Unit 3: Active and Passive Voice

ENHS 112: ENGLISH GRAMMAR II

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 Disclaimer

Please remember that this is a supplementary material. It is

meant to help you in your learning. It may have additional or
more detailed information than it is included in the book. Your
quizzes and exams only cover what is included in the Grammar in
Context book.
Compare the following sentences:

The news anchor reported the

theft on CNN last night.
(ACTIVE Voice)

The theft was reported on CNN

last night.
(PASSIVE Voice)
What is an Active Voice?
In an active sentence, the subject of the sentence is the agent
(the person or thing that is performing the action in the verb). An
active sentence could have an object (the person or thing that is
affected by the action). An active sentence calls attention and
focus to the agent or subject of the sentence.

The Author of Riyadh will launch

‘Blackouts’ Wins its metro project by
d
National Book Awar 2024.
for Fiction
Subject Verb Object
Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in
1876.
Pro-Palestine protesters are globally taking the streets to demand
ceasefire.
The police has arrested the man involved in the recent Manhattan
shooting.
Note that the subjects in each of these sentences (the author, Riyadh,
Alexander, the protesters and the police) are all doing the actions
presented in the verbs (win, launch, invent, take, and arrest).
 What is a Passive Voice?
In a passive sentence, the focus is on the action or on the receiver of the
action and not on the doer (the subject). In such sentences, the object
takes the place of the subject, and the verb takes the form of (Be +
Past participle). We normally use the passive when the doer of the action
or the agent is unknown, hidden, obvious, or unimportant.

The National Book The metro project

Award for Fiction will be launched in
was given to the Riyadh by 2024.
author of
‘Blackouts’
Object Verb (Be + Past Participle)
The telephone was invented in 1876 by Alexander
Graham Bell.
The streets are being globally taken by Pro-Palestine protesters to
demand ceasefire.
The Manhattan shooter has been
arrested.
In an active sentence, the doer or agent is sometimes included
in a prepositional phrase (by + agent). That prepositional phrase
can easily be removed from the sentence. In the last sentence, we
can generally assume that the police is the subject; therefore, adding
a (by + subject) phrase is unnecessary.
Active Vs Passive Voice: The Form
Active
The subject is The verb can take any The object is the
the doer of the form based on the receiver of the action
action tense (=the subject in a
passive sentence)
SUBJEC OBJEC
T
Active T

The boy rode the

bicycle.

was by
The ridde the
bicycle n boy.

