usually use the passive form if the person or thing that does the action (the agent) is unknown, unimportant or obvious.
- 6,500 languages are spoken around the world.
- We sometimes use the passive if we want to be impersonal and avoid mentioning a specific agent.
- It is thought that many accidents are caused by dangerous driving.
- If we mention the person / thing that does the action it is usually to emphasize who / what this is.
- English is spoken by so many people as a second language.
- We usually use by to show the agent. To show what the agent uses to do the action, we usually use with.
- He was hit by a piece of wood. (= A piece of wood fell and hit him.)
- He was hit with a piece of wood. (= Someone hit him using it.)
Passive forms after modals
- Passive forms after modal verbs are formed with be or have been + the past participle of the verb.
- Further details can be obtained by writing to info@easytrips.com.
- It’s important for me to know things like that – I should have been told.
- Passive forms with be being or been being are possible but very rare.
- The room might be being used at the moment but it can’t have been being used for very long. (rare)
- Somebody might be using the room at the moment but they can’t have been using it for very long. (more common)
Verbs with two objects
- Verbs which can have two objects in active sentences, e.g. give, bring, send, teach, lend, sell, tell, pass and show, have two passive forms.
- Two billion people are currently being taught English. / English is currently being taught to two billion people.
- We often use reporting verbs in the passive to report something without saying who said it.
- We’ve been asked not to use our work computers to send personal emails.
Verbs with an object and a complement
- Verbs such as name, call, appoint, consider, elect, declare and vote in the passive form can be followed by an adjective or noun phrase (without as).
- Someone with a clearer accent would be considered better. NOT
… would be considered as better. - She was appointed President in 1990. NOT
… appointed as President …
- Someone with a clearer accent would be considered better. NOT
Verbs with Preposition
- We can make passive form of verbs which are followed by prepositions.
- The way globalization might affect the English language has already been widely written about.
- Our house was broken into while we were away on holiday.
Verbs which usually take the infinitive without to
- Verbs such a make, feel, help, see and hear are sometimes followed by a to-infinitive in the passive form. Note the difference:
- They made me wait for two hours.
- I was made to wait for two hours.
The –ing form of the passive
- Verbs such as love, remember, deny, avoid, describe, hate, like, don’t mind and imagine can be followed by being + past participle of the verb in the passive form.
- I love being given presents.
- In his book, he describes being attacked by a crocodile.
Adjectival forms
- Many adjectives are formed from the past participle and are used in a way similar to the passive.
- They were worried that somebody would steal their money.
- I’m not really interested in politics.
Source: Active Grammar, Level 3, Mark Lloyd and Jeremy Day, CUP, 2011 (With Ramrowriter’s adaptation where necessary)
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