The active and passive voices in English are similar in meaning to Russian. They also show how the action is related (or not related) to its performer.

Meaning

Active and Passive Voice (English titles active and passive) show, respectively, that a person (object) performs an action or an action occurs with a person (object) and it does not matter who performs this action.

active voice
Emphasis on the performer of the action

We built the well last year. We built a well last year.

passive voice
Focus on the action itself

The well was built last year. - The well was built last year.

Education

The active and passive tenses are formed in almost the same way. If you are fluent in the tense system of the active voice, then you probably already noticed that if you put the passive auxiliary verb (to be) at the right time and add the semantic verb in the third form, you will get a passive voice grammatically.

For example:

He is drinking juice. - The juice is being drunk. (Present Continuous).

Other times are formed similarly.

Note! The entire group of Perfect Continuous tenses and Future Perfect tenses do not have passive voice forms.

Active and Passive Voice Rule

Active voice used when it is important to show who (or what) is performing the action. For example, Tourists visit the UK. - Tourists come to the United Kingdom. In this proposal, the emphasis is on the fact that it is tourists who come (not businessmen, not politicians, but tourists).

Passive voice is used in cases where it is not important who performs the action, and attention is focused on the action itself. For example, London is visited every year. - People come to London all year round. The point of this proposal is that London is a very visited city by visitors. And it doesn't matter who comes - tourists, politicians, athletes or scientists.

Active and passive voice in English: table

If you have not yet learned how to translate the active and passive voice in English in your head, use the pivot table. It gives examples of the formation of all tenses in two voices.

		Present Simple Passive
present simple		Cards are printed.
Present Continuous	I am printing cards.	Cards are being printed.
Present Perfect	I have printed cards.	Cards have been printed.
past simple	I printed cards.	Cards were printed.
Past continuous	I was printing cards.	Cards were being printed.
past perfect	I had printed cards.	Cards had been printed.
Future Simple	I will print cards.	Cards will be printed.
Future Continuous	I will be printing cards.
Future Perfect	I will have printed cards.	Cards will have been printed.

Active and passive voice in English are widely used both in the structure and in writing. At the same time, in communication there is a tendency to use the active voice more widely, and when writing (especially in an official style) - the passive voice.

Passive voice in English language(passive voice or passive voice), as a rule, is used when the speaker's attention is focused on the action itself. At the same time, the very structure of the sentence changes: tense, word order changes, an auxiliary verb is added in one form or another, and the main verb changes its form. In this case, it does not matter or even it is not known who performs this action:

My bike was stolen- My motorcycle was stolen.

In this example, the emphasis is on the fact that the motorcycle was stolen. The speaker either does not know who exactly did this, or does not attach any importance to this, so the sentence is built in the passive voice - you may notice that in addition to the main verb, put in the third form, the verb to be appeared in the form of the past tense.

Sometimes passive voice is used to smooth out the emotional overtones:

A mistake was made- It was a mistake.

In this case, with the help of a passive voice (passive voice or passive voice), the speaker emphasizes only the fact of making a mistake, without saying who made it. The verb to be also appeared here in the past tense.

The formation of the passive voice (passive voice)

The English passive voice is formed like this (basic rule):

noun (subject) + verb form to be + verb in the 3rd form (past participle).

The girl was deceived The girl was deceived.
A building was burnt by John The building was set on fire by John.
My sandwich is eaten- My sandwich is being eaten.
The theater will be built The theater will be built.
This island will be explored This island will be explored.
The children will be met at the railway station– Children will be met at the railway station.

The construction is going to + verb, which expresses intention or simply talks about the future tense, changes to is going to be + verb:

The project is going to be done by Friday The project will be done by Friday.
The pie is going to be baked in the evening The pie will be baked in the evening.
My beard is going to be cut- Moz beard will be cut.

In some passive voices, additional verbs have, will, etc. are placed before or after the form of the verb to be (in their own various types and forms). More details about the occurrence of several verbs in a row are analyzed in the table below.

When translating the active voice (active voice) into the passive, remember:

• present simple (present simpl) and passive voice are not compatible;
• the noun that was the object in the active voice becomes the subject in the passive (passive voice);
• the final form of the verb in the passive voice changes to "the form of the verb to be" + "the verb in the third form";
• a noun that was a subject in the active voice becomes an object or is completely dropped from the sentence in the passive voice (passive voice).

