Sometimes, the actions happened in information way more crucial than the one who made it happen. This is where passive voice takes place. Generally, you just allow what happened, or the object of a sentence becomes the subject. But is it that easy? Depends—let’s dig deeper into this guide!
What is the Passive Voice?
When you learn English grammar, you commonly follow a rule that puts the subject or the doer first. It could be anyone—I, you, we, they, she, he, or it. After that, you put the form of “to be,” the verb, and the object. But what if the doer is insignificant in the information?
Passive voice in English grammar allows the subject to become the receiver of the verb’s action, instead of letting the subject perform the verb like the active voice does. It also changes the structure into:
Subject + form of “to be” + past participle.
Let’s see these examples:
- “Mom (subject) prepares (verb+s) Andre’s clothes (object).” – Active sentence
- “Andre’s clothes (object) are (to be) prepared (verb) by mom (subject).” – Passive sentence
While the active sentence indicates that “mom” is the subject who acts preparing, the passive example makes “Andre’s clothes” the subject that receives the action.
How Do You Build Passive Sentences?
Keep in mind that the shifts always bring the emphasis from the one performing to the one receiving. See the examples below to understand more about the process of how to form passive sentences.
“The teacher explains the lesson.” – According to this sentence, “the lesson” acts as the object and it typically receives attention. Thus, you need to move the object to the subject position to make a passive sentence.
After that, add the appropriate form of “to be” according to the tense and replace the main verb with its past participle form. For instance in our example, “explains” becomes “explained”.
Sometimes you can also add “by” followed by the original subject if necessary. Based on the example, the passive voice would be “The lesson is explained by the teacher”—easy, right?
However, you better avoid overusing the passive voice structure, as it can result in an unclear or weakened sentence’s intention. After all, who wants their message to get lost in ambiguity? Thus, be mindful of verb forms and tenses to prevent mismatches with the “to be” form, which can make the sentence even more confusing.
When Should Passive Voice Be Used?
Even though overusing this grammar structure could lead to unclear information, passive voice can save you where the object of a sentence requires more attention instead of the doers.
Consider the following examples:
- “The experiment was conducted by using mixed-method approaches.” – This sentence emphasizes the experiment and its approach, not the individuals conducting it. Report and other formal writing demand objectives in the first place, thus passive voice works excellently.
- “Last week, the new policy was implemented.” – Here, the focus is on the policy’s implementation rather than identifying who enacted it.
- “The chicken coop’s door was broken during the heavy rain.” – In this instance, the one responsible for breaking the chicken coop’s door was unknown, unimportant, or irrelevant—making passive voice a fitting choice.
Learn More About Passive Voice
The passive voice allows you to tell on-point information even though the doer is irrelevant. But is there any possible way to master this grammatical voice faster and in a more fun way?
Of course—Fun English Course gets you covered! We offer a range of classes tailored for every age group—from young learners to professionals or those who need test preparation boosters. Sign up at FunEnglishCourse today and start mastering elements like a passive voice with ease and confidence!