Passive Voice

Passive Voice
Passive Voice
Why use the Passive?
• To emphasize the object or party receiving the action
– Rebekah was selected for a free gift.
• To emphasize the action instead of the actor
– Our car was repaired by our neighbor.
• When the agent (doer) is unknown
– Her house was broken into last night.
• When the agent (doer) is unimportant
– Gas prices were raised again last week.
• To be discreet or tactful by not naming the agent
– The keys were misplaced again!
Passive Voice
Structure
• There are two main rules to all Passive Voice forms
1. Add the verb “Be” in the same tense as the sentence in its
active voice form
2. Use the Past Participle form of the main verb
• There are two additional rules for the Passive Voice
1. In Continuous/Progressive tense sentences add the
continuous form of “Be” which is “being”
• Ex: More homes are being built this year.
2. In all Perfect tenses and Perfect Modals use the Past
Participle form of “Be” which is “been”
• Ex: Gifts have been given out already.
• Ex: My sister should have been told about the party.
Passive Voice
Simple Present
Active Passive
• I walk the dogs • The dogs are walked
everyday. everyday.
• Millions of people • The Super Bowl is
watch the Super Bowl. watched by millions of
people.
• People write many • Many letters are written
letters to the President. to the President.
Passive Voice
Present Continuous
Active Passive
• I am walking the dogs. • The dogs are being
walked.
• Millions of people are • The Super Bowl is being
watching the Super watched by millions of
Bowl. people.
• People are writing • Many letters are being
many letters to the written to the President.
President.
Passive Voice
Simple Past
Active Passive
• I walked the dogs. • The dogs were walked.
• Millions of people • The Super Bowl was
watched the Super watched by millions of
Bowl. people.
• People wrote many • Many letters were
letters to the President. written to the President.
Passive Voice
Present Perfect
Active Passive
• I’ve walked the dogs • The dogs have been
already. walked already.
• Millions of people have • The Super Bowl has
watched the Super been watched by
Bowl. millions of people.
• People have written • Many letters have been
many letters to the written to the President.
President.
Passive Voice
Modals
Active Passive
• I should walk the dogs • The dogs should be
everyday. walked everyday.
• More people should • The Super Bowl should
have watched the have been watched by
Super Bowl. more people.
• People should write • Letters should be
letters to the President. written to the President.
Ready to put it into practice?
Active or Passive?
Tell whether the sentence is Active or Passive
• The man was hunted by the police.

• The great battle was fought in 1814.
• The soft grass cushioned my fall.
• The doughnuts were made by the new baker.
• A car ran over my cat.
• The clown’s funny antics reduced us to
laughter!
Active or Passive?
Tell whether the sentence is Active or Passive
• A number of horses had been stolen by

thieves.
• The fire burned the house to the ground.
• The kidnappers stole John’s baby.
• Everyone received presents at the party..
• You shouldn’t have been stressed out by this
quiz.
Recent News
Rewrite the news story using the

passive voice or active voice where
appropriate
Apple Fights Back Against Virus
Think your Apple computer is immune? Think
different.
A nasty malware called Flashback has infected
approximately 600,000 Macintosh computers
worldwide. It used a Java security flaw. Apple is
hard at work on a fix, the company said Tuesday.
The company said that Apple is developing
software that will detect and remove the
Flashback malware.
Apple Fights Back Against Virus
Think your Apple computer is immune? Think
different.
Approximately 600,000 Macintosh computers
worldwide have been infected by a nasty
malware called Flashback. A Java security flaw
was used by the virus. Apple is hard at work on a
fix, the company said Tuesday.
Software that will detect and remove the
Flashback malware is being developed by Apple.
North Korea Fuels Rocket
North Korea fueled up a rocket Wednesday in
preparation for an imminent launch.
North Korea named Kim Jong Un the Worker’s
Party top official and gave his late father the title
of “Eternal General Secretary.”
Chief of Command, Paek Chang Ho, said the
rocket is ready for liftoff as soon as he gives the
green light to the engineers. The rocket launch
has raised tensions internationally.
North Korea Fuels Rocket
North Korea fueled up a rocket Wednesday in
preparation for an imminent launch.
Kim Jong Un was named the Worker’s Party top
official and his late father was given the title of
“Eternal General Secretary.”
Chief of Command, Paek Chang Ho, said the
rocket is ready for liftoff as soon as the green
light is given. International tensions have been
raised.
Tornado Rips Through Oklahoma –
Kills 5 people
A tornado ripped through a northwestern
Oklahoma town Saturday. The tornado killed at
least 5 people. The tornado killed a man and his
two daughters: ages 5 & 7. The tornado
destroyed the trailer park where they lived.
The other victims were another man and his 10
year-old daughter who lived in a town about 2
miles away. And a helicopter flew another man
to a nearby hospital in Texas.
Tornado Rips Through Oklahoma –
Kills 5 people
A tornado ripped through a northwestern
Oklahoma town Saturday. At least 5 people were
killed. A man and his two daughters: ages 5 & 7
were killed. The trailer park where they lived
was destroyed.
The other victims were another man and his 10
year-old daughter who lived in a town about 2
miles away. And another man was flown by
helicopter to a nearby hospital in Texas.

Passive Voice

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Passive Voice

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Passive Voice

• The man was hunted by the police.

• A number of horses had been stolen by

Rewrite the news story using the

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