The use of prepositions in the passive voice

When it is necessary to specify by whom or by what an action was performed, the prepositions by and with are used:

The cat is caught by the boy- The cat was caught by the boy.
We were warned by a fireman We were alerted by the firemen.

The preposition by is needed to clarify who performed the action:

The cat is caught by the boy- The cat was caught by the boy.

The with preposition is needed to specify how the action was performed:

The paper is cut with the scissors- Paper cut with scissors.

In interrogative constructions that begin with who and what, the preposition by is always present.

Who was the Moby-Dick written by? Who painted the Mona Lisa?
What was the earthquake caused by?- What caused the earthquake?

Temporary forms

We emphasize once again: all temporary forms of the passive voice consist of two parts: to be in a certain tense form and the third form of the verb. As in the active voice, there are different tenses and forms in the passive voice.

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The third form of the verb is always present in the tense forms of the passive voice and the tense of the utterance is determined by the form of the verb to be.

Time	active pledge	Passive voice
present simple	bought	is/are bought
Present Continuous	am/is/are buying	is/are being bought
Present Perfect	have/has bought	have/has been bought
past simple	bought	was/were bought
Past continuous	was/were buying	was/were being bought
past perfect	had bought	had been bought
Future Simple	will buy	will be bought
Future Perfect	will have bought	will have been bought
Modal verbs	can/should buy	can/should be bought

In the Continuous tenses, the passive voice is not used. If you need to use one of these tenses, then it must be replaced with an active voice or another tense. Further, we will consolidate these rules with the help of additional tables with examples.

Table of tenses in the passive voice (passive voice)

Examples of sentences in the passive voice in simple English tenses:

Time	Pledge	Subject	Verb	An object	Translation
present simple	Active	Mark	writes	an article	Mark writes an article
	Passive	An article	is written	by Mark	Article written by Mark
past simple	Active	Mark	wrote	an article	Mark wrote an article
	Passive	An article	was written	by Mark	The article was written by Mark
Present Perfect	Active	Mark	has written	an article	Mark wrote an article
	Passive	An article	has been written	by Mark	The article was written by Mark
Future Simple	Active	Mark	will write	an article	Mark will write an article
	Passive	An article	will be written	by Mark	The article will be written by Mark

Examples in sentences in the passive voice (passive voice) in more complex English tenses:

Time	Pledge	Subject	Verb	An object	Translation
Present Continuous	Active	Peter	is sending	a message	Peter sends a message
	Passive	A message	is being sent	by Peter	Message sent by Peter
Past continuous	Active	Peter	was sent	a message	Peter sent a message
	Passive	A message	was being sent	by Peter	Posted by Peter
past perfect	Active	Peter	had sent	a message	Peter sent a message
	Passive	A message	had been sent	by Peter	The message was sent by Peter
Future Perfect	Active	Peter	will have sent	a message	Peter will send a message
	Passive	A message	will have been sent	by Peter
Conditional I	Active	Peter	would send	a message	Peter will send a message
	Passive	A message	would be sent	by Peter	Message will be sent by Peter
Conditional II	Active	Peter	would have sent	a message	Peter will be able to send a message
	Passive	A message	would have been sent	by Peter	Message can be sent by Peter

Formation of the negative form

The English passive voice (passive voice) in the negative form is formed by adding the particle not after the verb to be in the appropriate form or another additional verb (have, will, should, etc.) if it is used:

English textbook was not bought in 2007 – English textbook was not purchased in 2007.
Their promises shouldn't be kept“Their promises should not be kept.
The flowers are not watered- Flowers are not watered.
This car is not washed- This car is not washed.
I am not invited- I'm not invited.

Formation of the interrogative form

IN interrogative sentences, put in a passive form (passive voice), the verb to be is taken out at the very beginning:

Was the rabbit caught? Has the rabbit been caught?
Were you told to come in the morning? Did they tell you to come in the morning?
Ware they injured?- Were they hurt?
Is the fence painted? Is the fence painted?

