Passive Voice

When to use the passive voice

Verbs can be active or passive. In the active voice, the subject is the doer. In the passive voice, the subject is the person or thing affected by the action of some other agent.

·     The government approved the policy. (Active)

·      The policy was approved by the government. (Passive)

There is nothing wrong with a passive construction, but if you can express the same idea using an active verb, you should do so. Passive forms show an unwillingness to shoulder responsibility. In several passive constructions the doer of the action is not mentioned at all.

·         My father built this house. (Better than ‘This house was built by my father.’)

The passive voice is common in academic writing; however, it should be avoided in persuasive writing.

Don’t mix active and passive structures in the same sentence. If one clause is in the passive voice, the other, too, should be in the passive voice.

Cases where the passive voice is preferred

There are a few situations where the passive voice is particularly helpful.

The passive voice is used when we want to draw attention to the person or thing that was affected by the action of the subject.

·         The unidentified victim was run over by a speeding truck.

Here the focus is on the person who was acted upon.

The passive voice is also preferred in cases where the doer is not important.

·         The pyramids were built around 400 AD.

Here the focus is on the pyramids and not on the person(s) who built them and hence we prefer the passive voice.

Passive Verb Formation

The passive forms are created by combining a form of be with the past participle form of the main verb.

Passive Voice Exercise

Passive verb forms are used to say what happens to people and things. Note all verbs can have passive forms. Passive structures are impossible with intransitive verbs because they do not have objects. Some transitive verbs are also not used in the passive.

This grammar exercise tests your understanding of passive structures.

Fill in the blanks with an appropriate passive form.

1. She likes ....................................

being looking at 

being looked at 

been looked at 

2. The table ....................... up for firewood.

was broken 

was breaking 

broke

3. The roof ......................... by the masons.

is repairing 

is being repaired 

is being repairing 

4. This bag .......................... of leather.

Is making 

is made 

made

5. The walls ......................................

are still painting 

are still being painted 

are still being painting 

6. Their house ................................

has sold 

has been selling 

has been sold 

7. The contractor said that the project .............................. by Monday.

will finish 

would finish 

would be finished 

8. These tablets ......................... with food.

must take 

must be taken 

must be taking 

9. The parcel ............................... by courier yesterday.

is sent 

was sent 

was sending 

10. Your life ................................ by this book.

will change 

will be changing 

will be changed

11. This ............................ last week.

should be done 

should have been done 

should do 

12. I ............................. by his attitude.

shocked

was shocking 

was shocked 

 

Answers

1. She likes being looked at.
2. The table was broken up for firewood.
3. The roof was being repaired by the masons.
4. This bag is made of leather.
5. The walls are still being painted.
6. Their house has been sold.
7. The contractor said that the project would be finished by Monday.
8. These tablets must be taken with food.
9. The parcel was sent by courier yesterday.
10. Your life will be changed by this book.
11. This should have been done last week.12. I was shocked by his attitude.