btx2 unit3 passivevoice_power

2n Batxillerat. Unit 3

The Passive Voice

How much can you

remember?

SB p. 36 ex.A

Contents

1. Form and main points: brief summary. Tense changes

2. Verbs with two objects

3. Reporting Verbs

4. Causative Have

Consumers buy many products online

Many products are bought online (by consumers)

Consumers buy many products online

Many products are bought online (by consumers)

• Subject: person or object that suffers/enjoys the result

of the action.

• Verb To be in the tense the action occurred.

• The past participle that represents the action itself.

• Complements (when necessary).

• If we want to say who or what causes the action we use

by + agent complement

REMEMBER:

1) We use a passive verb when the action is more

important than the person or thing that does it.

Many products are bought online

REMEMBER:

1) We use a passive verb when the action is more

important than the person or thing that does it.

Many products are bought online

2) We can omit by + agent from a passive sentence:

a) when the agent is unknown

My bag has been taken (I don’t know who took it)

b) when the agent is obvious or not important

The thief was arrested (the police is obvious here)

c) if we do not want to name the agent

The mirror was broken while we were moving it (we

don’t want to say who)

3) In the passive voice we respect prepositions should

they appear.

Fleming had looked into infections before he

discovered penicillin.

Infections had been looked into by Fleming before he

discovered penicillin.

Remember: Intransitive verbs (arrive, come,

die, exist, go, happen, like, occur, sleep,...) do

NOT have a passive form as nothing can

become their subject in the passive voice.

Verb Forms Active Voice Passive Voice

Infinitive to buy

Present Simple buy (s)

Present Continuous is/are buying

Present Perfect simple has/have bought

Past Simple Bought

Past Continuous was/were buying

Past Perfect Simple had bought

Future Will will buy

Future going to going to buy

Future Continuous will be buying

Future Perfect will have bought

Modal Verbs should buy

Modal Perfect should have bought


Infinitive to buy to be bought

Present Simple buy (s)

Present Continuous is/are buying

Present Perfect simple has/have bought

Past Simple Bought

Past Continuous was/were buying

Past Perfect Simple had bought

Future Will will buy

Future going to going to buy

Future Continuous will be buying

Future Perfect will have bought

Modal Verbs should buy

Modal Perfect should have bought


Infinitive to buy to be bought

Present Simple buy (s) is /are bought

Present Continuous is/are buying is/are being bought

Present Perfect simple has/have bought has/Have been bought

Past Simple Bought was/were bought

Past Continuous was/were buying was/were being bought

Past Perfect Simple had bought had been bought

Future Will will buy will be bought

Future going to going to buy going to be bought

Future Continuous will be buying will be being bought

Future Perfect will have bought will have been bought

Modal Verbs should buy should be bought

Modal Perfect should have bought Should have been bought

SB p. 36; ex 1,3


Buy, give, explain, lend, make, offer, pay, promise, refuse, send, show,

teach can have two objects.

He told the truth to the children

He told the children the truth

Therefore, two passives are possible:

Direct object

Direct object

Indirect object

Indirect object


Buy, give, explain, lend, make, offer, pay, promise, refuse, send, show,

teach can have two objects.

He told the truth to the children

He told the children the truth

Therefore, two passives are possible:

The truth was told to the children. DO + V + to + IO

The children were told the truth. IO + V + DO (more common)

Direct object

Direct object

Indirect object

Indirect object

SB p. 37 ex. 4p. 94 ex. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

3. Reporting Verbs

The passive is also used to describe impersonal feelings,

beliefs and convictions. News reports often use this passive

structure.

People believe that this man is the thief. (active)

3. Reporting Verbs


beliefs and convictions.


calculate, claim, consider, discover, estimate,

expect, feel, hope, know, prove, report,

rumour, say, show, suppose, think, and

understand.


The same idea can be expressed by using the passive in two

different ways:

It + passive of reporting verb + that clause

It

Subject + passive of reporting verb + `to´ infinitive

This man

People believe that this man is the thief.


beliefs and convictions. The same idea can be expressed by

using the passive in two different ways:


It is believed


This man






It is believed that this man is the thief


This man








This man is believed








This man is believed to be the thief.

•Present reference, the passive is followed by the present infinitive:

People think that Johnson is in Cardiff.

Johnson is thought to be in Cardiff.




•With past reference, the passive is followed by the perfect infinitive:

People believe that Johnson left Cardiff last month.

Johnson is believed to have left Cardiff last month.

The Day of the Kings is a more important celebration than Christmas for many families,

and some wait until then to open their presents said to have been brought by the wise men.

(passive perfect infinitive) (from BBC News Site; January 2017)




•With past reference, the passive is followed by the perfect infinitive:

People believe that Johnson left Cardiff last month.

Johnson is believed to have left Cardiff last month.

The Day of the Kings is a more important celebration than Christmas for many families,

and some wait until then to open their presents said to have been brought by the wise men.

(passive perfect infinitive) (from BBC News Site; January 2017)

•The reporting verb can also be past:

People considered the government had spent too much.

The government was considered to have spent too much.

SB p. 95 ex 6, 7 / SB p.37 ex 5

4. Causative Have

Compare:

I cut my hair.

I have my hair cut.

Compare:

I cut my hair. (= I did myself)

I have my hair cut. (= someone does it for me)

Causing or ordering something to be done by someone else.

Have is conjugated like a main verb with the following

structure:

Subject + have + object + past participle

I had my hair cut

We are going to have our hair cut

Paul has his shopping delivered

Verb forms Active voice Causative form

Present Simple We paint the house every year.

Present Continuous Beth is washing her car.

Past Simple He typed three letters

yesterday.

Future Will We will install the lights next

week.

Present Perfect The girls have repaired their

bicycles.

Modal Verbs You should fix this shelf to the

wall.

Verb Tenses. Some examples


Present Simple We paint the house every year. We have the house painted

every year.

Present Continuous Beth is washing her car.


yesterday.


week.


bicycles.


wall.


Present Simple We paint the house every year. We have the house painted

every year.

Present Continuous Beth is washing her car. Beth is having her car washed.


yesterday.

He had three letters typed

yesterday.


week.

We will have the lights installed

next week.


bicycles.

The girls have had their bicycles

repaired.


wall.

You should have this shelf fixed.

• We can omit the agent if it is obvious who did the action or

if it is not important.

I had/got my car repaired last week

Get can be used instead of have in this structure. It is slightly

more informal.

• We can omit the agent if it is obvious who did the action or

if it is not important.

I had/got my car repaired last week

Get can be used instead of have in this structure. It is slightly

more informal.

• This structure can also be used for events (usually

unpleasant) that are outside of the speaker's control. Get

cannot be used here.

John had his car stolen last week.

He had his arm broken in the accident.

I’ve had my Facebook account hacked.

SB p. 95 ex 8, 9 / SB p.37 ex 6, 7, 8, 9

btx2 unit3 passivevoice_power

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