If there are additional verbs in the passive voice that are conditioned by a special tense (for example, present perfect or future simple), they are already taken to the beginning, and the verb to be in the required form remains in its place:

Will the message be written by Mike? Will the message be written by Mike?
Will she be invited to the birthday? Will she be invited to her birthday party?
Is my beard going to be cut? Will my beard be trimmed?

Verbs not used in the passive voice

In English, it is impossible to translate into a passive voice (passive voice). Recall that intransitive verbs differ in that they cannot have a direct object. They usually denote movement or state.

Examples of intransitive verbs:

Cry- cry
work- work
Laugh- laugh
Start- start
move- move
Run- run away

Translating a sentence from active to passive

Let's sum up. To turn a sentence into a passive one, the following steps are required:

• The object in the sentence must be put in place of the subject.
• It is necessary to translate the verb into the third form or add the ending -ed and add the verb to be to it in the right tense and form. At the same time, the time itself does not change, with the exception of those tenses that are not used in the passive voice.
• The subject in the active sentence takes the place of the passive object and is used with the prepositions by (if the action is performed by a person) or with (if the action is “performed” by a tool or object).

Example:

active pledge	Passive voice
My father cooks dinner for the whole family My mother cooks breakfast for the whole family. my father cooks dinner	Dinner is cooked by my father for the whole family Breakfast is prepared by my mother for the whole family. dinner is cooked- a predicate translated into the third form with the addition of the verb to be in the present tense by my father- the person doing the action
John invited me to his birthday John invited me to his birthday party. John- subject in active voice invited- a predicate expressed by a verb me- the addition to which the action is directed	I was invited to the birthday by Jonn I was invited to a birthday party by John. I- the addition to which the action is directed was invited- a predicate translated into the third form with the addition of the verb to be in the past tense by John- the person who did the action

Video about the passive voice in English:

The Passive Voice

Formation of the passive form

The passive voice of verbs in various tense forms is formed using the verb be + past participle (Past Participle). The rules for choosing tenses in the passive voice are the same as in the real voice. For example, if the sentence is about an action that is happening at the moment, then the verb will be used in the present continuous tense Present Continuous in both active and passive voice.

Forms of the passive voice depending on the tense:

Present Simple: am/are/is + Past Participle

The bestseller is sold in many countries.
This bestseller is sold in many countries.

Present Continuous: am/are/is + being + Past Participle

The museum is being reconstructed now.
The museum is currently being restored.

Past Simple: was/were + Past Participle

The documents were stolen last week.
The documents were stolen last week.

Past Continuous: was/were + being + Past Participle

The museum was being reconstructed in December.
Refurbishment in December museum.

Present Perfect Simple: have/has + been + Past Participle

The prediction rules have already been defined.
The principles of forecasting were already defined.

Past Perfect Simple: had + been + Past Participle

The sushi had been delivered when we came back home.
The sushi had already been delivered when we got home.

Future Simple: will + be + Past Participle

The contract will be signed tomorrow. The contract will be signed tomorrow.

Future Simple in the Past: would + be + Past Participle

He said that the contact would be signed tomorrow.
He said the contract would be signed tomorrow.

Future Perfect: will + have been + Past Participle

The food will be delivered by 10 o'clock. Products will be delivered by 10:00.

Future Perfect in the Past: would + have been + Past Participle

He said that the food would have been delivered by 10 o'clock.
He said that the food would be delivered by 10 o'clock.

The tenses of the Perfect Continuous group are not used in the passive voice. They are trying to replace them with the Perfect group or use them in the active voice, using the formal subject they/one:

By the next month they will have been Invest i gating the murder for over a year.
Next month it will be almost a year, how is pinvestigation of this murder.

The passive voice is used when the speaker's attention is focused on the person or object on which the action is performed, and not on the person or object that performs this action:

Someone locks the office every evening. Someone closes the office every evening. (Active voice)

The office is locked every evening. The office is closed every evening. (Passive voice)

Some one has invited Tom to the party. Someone invited Tom to a party. (Active voice)

Tom has been invited to the party. Tom was invited to a party. (Passive voice)

Note that the object of the active verb (the office, Tom) becomes the subject in the passive.