SUBJEC OBJEC
Passi
Passi T T
ve
ve subject is the
The The verb is in the If included, the subject
receiver of the action form of (be + verb (the boy) moves to a
(=the object in an 3) prepositional phrase
active sentence) starting with ‘by’.
 The Passive Form
Forming Questions and Short Answers
When forming questions, the subject and the verb to be are
inverted, and the short answer should contain the verb be that is
used in the question. We never use the ‘Do’ form in passive
questions. Be Subject Verb 3 (Past Participle)
Were your questions answered clearly? --- Yes, they
were.
When was the first airplane flown? ---
In 1903.
When did the first airplane flown? ---
In 1903.
Which of these movies was made during the 2020
pandemic?
Note the last question asks about the
subject; therefore, there is no subject in
the question
Forming Negatives
We only add the ‘not’ form while keeping the verb in its past participle
(verb 3) form.
The medication wasn’t taken yesterday. You must’ve
forgot.
The case hasn’t been solved yet.
 The Passive Form: Tenses
As mentioned earlier, the verb in the passive voice follows the
(Be + Past Participle) form. The form (Be) depends on the tense
in the sentence.
Note that when used, adverbs come after the Be
Simpl Suspects are usually questioned whenever a crime is
e committed.
Presen The suspects’ documents are being examined
Present
t right now.
Progressive
Simple Past Last year, groups of bank robbers were
caught.
Past At this time yesterday, the case was being
investigated
ProgressiveAfter all evidence is examined, a court decision will be
Future made.
Simple After all the evidence is examined, a decision is going to
The cases have been heard and
be made.
Present Perfect considered.
The missing child hasn’t been seen since
Present Perfect Legal cases have March.
been presented and
Progressive judged in this court since the court first
opened in 1970.
Note that when more than one verb is used with one subject, we don’t
The Passive Form: Modals and
Infinitives
A passive form can also be used with modal verbs (e.g. can,
should, might, etc) and infinitives (to + base form).
Modal Verbs (modal verbs + be + past
participle)
The criminal should be This case might be denied by
tracked. the judge.
These evidence can be brought in court
tomorrow.
Infinitives (to + be + past
participle)
A decision has to be made by the
court.
This project has a lot of issues. I ask for
some changes to be done.
Our teams of investigators lack some skills. I
expect these skills to be taught as soon as
possible.
 Passive Voice: The (By + Agent)
Phrase
The passive voice is normally
used because the focus is on the
action or the receiver, and not the Normally, we don’t add the (by +
subject. Therefore, the (by + subject) phrase if the agent is
subject or agent) is often not unknown, obvious or
necessary. unimportant.
Taj Mahal was built in 1648.
Classes in our school were moved to online platforms in 2020.
My insurance request was approved last week.
In case the by phrase is used, we follow ‘by’ with a noun or an
object pronoun (him, her, me, them, us, it, you) that describes
the agent or the doer of the action (The subject).
This painting of Taj Mahal was done by my
mother.
The history lecture will be given by
him.
The shocking news has been announced
by CNN.
Compare the following with (By + Agent) phrase
The suspect was interrogated by
he.
The suspect was interrogated by
him.
The first sentence uses a subject pronoun (he) instead of the
object pronoun (him), which makes it incorrect.

The criminal was spotted by she.

The criminal was spotted hy her.

The first sentence uses a subject pronoun (she) instead of the

object pronoun (her), which makes that sentence incorrect.

The detective is admired by they.

The detective is admired by them.

The first sentence uses the subject pronoun (they)

instead of the object pronoun (them), which makes
it incorrect.
 Direct Vs Indirect Objects
Considering the passive voice requires us to move the object
to the position of the subject, we must know that some
sentences have two different types of objects.
Indirect Object
Direct Object (DO)
(IO)
A noun, pronoun or a A noun, pronoun or a noun phrase that
noun phrase that tells us tells us to whom or to what the
who or what receives action of the verb is done. (IO)
the action needs a (DO). It can't be used as the
S V
only objectIOin a sentence.
DO
The teacher often gives his students
When moving the Direct Objecthomework.
to When used in the passive, you
the subject position in a passive can move either the Direct or
sentence, “to” must be used before Indirect Object to the subject
the indirect object. position.
Homework was given to the students. The students were given
The library was shown to me. homework.I was shown the library.
An urgent email was sent to She was sent an urgent ema
Note
her.there are common verbs that usually use the two objects. These verbs
are (bring, hand, offer, pay, send, show, teach, write, give, lend, owe, sell,
serve, take and tell)
Transitive Verbs Vs Intransitive
Verbs
In order to use the active and passive correctly, you must be
able to identify two types of verbs: transitive verbs and
intransitive verbs
Transitive
A transitive verb is followed with a direct object that receives
Verbs
the action of the verb. The direct object is needed for the meaning
of the sentence to be complete. Most active verbs are followed by
an object; therefore, such verbs can be used in an active voice and
a passive voice.

Subject Verb
Object
The child used the The iPad was used by the
iPad. child.
The reporter announced the The news was
news. announced.
I’m never stung by
Bees never sting
bees.
me. Google was created by
Page and Brin created
Page and Brin in 1998.
Google in 1998.
Examples of Transitive Verbs
Active Voice Passive Voice
That news anchor always The show is always
starts the show with some started with some
headlines. headlines.
The fisherman caught the
The fish was caught
fish.
Gabrille fixed the broken The broke radio was
radio. fixed by Garbrille.
My father reads the The newspaper is read by
newspaper every morning. my father every morning.
The manager has opened a A new branch of the
new branch of the chain. chain has been opened.
A new song is taught
Our music teacher teaches every day by our music
us a new song every day. teacher.
My first son was born last
year
Note that we use ‘be’ with ‘born’, but not with
‘die’.
Transitive Verbs Vs Intransitive
Verbs
In order to use the active and passive correctly, you must be
able to identify two types of verbs: transitive verbs and
intransitive verbs
Intransitive
An intransitive verbVerbs
is not followed with a direct object. The
agent (the subject) doesn’t perform these verbs on an object. We
don’t use the passive voice with intransitive verbs.

