The active and the passive voice 1 We usually use the active voice in writing and speaking. E.g. Nokia Someone or something (the agent) does something (verb) to someone or something else (recipient) cell phonesrecycles The ACTIVE AND THE PASSIVE VOICE

The active and the passive voice 2 Here’s another example: Someone or something (the agent) Nokia user’s does something (verb) can recycle to someone or something else (recipient) cell phones

The active and the passive voice 3 In the passive voice, we change this around, so that the recipient has something done to it by the agent. E.g. Someone or something (recipient) has something done to it (verb) by someone or something (the agent) Cell phonesare recycled by Nokia

The active and the passive voice 4 Let’s see that again. Someone or something (recipient) has something done to it (verb) by someone or something (the agent) by Nokia userscan be recycledCell phones

The active and the passive voice 5 In these examples, spot the use of the active voice and the passive voice. Cell phones are made of metal and plastic. Plastic and metal can be easily recycled. People use cell phones all over the world. People buy thousands of cell phones every year. Cell phones are recycled by Nokia experts. passive active

The active and the passive voice 6 Sometimes in passive sentences, the agent is left out. The agent – “people” - is left out. Why do you think that the agent might be left out in this example? Cell phonesare used all over the world Someone or something (recipient) has something done to it (verb)

The active and the passive voice 7 The passive is used: 1)- when the agent (the person who does the action) is unknown, unimportant or obvious from the context. Eg. “Thousand of cell phones are bought every year” (by people – obvious agent) 2)- to make statements more polite or formal Eg. “My new cell phone has been damaged” (it’s more polite than saying “You have damaged my cell phone”)

The active and the passive voice 8 3)- when the action is more important than the agent – as in news reports, formal notices, instructions, processes, headlines, etc. Eg. “A cell phones recycling project was presented this morning in the United States” (news report) 4)- to put emphasis on the agent Eg. “Cell phones in America are being recycled by Nokia”

The active and the passive voice 9 REMEMBER The structure of the passive voice can be described as follows: TO BE + PAST PARTICIPLE + (BY) MODAL + BE + PAST PARTICIPLE + (BY)