1. Sample
| Active voice | Passive voice |
| The government built this hospital in 2013 | The hospital was built in 2013 ( by the government). |
| Somebody cleans this classroom every Saturday | This room is cleaned every Saturday. |
2. Form
The passive of an active tense is formed by putting the verb “to be” into the same tense as the active verb and adding the past participle of the active verb:
3. The passive form with different tenses
| Tense/ verb form | Active voice | Passive voice |
| Simple present | He builds a house | A house is built |
| Present continuous | He is building a house | A house is being built |
| Simple past | He wrote an essay on female education | An essay was written on female education |
| Past continuous | They were watering the garden | The garden was being watered |
| Present perfect | He has built a house | A house has been built |
| Past perfect | He had watered the garden | The garden had been watered |
| future | She will build a house | A house will be built |
| Future continuous | he will be writing an essay | The essay will be being written |
| Future perfect | They will have built the house | The house will have been built |
4. Passive voice with modals
| modals | Passive | |
| Present | -Can/ can’t do -Must do -Should/could/would do – Ought to do – Have to do | – Can/can’t be done – Must be done – Should/could/would be done – Ought to be done – Have to be done |
| Past | – Can/must have done – Had to do – Ought to have done | – Can/must have been done – Had to be done – Ought to have been done |
5. To say what we or other people feel or believe, we use the following expressions
- It is said that……….. he/she/they/our country is said + infinitive
- It is believed that……………….. Or is believed + infinitive
- It is thought that…………………….. is thought + infinitive
Example:
People said that he was rich It was thought that he was rich. Or He was thought to be rich.
EXERCISES
A. Complete the table
| Verb Tenses | Active | Passive |
| Present Simple | I interview the actor. She doesn’t clean the car. | ___________________________________________ ____________________________________________ |
| Past Simple | We visited Paris. They didn’t see the car. | ____________________________________________ ___________________________________________ |
| Present Continuous | Mary is writing a book. | ______________________________________________ |
| Past Continuous | We were watching TV. | _______________________________________________ |
| Present Perfect | Electricity has improved life. They haven’t bought a computer. | ____________________________________________ ____________________________________________ |
| Future Simple | They will help people. He won’t find a job. | _________________________________________ ___________________________________________ |
| Modal Verbs | You should clean your room. | _____________________________________________ |
| Past perfect | Journalists had written articles. | ____________________________________________ |
B. Rewrite the sentences starting as suggested.
- The Egyptians built the Pyramids. (Past Simple)
The Pyramids ____________________________________________________.
- Over 400 million people speak English.
English _________________________________________________________.
- They must read the messages.
The messages __________________________________________________________.
- Edison invented the electric bulb.
The electric bulb_______________________________________________________.
- America attacked Iraq some years ago.
America _____________________________________________________________.
- They didn’t take the jewels.
The jewels ____________________________________________________________.
- Hassan and Ikram visited all these places.
All these places______________________________________________________.
- A fisherman saved his life.
His life______________________________________________________________.
- The teacher doesn’t punish the students.
The students _________________________________________________________.
- The storm is causing a lot of damage
A lot of____________________________________________________________.
- Someone has stolen Kate’s new car.
Kate’s new car_______________________________________________________.
- He mustn’t answer the questions.
The questions___________________________________________________________.
- Jasmine haven’t bought a video camera.
A video______________________________________________________________.
- Anne is selling the house.
The house _____________________________________________________________.
- They will wash the dishes.
The dishes_______________________________________________________________.
- They can invite Sarah to the party.
Sarah________________________________________________________________.
- I couldn’t write the letters yesterday.
The letters ____________________________________________________________.
- The teacher collects all the exam papers.
All the exam papers_________________________________________________________.
- They didn’t break the table.
The table______________________________________________________________.
- I drank an orange juice this morning.
An orange juice______________________________________________________.
21) She has answered my question.
My question____________________________________________________________.
- The police won’t investigate the murder.
The murder_____________________________________________________________.
- Volunteers would clean up the long beach.
The long beach______________________________________________________.
- They were writing an essay.
An essay ____________________________________________________________.
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