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
Hello Raja Muhammad Bashir,
'needed to be developed' is a grammatically correct phrase, but it would change the meaning to simply change that part of the sentence, and the remaining part of the sentence would also need some changing to adjust to that.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
thanks sir !
Dear Sir
How to change the below sentence into Passive voice
I avoid seeing him
He avoided being seen/ He avoids being seen,
Thanks in advance
Hello Abdul Azeez Ibrahim,
The original sentence is in the present (avoid) and there is no reason to change this when forming the passive construction. Thus, the second option (avoids) is better.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you.
Hello,
What would be the sentence if I change it to passive tense.
1. The science behind consumerism makes people buy things without thinking.
2. People buy things that they don't actually need.
Thanks
Hello Saeed Alnaqbi,
People are made to buy things without thinking by the science behind consumerism.
Things that they don't actually need are bought by people.
I would not recommend you use either of those sentences in the passive voice, however.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
The cake smells good.
The car looks nice.
Here, are *smell and look* stative verb as it is describing the state of the subject(cake and car)?
Hello Rsb,
Yes, those are stative verbs.
The most common types of stative verbs are as follows:
Your sentences contain examples of verbs of perception/sensation.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Tea
Thanks!
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