Passive Voice

Passive Voice

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Multiple Choice

Which is the right passive form?

They finished the work at midnight.

• The work finished at midnight.

• The work is finished at midnight.

• The work is finishing at midnight.

• The work was finished at midnight.

• The person who does the action is unknown: My cellphone was stolen. (We don't know who stole it so please don't ask!)

• The person who does the action is unimportant: The streets are repaired after the storm. (It is unimportant who is doing it, now we won't have any potholes anymore!)

• The person who does the action is obvious: After the car chase, the two criminals were arrested. (For sure it was not your grandmother, the only ones who can arrest are the police.)

Multiple Choice

Which is the correct passive form?

They will book the tickets for the holiday soon.

• The tickets will booked soon.

• The tickets will be booked soon.

• The tickets will book them soon.

• The tickets will be booking soon.

Other uses

We can also use passive voice when we don't want to take responsibility for an action or we don't want to blame someone else:

*Look the window is broken!

(I did it but no one knows and I don't want to get in trouble for this.)

*Some bad things have been told about you but we are sure they're not true.

(In fact your secretary told me but I don't want you to know.)

Multiple Choice

Which is the correct passive form?

Many people have taken office supplies from the company.

• Office supplies have been taken from the company.

• Office supplies have taken from the company.

• Office supplies have be taken from the company.

• Office supplies have being taken from the company.

Structure

As any other sentence, these sentences have a subject, a verb and complement.

The part of the verb is formed by the verb to be, which is conjugated in the tense you want to use and the past participle form of the action.

Sometimes doing exercise in which you switch from active to passive help to get familiarized with the structure but in real life you will not have time to think your idea in active and then turn it into passive.

Multiple Choice

Which is the correct passive form?

The police are taking the parked vehicles to the car pound.

• The parked vehicles are taking to the car pound.

• The parked vehicles are taken to the car pound.

• The parked vehicles are being taken to the car pound.

• The parked vehicles are been taken to the car pound.

All passive sentences need the past participle form of the action in their structure.

Therefore notice how we follow the conjugation rules we already know to apply them on the verb to be.

Fill in the Blank

Complete the following joke by putting the correct passive form in the blank.

A teacher asked her class to write an essay about a football match. A minute later all students were writing except one boy. The teacher looked at his paper. It said: The game _________ (stop) in the first minute by rain.

Fill in the Blank

Complete the following joke by putting the correct passive form in the blank.

What did your father say when you _________ (take) to prison?

- Hello, son.

Fill in the Blank

Complete the following joke by putting the correct passive form in the blank.

I __________ (ask) to get married hundreds of time.

-Oh! Who by?

My parents.