active and passive voice
Transitive verbs have both active and passive forms:
| active | passive | |
|---|---|---|
| The hunter killed the lion. | >> | The lion was killed by the hunter. |
| Someone has cleaned the windows | >> | The windows have been cleaned |
The passive forms are made up of the verb be with a past participle:
| be | past participle | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| English | is | spoken | all over the world |
| The windows | have been | cleaned | |
| Lunch | was being | served | |
| The work | will be | finished | soon |
| They | might have been | invited | to the party |
We sometimes use the verb get to form the passive:
Be careful with the glass. It might get broken.
Peter got hurt in a crash.
If we want to show the person or thing doing the action we use by:
She was attacked by a dangerous dog.
The money was stolen by her husband.
We can use the indirect object as the subject of a passive verb:
| active | passive | |
|---|---|---|
| I gave him a book for his birthday | >> | He was given a book for his birthday. |
| Someone sent her a cheque for a thousand euros | >> | She was sent a cheque for a thousand euros. |
We can use phrasal verbs in the passive:
| active | passive | |
|---|---|---|
| They called off the meeting. | >> | The meeting was called off. |
| His grandmother looked after him. | >> | He was looked after by his grandmother. |
| They will send him away to school. | >> | He will be sent away to school. |
Some verbs very frequently used in the passive are followed by the to-infinitive:
| be supposed to | be expected to | be asked to |
| be scheduled to | be allowed to | be told to |
John has been asked to make a speech at the meeting.
You are supposed to wear a uniform.
The meeting is scheduled to start at seven.
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- the verb be
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Comments
good
team
Hello Raashid,
There is an explanation of the active and passive voice on this page. Is any part of it not clear or incomplete for you?
I'm afraid we don't have time to rewrite sentences for learners. Sorry!
Best wishes,
Adam
The LearnEnglish Team
I am wrong.please passive it
Can u please help me telling
passeive voice of
I have no idea. (change the voice)
team
Hello Sakina!
We use the passive voice when we want to talk about the object of a sentence, not the subject. You can read more about it on our other passive page. Also, try doing a search. Type passive in the search box on the right of the web page. You will see lots more information and examples there.
Remember, the passive voice is a bit difficult, and we don't use it very much when we speak. If you don't understand it at all, try looking at something a bit easier and come back to the passive later.
Regards
Jeremy Bee
The LearnEnglish Team
She is the person who you should see.
She is the person ______
a)seeing b)should be seen
c)ought to see d) to see
Cn anyone tell me which of the answers is correct ,and which grammar point is applied here .
i would appreciate helping from you
THANKS!
hi,this is krishna... i have a one question on voices topic.
Q;change this in to passive voice... "you have got to do what you have to do"
team
Hello krishna!
That's an interesting question, but I'm not sure why you would want to change that sentence into the passive! It would probably be something like this:
What has got to be done, has got to be done.
Hope that helps
Jeremy Bee
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello, keleninja regarding to your question I have a few answers if I am not mistaken .
The Lifeboatman are working on the Ship, Barge or on a passenger vessel. Hoping that this will give you some information. Thank you English team.
Hello, Again I have a question about the sentences in this exercise. I am hoping that will give me a bit of explanation. If I am not mistaken about the question.
My question is Members and Staff are the same meaning when it comes to vicinity of workplace condition. Thank you could anybody explain it to me briefly.