Mastering the Passive Voice: Structure and Usage in English

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:

1. We don’t know the subject (the performer of the action).
2. The subject is not important or obvious.
3. We don’t want to say who performed the action.
4. 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” subject of the verb.
• It is introduced by the preposition “by”.
• We will use it only if it offers new, significant information.
• We will NEVER use vague agents like: by someone/somebody/by people/by them.

Converting Active to Passive Voice

You can turn an active sentence into a passive one by following these steps:

Active Sentence Example:

Shakespeare wrote Hamlet in 1603.

Transformation Steps:

1. Use the object (Hamlet) as the new subject.
2. Change the active verb (wrote) into a passive verb structure (was written).
3. Use the original subject (Shakespeare) in a prepositional phrase introduced by by. This phrase is called the Agent.

Passive Sentence Result:

Hamlet was written by Shakespeare in 1603.

Passive Structure Formula:

Subject + To Be + Past Participle (+ Agent)

Actiu i Passiu (Active and Passive Voice in Catalan)

• En una frase activa, el subjecte realitza l'acció.
• En una oració passiva, el subjecte no realitza l’acció; té un paper passiu.
• En una oració passiva, atès que el subjecte no realitza l’acció, el verb és un verb passiu.

Exemples:

• Shakespeare va escriure Hamlet. (ACTIU)
• Hamlet va ser escrit per Shakespeare. (PASSIU)

Recomanacions d'Ús

En general, la veu activa és més directa i sona molt més natural. Algunes frases passives fins i tot semblen ximples (awkward).

Per tant, si esteu dient alguna cosa amb un subjecte definit que realitza l'acció, és millor fer servir la veu activa.

Dit això, hi ha vegades que la veu passiva és necessària. Per formar-la, seguiu aquests passos:

1. Utilitzeu el verb "ser" en el mateix temps que el verb actiu.
2. Use the Past Participle form of the active verb.

Exemples de Formació:

• will buy: will be bought
• have seen: have been seen

Vocabulary List (English to Catalan)