Subject
Verb
The passengers arrived at the
airport.
The passengers were arrived.
Because ‘arrive’ is an intransitive verb,
we must not use it in the passive voice.

Note that most verbs that express sense perception or senses

are intransitive verbs, such as look, appear, feel, sound,
taste, smell, seem.
 Examples of Intransitive
Verbs
(arrive, be, become, come, die, fall, go, happen, live, occur, rain,
recover (from illness), remain, sleep, stay, wait, look, appear, feel,
sound,The
taste,
newssmell, seem)
is often A bullying incident occured in my
depressing. school yesterday.
Technology has become an It rained heavily last
essential part of our lives. night.
Tourists come from all
The patient has recovered from his
around the world to see the
surgery.
pyramids.
Many people died in the The friends have remained
war. close.
My grandmother fell down The baby is sleeping soundly.
and hurt her back last
I stayed with my grandmother
week.
yesterday.
Our staff goes to
I have been waiting in line for
conferences once a month.
hours.
A terrible accident happened
Ahmed looks tired today.
on the freeway.
Note we don’t use the passive form with any of the verbs above.
 Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
There are some verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive;
therefore, these verbs can be used in the active and passive voice. However,
we must identify their meaning, use and whether they have an object before
using them in the passive voice.
leave walk
To leave a place
(intransitive verb) To walk
(intransitive verb)

Active: My mother left in

a rush this morning. Active: I walk around the
park.
To leave or place To give someone a
something (transitive walk
verb) (intransitive verb)

Active: someone left a Active: I walk dogs every

phone on the bench. morning.
Passive: a phone was Passive: dogs are walked every
left on the bench. morning.
 Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
There are some verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive;
therefore, these verbs can be used in the active and passive voice. However,
we must identify their meaning, use and whether they have an object before
chang using them in the passive voice.

e naturally
To change
Move
To show movement in body.
(intransitive) (intransitive)

Active: The country has Active: The city is always

changed a lot in the last busy, and people are always
years. moving.
When someone causes When someone causes
change (transitive) something to move
(transitive)

Active: the mechanic changed

the tire. Active: we’ve moved the sofa.
Passive: the tire was Passive: the sofa has been
changed. moved
 The Passive Voice with Get
It is common, especially in conversations, to use ‘get’ instead of
‘be’ in the passive voice. It can be often seen with verbs such as
shot, killed, injured, invited, wounded, paid, hired, hurt, fired,
laid off, picked, caught, done, sent, stolen.

I get paid at the I ‘ve gotten invited

I got hurt while
end of every to several social
playing yesterday.
month. events.
Note that the form of get depends on the tense used in the sentence.
However, it will always be followed with the past participle (paid, hurt,
invited, etc). I was just hired by a
Note that when using
a ‘by + agent’ big company to manage
phrase, we don’t sales.
normally use ‘get’. I just got hired to
Instead, we use ‘be + manage sales.
verb 3’ as it is in the
first sentence. With
 The Passive Voice with Get:
Questions and Negatives
When using the verb ‘get’ instead of ‘be’ to form a passive question
or negative in the present or past tense, we must use the Do form,
not the Be form.

Negatives
Questions
She didn’t get fired from Did she get fired from
her job. She quit. her job?
She wasn’t get fired
Was she get fired from
from her job. She quit.
her job?
I don’t get paid weekly. Do you get paid weekly?

I’m not get paid weekly. Are you get paid weekly?

