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Passive Voice With Modals

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50 views5 pages

Passive Voice With Modals

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lilibhvhgo
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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How to Use Modal Verbs in the Passive Voice

© 2022 - In English With Love

How to Use Modal Verbs in the Passive Voice — In English With Love

You might know what modal verbs are, and you might be familiar with the passive voice,
but do you know how to use modal verbs in the passive voice?
We use modal verbs–verbs like can, could, and should–to talk about things such as
ability, possibility, permission, or obligation. And we use the passive voice to focus on
the object of an action rather than the doer of the action.

In general, we follow this structure to use modal verbs in the passive voice:
Modal verb + be + past participle

And we follow this structure to use modal verbs in the past passive voice:
Modal verb + have been + past participle

TIPS ON USING MODALS IN THE PASSIVE VOICE

What are modal verbs?


As I mentioned before, modal verbs are verbs such as can, could, or should that we often
use to talk about ability, possibility permission, or obligation:
 I can go to the party.
 You shouldn’t say that about her.
 May I sit here?
 They might show up late.

And they’re different from normal verbs in the way that we use them.
First of all, modal verbs stay the same for the third person singular: we don’t have to add an
-s or change the verb in any way:

 I can go to the party.


 She can go to the party.

And you might have noticed that the modal verb is followed by the infinitive, or base verb.
We don’t add to or change the verb as we do in other structures:

 I can go to the party.


 I can to go to the party.
 I can going to the party.

If we want to ask questions using modal verbs, we usually have to change the structuring
by putting the subject between the modal verb and the base verb.
 Can I go to the party?
 May I sit here?
 Should you eat that?

However with modal verbs like have to or need to, we have to add the auxiliary do at the
beginning of the question. And, in this case, the auxiliary verb do changes depending on the
personal pronoun.

 Does he have to do all the dishes?


 Do you need to stop by the store?

Let’s take a look at this table to see how we use different modal verbs for different
situations:

Usage Modal Verb Example


She can hold her breath for
Ability Can, could (past ability)
two minutes.
Possibility Might, may, can, could They might be late.
Can, could (more polite), Could my son use your
Permission
may (most polite) bathroom?
They need to check in by
Obligation Must, have to, need to
seven.
You don't have to take your
No obligation Don’t have to, don’t need to
shoes off.
You should try online
Advice Should, ought to
dating.
Will, would (past habits) + They would sometimes take
Habits
an adverb of frequency the train.
Preferences Would rather She would rather walk.

MODAL VERBS IN THE PASSIVE VOICE


So, now that we understand what modal verbs are, let’s talk a bit about the passive voice.
In English, we use active and passive sentences. In the active voice, we start the sentence
with the person who does the action, the actor or doer:
 Alice took the picture.

And in the passive voice, we begin the sentence with the object, which is the thing that
takes or receives the action:
 The picture was taken by Alice.

We can also omit Alice, the agent in this sentence, so it will just say:
 The picture was taken.

So you can see that passive structures, while they’re a bit more confusing, they’re also very
useful because they allow us to create sentences without focusing on the person doing the
action.

So, how do we create modal verbs in the passive voice?


With passive modal verbs in the present tense, we just add the auxiliary verb be to the
modal verb, and change the base verb to the past participle:

You should fix your computer (active) → Your computer should be fixed (passive)

Let’s look at the table below to see how we use other modal verbs in the passive voice:

Modals in the Active Voice Modals in the Passive Voice


They can do it. It can be done.
You could sell your car. Your car could be sold.
He might fix the refrigerator. The refrigerator might be fixed.
They may make a donation. A donation may be made.
You must finish this today. This must be finished today.
He has to send that email. That email has to be sent.
They need to find that document. That document needs to be found.
She should fix her writing. Her writing should be fixed.

Modal verbs in the past passive voice


Yes, it’s true: we can use modal verbs in the past. We can use the passive voice in the past.
And we can use passive modal verbs in the past.

If that sounds too complicated, don’t worry! It’s just a matter of structure:

Modals in the Present Passive Modals in the Past Passive


Modal + be + past participle Modal + have been + past participle
It can be done. It could have been done.
Your car could be sold. Your car could have been sold.
The refrigerator might be fixed. The refrigerator might have been fixed.
A donation may be made. A donation may have been made.
Her writing should be fixed. Her writing should have been fixed.

Important: We use must have been to share our assumptions or reaction to things that
happened in the past. We often use this modal structure to guess about something that
might have happened (not for obligation):
 He doesn’t work here anymore. He must have been fired.
 I called her yesterday but she didn’t answer. She must have been busy.
 Your trip to Colombia must have been exciting!

If you’d like to express a reaction or make a conclusion about the way a person is feeling
now, you can use must be:

 You’ve been working for eight hours straight! You must be tired.
 They travel all the time. Their lives must be so interesting.
 So, you failed your exam! You must be disappointed.

Why do we use modal verbs in the passive voice?


There are a few reasons why we use the passive voice in general. You’ll often hear it used
by news sources reporting on crime or major events where the actors are unknown.
You’ll hear it used in formal and scientific writing because it’s considered less personal and
because–this is especially the case in science–the result of a scientific study or
breakthrough is considered more important than the people involved.
But, why do we use modal verbs in the passive voice? This is because it sounds more
objective and less personal, especially in situations when we’re asking people to do
something or offering criticism or advice.
For example, if your boss wants everyone to finish a project by a certain deadline, they
want to sound firm, but not too rude or direct.

So, they might say:


 This project has to be finished by the end of this week.

Instead of saying:
 You all have to finish this project by the end of this week.

And when we’re criticizing someone for something they didn’t do, we often prefer to use
modal verbs in the past passive voice because it doesn’t sound like we’re putting the blame
or fault directly on someone.

 I should have been told that yesterday.

Instead of...
 You should have told me that yesterday.

We can also use it to take the blame or the attention off of ourselves, as in this example:
 The wrong package may have been sent.

Instead of... I may have sent the wrong package.

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