The use of the passive voice

1. The passive voice is used when it is not known which person or object is the producer of the action:

His house was robbed two days ago. His house was robbed two days ago.
(The speaker does not know who robbed the house).

1. The passive voice is used when there is no need to mention the person or thing that performs the action, or when the performer of the action is of no interest:

Them in eral water side livered to the hotel every morning.
mineral water supplyto the hotel every morning.
(It is not necessary to mention who the supplier of the mineral water is).

1. The passive voice is used when it is clear from the context who or what is doing the given action:

Football is played all over the world. Football is played all over the world.
(Everyone understands that football players play football).

After modal verbs, as well as after other constructions (for example, going to; have to; want to; would like to) be + Past participle is used:

The work cannot be done. This work cannot be done.

He does not want to be disturbed. He doesn't want to be disturbed.

To express the past tense, the passive Perfect Infinitive form is used:

We should have been to ld about the danger.
We should have been told about the danger.

There is also an –ing form in the passive voice: being + Past Participle

I don't like being cheated. I do not like being fooled.

He hates being shouted at. He hates being yelled at.

Verbs with two objects in the passive voice

Some verbs may have two objects after themselves. These include the verbs offer, send, pay, promise, teach, tell, show, give.

In such cases, two different offers in the passive voice:

someone showed me the way. Someone showed me the way.
(me and the way are two additions)

1. I was shown the way. They showed me the way.
2. The way was shown me. The path was shown to me.

In English, it is preferable to start a sentence with a person, so the first sentence sounds more natural.

If there is a need to mention in the sentence the person or object performing the action, then the preposition is used to introduce it into the sentence by:

'Imagine' was composed and sung by John Lennon.
The song "Imagin" composed and sang John Lennon.

If there is a need to mention an object in a sentence as a tool necessary to perform an action or a material with which an action is performed, the preposition is used. with:

He was hit with an umbrella. He was hit with an umbrella (gun)

The safe was blown with dynamite. Safe blown up with dynamite (gun)

The cake was made with dried fruit. The cake is made from dry fruits (material)

The garage was painted with a new kind of paint. The garage was painted with a new type of paint (material).

When it comes to what people think, say, believe, two forms can be used in a passive way. For example,

Active voice:

People say that Mr Ross is a good producer.
People

Passive 1: It + passive + that + clause (subordinate clause):

It is said that Mr Ross is a good producer.
They say that Mr. Ross is a good director.

Passive 2: Subject+ passive+ to infinitive:

Mr Ross is said to be a good producer.
They say that Mr. Ross is a good director.

Usually these forms in the passive voice are used in an official style.

With the following verbs: say, think, report, expect, believe, claim, know, understand,

It is reported that the president is seriously ill.
The president is reported to be seriously ill.

A new law is expected to be introduced next year.
Expect that new law will be adopted next year.

He is supposed to have been married before. It is believed that he was previously married.

Construction “havesomethingdone”

This construction is used to express a situation in which other people are involved in performing some action.

Formed as follows:

Have + object (direct object) + Past Participle:

I must have my glasses mended.
My glasses need to be fixed.

We had our computer serviced last week.
Our computer was repaired last week.

I'm having a garage built at the moment.
I'm building a garage right now.

However, this construction can be used when no one is involved in the action, but when something unpleasant or unexpected happens to someone:

I had my leg broken when I fell off the ladder.
I broke my leg when I fell down the stairs.

Peter had his flat burgled while he was out at work.
Peter's apartment was robbed while he was at work.

Greetings, my dear readers.

Doesn't it sound scary - "passive pledge"? Questions immediately arise, what did he do that made him “suffer” so much? In reality, behind the proud name lies simply the grammatical phenomenon of "passive".

Okay, so be it, so that you better understand the topic and do not get confused in all these names - we will single out a separate lesson for it called the passive voice in English, or “passive” in the common people. Today we are waiting for the rules with examples and the education of this time. And then you can consolidate the theory and.

What it is

Let's immediately understand what a "passive voice" is with examples.

I cooked the dinner.- I cooked dinner.

From this sentence, it becomes clear that the action is performed by a certain person, that is, me. It turns out that this is a valid voice, or all those sentences and that we usually use.