Does she get invited to a

She doesn’t get invited
lot of social events?
to a lot of social events.
Was she get invited to a
She wasn’t get invited
lot of social events?
to a lot of social events.
 Participles Used as
Adjectives
The past participle (verb 3) can also be seen taking the form of an
adjective. When used as an adjective, the past participle (-ed) has
a passive meaning as it describes the person who passively
experiences the feeling. On the other hand, the present participle
(-ing) usually has an active meaning as it describes the person or
thing that is causing the feeling. Compare the following:
All of these (-ing) adjectives
The article I’m reading is interesting.
express causing a feeling. The
This lecture is boring. article caused interest. The
The movie we watched today was depressing. lecture caused boredom. The
passenger caused annoyance.

The students were interested in the article. All of these (-ed) adjectives
express having feelings. The
The students were so bored that they fell asleep.
woman felt fear. The fans felt
The audience was very depressed that they started to sob. excitement. The students had
the feeling of boredom.
Normally, we don’t use past participle adjectives
with object considering objects don’t’ have feelings.
However, we can use them to describe an object
Annoyed annoying
having a certain state (e.g. the car is damaged.)
 Adverbs with Participles
Used as Adjectives
Note that when using the past participle (-ed) or the present
participle (-ing) as adjectives, you may use adverbs (e.g. very, highly,
extremely, etc) before the participle to describe the manner or
degree of the adjective.

The girl who is

sitting behind the
The man is
man is very
extremely annoyed
n by the passenger annoying.
behind him.
 There are many past and present participles that can be used as
adjectives. The following examples display some of the common
participles. Pay special attention to their meaning. You can find the
full list on page 91 in chart 3.7.
(-ed) adjectives:
(-ing) adjectives:
To have a
To cause a feeling
feeling

Kevin was surprised to find that

The news about the
his family had left him home
increase of his salary was
alone.
surprising.
Petra is People are usually amazed
amazing.
Stand up comedies are when they visit Petra.
usually amusing to The audience are usually amused
watch. when the stand-up comedian has a
The instructions were very long greatconfused
set.
and confusing. We couldn’t catch Students were by the
up. instructions.
The argument about climate The buyers were clearly convinced
change is convincing enough for after hearing about the great deal.
me to reflect.
My poor test results are very When I saw my poor test results, I
disappointing. was very disappointed.
The way I tripped in the streets was I was very
embarrassing. embarrassed.
 (-ed) adjectives:
(-ing) adjectives: To have a
To cause a feeling feeling
The acceptance letter I I was very excited to know that I
received was very had been accepted at the
exciting. university.
The new extended working I’m always exhausted from all
hours are exhausting. the long hours at work.
Applying for jobs can be I’ve been frustrated ever since I lost
very frustrating. my job.

Fiction novels are I’m mostly interested in fiction novels.

entertaining to read.
The sudden change in our I’m extremely puzzled by the sudden
relationship is very change in the way you treat me.
puzzling.
The positive changes in I’m satisfied by the great changes in
our policies are satisifying. our company.
The nightmare I had was I was terrified when I woke up this
terrifying. morning from a terrible nightmare.
Our long flight tomorrow will
be very tiring. We should sleep We will be tired tomorrow if we don’t
well. sleep well tonight.
Get Vs Be with Past Participles and Other
Adjectives
The past participle (-ed) as an adjective can be used with both the Be
form and the get form. However, the meaning is different. Compare
the following:

They are They will get married

married. soon.
Be + past participle Get + past participle
It describes(adjectives)
the status or state of (adjectives)
It’s used to express that someone
a person or thing over a period of or something “is becoming” a
Jeff Bezostime.
is very We willcertain way.rich if we
get very
rich. accept this new business
Betty white was very
deal.
old when she passed Normally, people don’t want to get
away. old.
My parents are The actress announced that she’s getting
divorced. divorced.
I’m accustomed to I still get homesick sometimes, but I think I’ll
living on my own get accustomed to living abroad in time.
Note there are some past participles and adjectives that are
commonly used with ‘get’ such as (get acquainted, get dressed, get
hungry, get angry, etc). You can find the list on page 95 in chart