Mastering the Passive Voice: Structure and Usage in English
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Understanding the Passive Voice
Definition: The passive voice offers a new perspective on an action, focusing on the recipient rather than the performer.
When to Use the Passive Voice
The passive voice is used when:
- We don’t know the subject (the performer of the action).
- The subject is not important or obvious.
- We don’t want to say who performed the action.
- We want to highlight the object (the recipient of the action).
Structure of the Passive Sentence
The basic structure is: Object + To Be (conjugated) + Past Participle (+ by Agent)
Examples:
- My dog was bitten by another dog.
- James has been sent to Paris.
- Ten cars were stolen yesterday night.
The Agent in Passive Sentences
The Agent is the performer of the action in a passive sentence.
- It is the “real”