Look at these examples to see how the passive voice is used.
A lot of olive oil is produced in Italy.
This book was written by Angela Davis.
The suspect will be released tomorrow.
This product has not been tested on animals.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
We use the passive voice to change the focus of the sentence.
My bike was stolen. (passive – focus on my bike)
Someone stole my bike. (active – focus on someone)
We often use the passive:
- when we prefer not to mention who or what does the action (for example, it's not known, it's obvious or we don't want to say)
- so that we can start a sentence with the most important or most logical information
- in more formal or scientific writing.
How we make the passive
We make the passive using the verb be + past participle. We start the sentence with the object.
| Avatar | was | directed by James Cameron. |
| ↓ | ↓ | ↓ |
| Object | + be + | past participle |
It is not always necessary to add who or what did the action.
| My flight | is | cancelled. |
| ↓ | ↓ | ↓ |
| Object | + be + | past participle |
Only the form of be changes to make the tense. The past participle stays the same. Here are examples of the passive in its most common tenses.
| Tense | Example | Structure |
| Present simple | Alioli is made from oil, garlic and salt. | is/are + past participle |
| Present continuous | The hall is being painted this week. | is/are being + past participle |
| Past simple | John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. | was/were + past participle |
| Past continuous | The signs were being put up last week. | was/were being + past participle |
| Present perfect | Oranges have been grown here for centuries. | has/have been + past participle |
| Past perfect | When he got home, he found that his flat had been burgled. | had been + past participle |
| Future simple | The work will be finished next week. | will be + past participle |
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hi Kirk
I came across this sentence;
The reason behind the new government strategy is impossible to understand.
Why is there an active infinitive instead of a passive one? I mean why the sentence isn’t;
The reason ……. Is impossible to be understood.
It is believed that the largest sea coral is near Norway.
Can we also say ;
The largest sea coral is believed to be near Norway.
Best regards
Andi
Hi Andi,
I'm not sure I can give you a reason why the structure exists but I can confirm that adjective + to infinitive is quite a common structure:
> That's hard to do.
> The task is difficult to do in one hour.
> The reason is impossible to know.
There is an implied prepositional phrase here:
> That's hard (for us) to do.
> The task is difficult (for anyone) to do in one hour.
> The reason is impossible (for anyone) to know.
Both sentences about the sea coral are correct.
You can see a list of some common adjectives which are followed by to-infinitive on this page:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/english-grammar-referen…
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Peter
Thanks a lot for your explanation
Best regards
Andi
Hello Jamil Harumi,
Yes, that is grammatically correct.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Mussorie,
Yes to all your questions :)
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Kaisoo93,
Yes, I understand 'they' to mean 'the changes to the tax system'; I don't see any other possibility in this specific sentence.
It wouldn't be correct to say 'to be enforced' here. The basic structure of the clause is an extremely common one in English: subject + 'be' + adjective + infinitive. In this case: subject ('they') + 'be' ('were') + adjective ('impossible') + infinitive ('to enforce'). Very often, such sentences begin with 'it': 'It's impossible to know the future'.
As far as I can think, the infinitive is always active in such sentences.
Hope this makes sense.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team