Present Passive Voice

Active/ Passive Voice definition A verb is said to be active voice when it expresses an action performed by its subject. A verb is said to be passive voice when the action it expresses is performed upon its subject.

Active / Passive examples active voice The coach instructed the players. The subject performs the action. Passive voice The players were instructed by the coach. The subject receives the action.

Passive or active? The album was received unfavorably by the fans. The student body elects its council reps. Angelo’s courageous act averted a tragedy. A bit part was played by the well-known actor. Someone at the airport recognized the popular actor. A volunteer usually leads the discussions. That counting game is played by more than one person. A prophet’s warnings are usually ignored at first. WC Handy composed many famous jazz pieces. Handy’s contributions to music are appreciated by many listeners.

Passive or active? The album was received unfavorably by the fans. p The student body elects its council reps. a Angelo’s courageous act averted a tragedy. a A bit part was played by the well-known actor. p Someone at the airport recognized the popular actor.a A volunteer usually leads the discussions. a That counting game is played by more than one person.p A prophet’s warnings are usually ignored at first.p WC Handy composed many famous jazz pieces.a Handy’s contributions to music are appreciated by many listeners. p

Passive voice in Spanish Passive voice is always made with the same pattern. Ser + past participle If you look at the examples, ser is the first part of the passive voice structure followed by a past participle in English.

Look at the passive examples. The album was received unfavorably by the fans. A bit part was played by the well-known actor. That counting game is played by more than one person. A prophet’s warnings are usually ignored at first. Handy’s contributions to music are appreciated by many listeners. Do you see the ser and past participles going to happen?

REMEMBER Remember regular past participles are made by adding –ado or –ido to the stem. There are the irregulars. Abierto / visto / puesto / dicho / cubierto / escrito / vuelto / hecho / muerto / roto

Passive voice Passive voice is made using ser (present tense) + past participle. The book is written… El libro es escrito The map is read… El mapa es leído.

Passive voice Unlike the perfect tenses, the past participle will agree with the subject of the sentence. La mesa es puesta… The table is set…

Passive voice -- try The paper is finished… The books are studied… The tables are broken… The dresses are bought… The house is painted…

Answers El papel es terminado… Los libros son estudiados Las mesas son rotas… Los vestidos son comprados… La casa es pintada…

Passive voice with agent A reason for using por was for agent. In passive voice, the actor doing the action is the agent. The players were instructed by the coach. Coach is the agent.

Passive Voice If you want to say that the action is done “by me” you use “por mí”. If you want to say that the action is done “by you” you use “por ti”. If you want to say that the action is done “by us” you use “por nosotros”.

Passive voice - examples The movies are shown by the theater. The books are read by the teacher. The office is built by the people. The class is taught by the student. The computer is given by the school. The students are watched by the principal.