Passive Voice

 Passive Voice

In the active voice, the subject performs the action: "The dog chased the ball." (The dog is doing the chasing.)

In the passive voice, the subject receives the action: "The ball was chased by the dog." (The ball is being chased.)

Forming the Passive Voice

The passive voice is formed using a form of the verb "to be" + the past participle of the main verb.

• Present Simple: is/am/are + past participle (e.g., The letter is written.)
• Past Simple: was/were + past participle (e.g., The cake was eaten.)
• Present Continuous: is/am/are being + past participle (e.g., The house is being painted.)
• Past Continuous: was/were being + past participle (e.g., The documents were being reviewed.)
• Present Perfect: has/have been + past participle (e.g., The car has been washed.)
• Past Perfect: had been + past participle (e.g., The report had been finished.)
• Future Simple: will be + past participle (e.g., The project will be completed.)
• Modal Verbs: modal verb + be + past participle (e.g., The problem can be solved.)

When to Use the Passive Voice

1. When the doer is unknown or unimportant: "The window was broken." (We don't know or it's not important who broke it.)

2. When the focus is on the action or the receiver of the action: "The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci." (The focus is more on the painting itself.)

3. In formal or scientific writing: "The experiment was conducted..."

4. To be more polite or less direct: "A mistake was made." (Instead of "You made a mistake.")

When to Avoid the Passive Voice

While the passive voice has its uses, overuse can make your writing sound awkward or unclear. In general, the active voice is preferred because it's more direct and concise. Try to avoid the passive voice when:

1. You know who performed the action and it's relevant.
2. You want your writing to be more energetic and engaging.

Examples

• Active: Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.

• Passive: Hamlet was written by Shakespeare.

• Active: Someone stole my bike.

• Passive: My bike was stolen.

• Active: They are building a new school.

• Passive: A new school is being built.

Important Note about "by"

Often, but not always, the passive voice includes the preposition "by" to indicate who or what performed the action (the agent). "The book was written by the author."