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XI. ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE
Voice refers to the characteristics of a verb that tells whether the subject of the verb is performing the action of the verb active voice or whether the subject of the verb
is acted upon passive voice. The subject in an active voice will be the object or agent in passive voice and vice versa. That is why only sentences with transitive verbs
whose voice can be transformed into active or passive.
1. FUNCTION
The passive voice is used to show interest in the person or object that experiences an action rather than the person or object that performs the action.
The house will be sold soon. The building is regularly painted every three months.
The car is being repaired.
Sometimes, the passive voice is used because the person or object that does the action is unidentified.
My wallet has been stolen by someone The hospital was built in 1985 by someone
The victim were killed by someone with a knife.
The passive voice is often used in formal or scientific texts to avoid subjectivity. It is concluded that…
This article is aimed to answer the questions stated previously. Our planet is wrapped in a mass of gases.
2. FORM
TENSE VOICE
EXAMPLE
Simple Present Active
The boys play basketball Passive
Basketball is played by the boys Simple Past
Active The boys played basketball
65 Passive
Basketball was played by the boys Present Continuous Active
The boys are playing basketball Passive
Basketball is being played by the boys Past Continuous
Active The boys were playing basketball
Passive Basketball was being played by the
boys Simple Future
Active The boys will play basketball
Passive Basketball will be played by the boys
Present Perfect Active
The boys have played basketball Passive
Basketball has been played by the boys Past Perfect
Active The boys had played basketball
Passive Basketball had been played by the boys
Future Continuous Active
The boys will be playing basketball Passive
Basketball will be being played by the boys
Present Conditional Active The boys would play basketball
Passive Basketball would be played by the boys
Past Conditional Active
The boys would have played basketball Passive
Basketball would have been played by the boys
Note: 1. When the person or object that does the action is unidentified, someone or somebody is used in the active voice but it must be omitted in the passive
construction.
2. When there are two objects in an active sentence, there will be two possibilities of the passive construction;
Active : The man bought sent her a love poem.
Passive : She was sent a love poem by the man.
A love poem was sent to her bay the man.
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3. ACTIVE AND PASSIVE CAUSATIVE