Passive Voice

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DEFINITION OF PASSIVE VOICE

Passive voice is a form of sentence where the subject of the sentence receives the action, not performs the action (verb). In active voice, the person or subject performs the action, while passive voice focuses on the object that receives the result of an action (receiver of action).

OBSERVING

Look at the pictures below.

Picture 1

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Picture 2

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After observing the pictures above, can you identify which sentences are included in the passive voice?

Well, if you are bored, try to watch the following video and listen to the song.

GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE OF PASSIVE VOICE

Form of passive voice:

Note: The appropriate form of to be = To be is put in the the tense of the active voice main verb.

To change active sentences in passive voice, we must use the following steps:

1) Identify the subject, verb, and object;

2) Move the object to the first position (and the subject to the third position preceded by the preposition "by", only if the information is really important);

3) Change the verb from the active into passive form.

Example:

In conclusion, note the following points when rewriting active sentences in passive voice:

The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentences
The form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
The subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence

The passive voice formula follows the active voice tenses. What always appears in every formula is be + V3. Be means be, been, being, am, is, are, was, or were. The following are passive voice formulas based on the tenses:

There are a few things to remember about the passive voice, namely:

1) By + agent (subject) does not always appear in the passive voice, especially if the subject is not clear, not important (to mention), or is well known.

- Active voice : Someone took my book yesterday.

Passive voice : My book was taken yesterday.

- Active voice : You can view the final results on the internet.

Passive voice : The final results can be viewed on the web.

2) Sentences that can be converted into passive voice are only sentences that have an object (transitive). Intransitive Verbs sentences cannot be transformed into passive voices because they do not require an object.

Example:

- He left his family - His family was left by him.

It can be passive because it has an object (his family)

- He left this morning : it cannot be passive because it has no object (this morning is an adverb)

You can click this link to get the list of transitive verbs.

The following video can help you understand more about passive voice.

THE FUNCTION OF PASSIVE VOICE

Passive voice has functions in several conditions. For example, we use passive when:

1) We don't know who did the action (the agent):

Passive voice : The website has been hacked.
Active voice : Somebody has hacked the website.

2) We think the agent is not important or interesting:

Passive voice : The schedule can be checked via app.
Active voice : Students can check the schedule via app.

3) We want to emphasize the receiver of the action (object):

Passive voice : President Kennedy was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald.
Active voice : Lee Harvey Oswald killed President Kennedy.

4) The agent is obvious:

Passive voice : I am paid weekly.
Active voice : My company pays me weekly.

5) We are making general statements or announcements:

Passive voice : Passengers are reminded to fasten their seatbelts.
Active voice : The Captain reminds passengers to fasten their seatbelts.

6) The agent is everyone:

Passive voice : The emergency services can be called by dialling 999.
Active voice : The public can call the emergency services by dialling 999.

7) We are writing formal or scientific texts:

Passive voice : Potassium was added and mixed in.
Active voice : The technician added potassium and mixed it in.

8) We want to avoid responsibility for our own actions (typically found in government reports):

Passive voice : Mistakes were made and unfortunately never rectified.
Active voice : The Prime Minister made mistakes and unfortunately never rectified them.

9) We want to vary the structure of writing:

Passive voice : She was arrested yesterday.
Active voice : They arrested her yesterday.

EXAMPLE OF PPASSIVE VOICE

The following are examples of sentences using passive voice.

The house is cleaned by Rita once a week (Rumah dibersihkan oleh Rita seminggu sekali).

Right now, the novel is being written by Deni (saat ini, novel sedang ditulis oleh Deni).

The car was repaired by Doni yesterday (Mobil diperbaiki oleh Doni kemarin).

That beach has been visited by many tourists. (Pantai tersebut sudah banyak dikunjungi oleh banyak wisatawan).

Many cars had been repaired by Romi before he received his mechanic’s license. (Banyak mobil telah diperbaiki oleh Romi sebelum ia menerima lisensi mekaniknya).

The food is going to be cooked by Melly tonight. (Makanan akan dimasak oleh Melly malam ini).

At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes will be being washed by Peter. (Jam 8 malam ini, piring – piring akan dibersihkan oleh Peter).

The tasks will have been completed before the deadline. (Tugas-tugas akan telah diselesaikan sebelum tenggat waktu).

The cake would always be made by my mother. (Kue akan selalu dibuat oleh Ibu saya).

The problem cannot be solved by me (Masalah tidak bisa diselesaikan oleh saya).

All lessons should be learnt by students. (Semua pelajaran harus dipelajari oleh murid-murid).

The plant is watered by Sindy every two days. (Tanaman disiram oleh Sindy setiap dua hari).

A party will be held by Rendi. (Sebuah pesta akan diadakan oleh Rendi).

The book was read by Gina yesterday. (Buku telah dibaca oleh Gina kemarin).

The house is going to be sold. (Rumah tersebut akan dijual).

Do you like watching animated video? Well, you can also learn about passive voice through the following animated video. Watch and find the passive voice in the conversation.