The passive voice in our case will look like this:

The dinner was cooked.- Dinner is ready.

Notice that now in the first place we have the very fact that dinner was prepared. That is, there is no need to mention who did it.

This is the phenomenon when you completely no need to specify who is doing the action, or it is necessary to put the action itself in the first place, and the passive is used.

How to translate

Of course, many immediately have a question: how to translate such sentences. And my answer to you is - like the usual ones, we just do not indicate the actor.

The walls were painted yesterday.- The walls were painted yesterday.

New sports center will be opened next month.- A new sports center will open next month.

The dinner hadn't been made by the time I got home. By the time I got home, dinner wasn't ready yet.

How is formed

• In short, the structure of the passive voice is as follows:

Subject + auxiliary verb (to be) + third form verb (V3) + object.

Depending on the time in which the sentence is built, the verb “to be” will change its form. The table below shows how this is done.

The car was broken in an accident.- The car crashed.

The meeting is being held in room 13.- The meeting is in room 13.

The car had been repaired.- They fixed the car.

• In the structure of a negative sentence, a particle is added not to the auxiliary verb.

Subject + auxiliary verb (to be) + not + third form verb (V3) + object.

The room wasn't (was not) cleaned.- The room was not cleaned.

The house wasn't (was not) decorated yet. The house hasn't been decorated yet.

The thieves weren't (were not) caught yet.- The thieves haven't been caught yet.

• In interrogative sentences, the auxiliary verb and subject are reversed.

Auxiliary verb (to be) + subject + third form verb (V3) + object?

Was the television repaired?- Did you fix the TV?

Was the report written?- Have you written a report?

Have the photos been printed?- Have the photos been printed?

You may have noticed that even in the passive voice they must be used correctly, so I have a table for you that will help you remember and quickly navigate the use of tenses (click on the image to enlarge).

I think you noticed that the Future Continuous form of the passive does not exist. If, nevertheless, it becomes necessary to express the duration in the future, then the usual Future Simple will be used.

The same goes for compound tenses: Present Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous and Future Perfect Continuous. There are no passive constructions in them! Use Perfect tenses instead!

Usage rules and examples

The use of passives can be characterized by the following rules:

• When the person performing the action is not known to us, not important or obvious.

Mr. Samson's jewelry was stolen last night.- Mrs. Samson's jewelry was stolen yesterday.

Feel the difference:

The thieves stole Samson's jewelry last night. Thieves stole Mrs. Samson's jewelry last night.

In the passive, it is already obvious to us who did it, and there is no need to say obvious things. Let's see one more example.

The brakes of the car were tested.- The brakes of the car were checked.

Compare:

The mechanic tested the brakes of the car.- The mechanic checked the brakes of the car.

After all, it was already obvious that the brakes of the car were checked by a mechanic. That is why the passive looks much more relevant here.

Mercedes cars are made in Germany. - Mercedes cars are made in Germany.

Mercedes Benz make their cars in Germany.- Mercedes Benz manufactures its cars in Germany.

A completely similar situation, when naming a character, does not make any sense.

If you like to learn English in a fun and effective way, then register with Lingualeo - there is a lot of interesting and free stuff(simulators, dictionaries, lessons). By the way, there you can take paid specialized courses for different needs. For example, the course « Irregular Verbs» will help you quickly and spontaneously memorize the forms of basic and frequently used irregular verbs English and learn about some of the features of their use.

• When the action itself is more important than the one who performs it.

Two families were seriously injured in a car accident last night.-Last night, two families were seriously injured in a car accident.

Besides, the passive voice is very often used in formal English, but the real voice is in both variants.

If you want to learn more about the grammatical aspects of the English language in theory and practice, go to mine - there you will find the basic rules and a practical part for each of them.

On this, my dear, we will end our lesson. You can find more information in the video tutorial. But still remember that the best tactic for memorizing new topics is lots and lots of practice. Therefore, we have ahead of us, as well as even more materials and usefulness.

See you soon my loves ;)

IN active pledge the subject denotes the performer of the action, the person or object performing the described action, and the one to whom the action is directed, the so-called. “action receiver” in a sentence is an object.

Most offers have a valid deposit.

