{ THE PASSIVE VOICE School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Applied Studies Belgrade, April 2013 Lecturer Slavica Savić

 Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.  Example: My bike was stolen.  In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.  Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:  Example: A mistake was made.  In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have made a mistake.). Use of Passive

 Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:  Example: A mistake was made.  In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have made a mistake.). Use of Passive

 to be + past participle  How to form a passive sentence when an active sentence is given: - object of the "active" sentence becomes subject in the "passive" sentence - subject of the "active" sentence becomes "object" in the "passive" sentence" (or is left out) Form

Active:Peterbuildsa house. Passive:A houseis builbtBuiltby Peter. EXAMPLE

Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on. Passive Sentences with Two Objects

SubjectVerbObject 1Object 2 Active:Ritawrotea letterto me. Passive:A letterwas writtento meby Rita. Passive:Iwas writtena letterby Rita. Passive Sentences with Two Objects

 Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. So every verb that needs an object (transitive verb) can form a personal passive.  Example: They build houses. – Houses are built. Personal and Impersonal Passive

 Impersonal Passive is only possible with verbs of perception (e. g. say, think, know).  Example: They say that women live longer than men. – It is said that women live longer than men.  Although Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.  Example: They say that women live longer than men. – Women are said to live longer than men. Personal and Impersonal Passive

 John collects money. -  John collects money. -  Anna opened the window. -  Anna opened the window. -  We have done our homework. -  We have done our homework. -  I will ask a question. -  I will ask a question. -  He can cut out the picture. -  He can cut out the picture. -  The sheep ate a lot. -  The sheep ate a lot. -  We do not clean our rooms. -  We do not clean our rooms. -  William will not repair the car. -  William will not repair the car. -  Did Sue draw this circle? -  Did Sue draw this circle? -  Could you feed the dog? -  Could you feed the dog? - Rewrite the sentences in passive voice:

1. A piece of plastic had been swallowed by the child. 2. Two separate people were given rides in the new models by the designer. 3. Our dog is frightened by loud thunderstorms. 4.The store was kept open until 11:00 p.m. by the overtired workers. 5. The story is presented in a dispassionate way by the author. Passive to Active

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