Level: beginner
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. |
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. |
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.
- Active and passive voice 1
- Active and passive voice 2
- Active and passive voice 3
Level: intermediate
The passive infinitive is made up of to be with a past participle:
The doors are going to be locked at ten o'clock.
You shouldn't have done that. You ought to be punished.
We sometimes use the verb get with a past participle to form the passive:
Be careful with that glass. It might get broken.
Peter got hurt in a crash.
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. |
- Active and passive voice 4
- Active and passive voice 5
Level: advanced
Some verbs which are very frequently used in the passive are followed by the to-infinitive:
| be supposed to | be expected to | be asked to | be told to |
| be scheduled to | be allowed to | be invited to | be ordered 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.
- Active and passive voice 6
- Active and passive voice 7
Comments
Hi great moderators and teachers,
I don't understand one thing about the verb 'express' .
While reading a text, I saw that and decided to learn how to use.
For example when I say;
'I expressed my ideas to her'-->Active voice. But I am confused about how I can use with passive voice.
"My ideas were expressed to her. " or
'She was expressed my ideas.'
I think both of them. But I am not sure.
Thanks a lot.
Hello Nevı,
Your sentence has a direct object (my ideas) and an indirect object (her). We use the direct object as the subject in passive voice:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thanks a lot teacher Peter.I am very grateful.
So the sentence
"My ideas were expressed to her. " is more common.
But the sentence
'She was expressed my ideas.'(passive with indirect object) is also true but less common. ??? Isn't it.
Finally,
British Council teachers and team are perfect. They help us and answer our questions. Thanks for your helps.
Best wishes.
Hello again Nevı,
No, '
She was expressed my ideas' is not a correct sentence.As I said, we use the direct object as the subject in a passive sentence, not the indirect object.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi great teachers Peter, Kirk and Jonathan.
I want to learn new things.And I am confused about one thing.
While I reading a text to improve my skills, I didn't understand one word which is 'thronged' in that sentence
-The streets were thronged with shoppers.-
Then I looked different dictionares and one of them said 'be thronged with' is phrasel verb.(Oxford Dict.)
Second one said 'thronged' is an adjective and it's structure is "verb-link ADJECTIVE with noun" (Collins Dict.)
To sum up, I am very confused. Is ' be thronged with ' an adjective pattern or a 'phrasel verb'? Maybe a grammar topic haven't known anything about.
Thank you a lot
Hello Nevı,
I'm surprised by the definition you found in the Oxford Dictionary and don't know how to explain that. I see something different in the Lexico UK dictionary (which is based on the Oxford Dictionary) win the definition for 'throng'.
What Collins says makes sense to me, and matches what Cambridge and Longman show as well. In other words, I'd recommend you view it as an adjective formed from the past participle of the verb 'throng'; it often collocates with the preposition 'with', but there are other patterns as well.
It's always a good idea to check several sources.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Sir, we cannot say 'your suggestions are welcomed' but say your suggestions are welcome because welcome is treated as an adjective here. We can say 'they were welcomed by us' but why can't we say 'you are welcomed by us' or 'your suggestions are welcomed by us.' and why only 'your suggestions are welcome' Regards
Hello dipakrgandhi,
It's important to recognise the communicative function here, as it is not the same for all of these sentences.
When we are describing a fact in the world, we can use these sentences:
All of these sentences are correct. For example, a hotel might say this to its guests:
However, sometimes the function is not simply to describe a fact. For example, Your suggestions are welcome has the function of encouraging people to make suggestions.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
John has been asked to get dressed by the staff. "You are supposed to wear a cloth in public. Hurry up! The meaning is scheduled to start soon." ;)
Sir,
1. This is to inform you that below mentioned employee's cab delayed in arriving office at standard time. (Verb delay intransitive) past indefinite tense
2. This is to inform you that below mentioned employee's cab was
delayed in arriving office at standard time.( Here, Delayed as an adjective) simple past sentence
Both the sentences are correct when I use the word delay as an adjective and verb (intransitive) in the context?
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