Offers active voice in English

doer of action + I form of verb + receiver of action

For example:

The professor teaches the students.
The professor teaches students.

John washes the dishes.
John is washing the dishes.

Passive voice (Passive Voice)

IN passive voice the subject is a person or thing that is affected by another person or thing. In other words, the performer and recipient of the action are swapped, although the performer of the action may not be specified.

Offers passive voice in English are formed as follows:

action receiver + be + past participle

For example:

The students are taught.
Students are taught.

The dishes are washed.
The dishes are washed.

The passive voice is used:

1. Mainly in cases where the performer of the action is not mentioned in the proposal; he is either unknown, or the speaker does not consider it necessary to report him.

For example:

Is English spoken in many countries?
Is English spoken in many countries?

That book was written a few years ago.
This book was written several years ago.

2. When the performer of the action, although mentioned in the sentence, is not in the center of the speaker's attention; a noun or pronoun expressing the given of the performer of the action is introduced by the preposition by. Please note that in the active voice the performer of the action was the subject, in the passive voice it becomes the object.

For example:

The students are taught by the professor.
Professor teaches students.

The dishes are washed by John.
John does the dishes.

Also, in the sentence of the passive voice, another object can be used, attached by the preposition with, and describing how the action is performed, for example:

The dishes are washed with a bar of soap.
Dishes are washed with a bar of soap.

In English, the scope of the use of verbs in the passive voice is much wider than in Russian. So, any verb that takes a direct or indirect object can be used in the passive voice.

For example:

I gave him a book. (I gave him the book.)
A book was given to him. (The book was given to him.) = He was given a book. (He was given a book.)

They showed me a beautiful picture. (They showed me a beautiful picture.)
A beautiful picture was shown to me. (A beautiful picture was shown to me.) = I was shown a beautiful picture. (I was shown a beautiful picture.)

In English, in the passive voice, verbs that take a prepositional object can be used (for example: to attend to, to send for, and etc.). The proposed object is used as the subject of the passive phrase, and the preposition comes directly after the verb.

For example:

She went after him. – He was gone after.
She followed him. - Follow him.

Ways to translate the passive voice into Russian

There are three ways to translate the passive voice into Russian:

1. With the help of the verb “ be” + a short participle, for example:

Were his books translated into Russian?
Were whether his books translated into Russian?

2. Verbs ending in -sya, For example:

Letters are delivered by mailmen.
Letters delivered postmen.

3. Indefinitely personal turnover (this method of translation is possible in cases where, in English sentence the performer of the action is not mentioned), for example:

They were taught French last year.
Their taught French last year.

Examples of active and passive voice

The following table shows examples of active and passive voice in all possible tenses. Note that the passive voice is not used in tenses Present Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous, Future Perfect Continuous and Future Continuous.

	Active voice	Passive voice
present simple	Once a week, Tom cleans the house.	Once a week, the house is cleaned by Tom.
Present Continuous	Right now, Sarah is writing the letter.	right now, the letter is being written by Sarah.
past simple	Sam repaired the car.	The car was repaired by Sam.
Past continuous	The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the store.	The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the store.
Present Perfect	Many tourists have visited that castle.	That castle has been visited by many tourists.
Present Perfect Continuous	Recently, John has been doing the work.
past perfect	George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license.	many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's license.
Past Perfect Continuous	Chef Jones had been preparing the restaurant's fantastic dinners for two years before he moved to Paris.
Future Simple will	Someone will finish the work by 5:00 PM.	The work will be finished by 5:00 PM.
Future Simple be going to	Sally is going to make a beautiful dinner tonight.	A beautiful dinner is going to be made by Sally tonight.
Future Continuous	At 8:00 PM tonight, John will be washing the dishes.
Future Perfect	They will have completed the project before the deadline.	The project will have been completed before the deadline.
Future Perfect Continuous	The famous artist will have been painting the mural for over six months by the time it is finished.
used to	Jerry used to pay the bills.	The bills used to be paid by Jerry.
would always	my mother would always make the pies.	The pies would always be made by my mother.
Future in the Past	I knew John would finish the work by 5:00 PM.	I knew the work would be finished by 5:00 PM.