1. THE PASSIVE VOICE What is it? When do I need to use it in my writing?

2. Look at these two sentences: (1)Some people built the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883. Is there any difference in meaning between the two sentences? (2) The Brooklyn Bridge was built in 1883.

3. What is the grammatical ‘subject’ of sentence (1)? What is the ‘object’? (1)Some people built the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883. Let’s see what’s going on with these sentences:

4. (2) The Brooklyn Bridge was built in 1883. What is the grammatical ‘subject’ of sentence (2)? What is the ‘object’?

5. Why didn’t we say ‘by some people’ in #2? The Brooklyn Bridge was built by some people in 1883.... Because it’s OBVIOUS! Only PEOPLE build bridges like the Brooklyn Bridge!

6. What happens to the sentence structure when we go from #1 to #2? (1) Some people built the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883. (2) The Brooklyn Bridge was built in 1883.

7. subject object Some people built the Brooklyn Bridge in 1988. subject ‘by-phrase’ The Brooklyn Bridge was built in 1988 by some people Going from Active to Passive:

8. What are the necessary parts of the passive voice? In other words, how do we know a sentence is passive? How do we recognize passive verbs?

9. The Brooklyn Bridge was built in 1983. BE PAST PARTICIPLE Without both parts, you don’t have a passive!

10. Look at these different examples: The floors are washed every Friday. The newspaper is always delivered at 7:00. My notebook has been stolen! Handouts will be distributed tomorrow. What are the verb TENSES in the above passive verbs? Why is there no “by-phrase”?

11. Remember: The passive is only used ONLY...... when the recipient of the action is more important than the agent. For example: That incredibly complex cake with all the fancy decorations, the one in the center of the table, was baked by my mother.

12. ... when the agent is not important at all... For example, That floor is always cleaned perfectly, isn’t it?

13. ... when the agent is obvious (as in ‘someone’ or ‘some people’) For example, Good essays are usually well planned.

14. ... when you wish to conceal the agent For Example: (Whispered by Charlie): Don’t tell Mom that I broke her vase! (Whispered by Julia): Okay. (shouted to Mom): Look, Mom! The vase has been broken! We don’t know how!

15. By the way, Why do we use the “by-phrase” in the following: The report was prepared by our excellent secretary, Karen. Why, in “by our excellent secretary”, is the name “Karen”necessary? Also, why might we choose the active voice and say, instead, “Karen, our excellent secretary, prepared the report.”