5.
Use t he passive wit h t he by-agent phrase w hen referring t o hist orically or socially significant w orks. Ex: “ Gone w ith t he Wind” w as
w rit t en by M argaret M ichael.
19
Besides, passive are very common in scient ific w rit ing and ot her kind of expression w here t he w rit er are most int erest ed in event s and
processes in t hings t hat happen.
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3. The Form of Passive Voice
The passive voice in English is composed of t w o element s: t he cert ain form of t he verb “ t o be” + t he past part iciple of t he verb:
The form of passive voice “ t o be” + Past part iciple Subject
t o be Past part iciple
The house w as
built There is a rule m ust be not iced in forming passive voice, dissimilar
w it h act ive, in producing passive sent ence, not all t he verbs are able t o be t urned int o passive. As it has been view ed t hat only t ransit ive verbs are able
t o be changed t o passive. But , not all t ransit ive verbs can be a verb for passive. M ichael sw am has t old t hat “ some t ransit ive verbs cannot be used
in t he passive, at least in cert ain of t heir meanings, M ost of t hese are” St at ive’ verbs verbs w hich refer t o st at es, not act ion, and w hich oft en have
no progressive forms. Example: They have a nice house. But not : a nice house is had” .
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When someone w ant s t o make a passive voice, he or she should know first w het her t he sent ence t o can be changed int o passive voice or not .
19
Patrick Kameen, “The Passive Voice: it must be spoken for”, in John F. Haskel ed., TESOL NEWSLETTER, Illinois: Pantagraph Printing, 1983. P.181
20
Michael Swam, Practical English Usage, Oxford: Oxford university Press, 1980. P.457
21
Michael Swam, Practical English usage, Oxford:Oxford University Press,1983P.462.
Therefore, one w ho w ant t o make a passive voice must keep not ice on t he fact s of passive voice as st at ed above, below is an example of a sent ence
t hat can be changed int o passive voice:
She cooks soup
The verb in t he sent ence above cooks is in t he simple present t ense. Besides, t he verb is t ransit ive w here it is follow ed by object . Thus, t he
sent ence above has fulfilled all t he requirement s needed t o be changed int o passive voice. The t ense is used in t his sent ence also proves t hat t he passive
voice can occur. To change t he sent ence above int o passive voice, first ly, is by
placing t he object of an act ive sent ence int o t he subject of passive voice, t hen t he main verb is changed by using be + past part iciple w hich is
appropriat e w it h t he t ense used in t he sent ence w hich is in t his sent ence simple present form. Thus, t he passive voice from t he sent ence above is:
Soup is cooked by her
From t he example above, it can be know n t hat t here are several st eps w hich have t o be follow ed t o make an act ive sent ence int o a passive
sent ence, t here are. 1.
Place t he object of t he act ive sent ence at t he beginning of t he passive sent ence.
2. If t here are any auxiliaries in t he act ive sent ence, place t hem
immediat ely aft er t he new subject agreeing in number wit h t he subject .
3. Insert t he verb be aft er t he auxiliaries in t he same form as t he main
verb in t he act ive sent ence.
4. Place t he main verb form t he act ive sent ence af t er t he auxiliaries
and be in t he past part iciple. 5.
Place t he subject of t he act ive sent ence aft er t he verb in t he passive sent ence preceded by t he preposit ion by.t his can be eliminat ed
complet ely if it is not import ant or underst ood.
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4. Difficulty in Learning Passive Voice
