Passive
Voice
The
passive voice is less usual than the active voice. The active voice is the
"normal" voice. But sometimes we need the passive voice. In this
lesson we look at how to construct the passive voice, when to use it and how to
conjugate it.
Defining the passive voice
A passive construction
occurs when you make the object of an action into the subject of a sentence.
That is, whoever or whatever is performing the action is not the grammatical
subject of the sentence. Take a look at this passive rephrasing of a familiar
joke:
Why was the road
crossed by the chicken?
Who is doing the action
in this sentence? The chicken is the one doing the action in this
sentence, but the chicken is not in the spot where you would expect the
grammatical subject to be. Instead, the road is the grammatical subject. The
more familiar phrasing (why did the chicken cross the road?) puts the actor in
the subject position, the position of doing something—the chicken (the
actor/doer) crosses the road (the object). We use active verbs to represent
that “doing,” whether it be crossing roads, proposing ideas, making arguments,
or invading houses (more on that shortly).
Once you know what to
look for, passive constructions are easy to spot. Look for a form of “to be” (is,
are, am , was, were, has been, have been, had been, will be, will have been,
being) followed by a past participle. (The past participle is a form of the
verb that typically, but not always, ends in “-ed.” Some exceptions to the
“-ed” rule are words like “paid” (not “payed”) and “driven.” (not “drived”).
Here’s a sure-fire formula for identifying the passive voice:
form of “to be” + past
participle = passive voice
For example:
The metropolis has been
scorched by the dragon’s fiery breath.
When her house was
invaded, Penelope had to think of ways to delay her remarriage.
Not every sentence that
contains a form of “have” or “be” is passive! Forms of the word
“have” can do several different things in English. For example, in the sentence
“John has to study all afternoon,” “has” is not part of a past-tense verb. It’s
a modal verb, like “must,” “can,” or “may”—these verbs tell how necessary it is
to do something (compare “I have to study” versus “I may study”). And forms of
“be” are not always passive, either—”be” can be the main verb of a sentence
that describes a state of being, rather than an action. For example, the
sentence “John is a good student” is not passive; “is” is simply describing
John’s state of being. The moral of the story: don’t assume that any time you
see a form of “have” and a form of “to be” together, you are looking at a
passive sentence.
Need more help deciding
whether a sentence is passive? Ask yourself whether there is an action going on
in the sentence. If so, what is at the front of the sentence? Is it the person
or thing that does the action? Or is it the person or thing that has the action
done to it? In a passive sentence, the object of the action will be in the
subject position at the front of the sentence. As discussed above, the sentence
will also contain a form of be and a past participle. If the subject appears at
all, it will usually be at the end of the sentence, often in a phrase that
starts with “by.” Take a look at this example:
The fish was caught by
the seagull.
If we ask ourselves
whether there’s an action, the answer is yes: a fish is being caught. If we ask
what’s at the front of the sentece, the actor or the object of the action, it’s
the object: the fish, unfortunately for it, got caught, and there it is at the
front of the sentence. The thing that did the catching—the seagull—is at the
end, after “by.” There’s a form of be (was) and a past participle (caught).
This sentence is passive.
Let’s briefly look at
how to change passive constructions into active ones. You can usually just
switch the word order, making the actor and subject one by putting the actor up
front:
The metropolis has been
scorched by the dragon’s fiery breath.
becomes
The dragon scorched the
metropolis with his fiery breath.
When her house was
invaded, Penelope had to think of ways to delay her remarriage.
becomes
After suitors invaded
her house, Penelope had to think of ways to delay her remarriage.
To repeat, the key to
identifying the passive voice is to look for both a form of “to be” and
a past participle, which usually, but not always, ends in “-ed.”
Clarity and meaning
The
primary reason why your instructors frown on the passive voice is that they
often have to guess what you mean. Sometimes, the confusion is minor. Let’s
look again at that sentence from a student’s paper on Homer’s The
Odyssey:
When her
house was invaded, Penelope had to think of ways to delay her remarriage.
Like
many passive constructions, this sentence lacks explicit reference to the
actor—it doesn’t tell the reader who or what invaded Penelope’s house. The
active voice clarifies things:
After suitors invaded
Penelope’s house, she had to think of ways to fend them off.
Thus
many instructors—the readers making sense of your writing—prefer that you use
the active voice. They want you to specify who or what is doing the action.
Compare the following two examples from an anthropology paper on a Laotian
village to see if you agree.
(passive)
A new
system of drug control laws was set up. (By whom?)
(active) The Lao
People’s Revolutionary Party set up a new system of drug control laws.
Here’s
another example, from the same paper, that illustrates the lack of precision
that can accompany the passive voice:
Gender
training was conducted in six villages, thus affecting social relationships.
And a
few pages later:
Plus,
marketing links were being established.
In both
paragraphs, the writer never specifies the actors for those two actions (Who
did the gender training? Who established marketing links?).
Thus the reader has trouble appreciating the dynamics of these social
interactions, which depend upon the actors conducting and establishing these
things.
The
following example, once again from that paper on The Odyssey, typifies another
instance where an instructor might desire more precision and clarity:
Although
Penelope shares heroic characteristics with her husband, Odysseus, she
is not
considered a hero.
Who does
not consider Penelope a hero? It’s difficult to tell, but the rest of that
paragraph suggests that the student does not consider Penelope
a hero (the topic of the paper). The reader might also conceivably think that
the student is referring to critics, scholars, or modern readers of The
Odyssey. One might argue that the meaning comes through here—the
problem is merely stylistic. Yet style affects how your reader understands your
argument and content. Awkward or unclear style prevents your reader from
appreciating the ideas that are so clear to you when you write. Thus knowing
how your reader might react enables you to make more effective choices when you
revise. So after you identify instances of the passive, you should consider
whether your use of the passive inhibits clear understanding of what you mean.
Construction of the Passive Voice
The
structure of the passive voice is very simple:
subject
+ auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past participle)
The main
verb is always in its past participle form.
Look at these examples:
Subject
|
auxiliary
verb (to be)
|
|
main verb
(past participle)
|
|
Water
|
Is
|
|
Drunk
|
by
everyone.
|
100 people
|
Are
|
|
employed
|
by this
company.
|
I
|
Am
|
|
Paid
|
in euro.
|
We
|
Are
|
not
|
Paid
|
in
dollars.
|
Are
|
They
|
|
Paid
|
in yen?
|
Use of the Passive
Voice
We use the passive
when:
·
we want to make the active
object more important
·
we do not know the active
subject
|
subject
|
verb
|
object
|
give importance
to active object (President Kennedy)
|
President
Kennedy
|
was killed
|
by Lee
Harvey Oswald.
|
active
subject unknown
|
My wallet
|
has been
stolen.
|
?
|
Note that we always use
by to introduce the passive object (Fish are eaten by
cats).
Look at this sentence:
·
He was killed with
a gun.
Normally we use by
to introduce the passive object. But the gun is not the active subject. The gun
did not kill him. He was killed by somebody with a gun. In the
active voice, it would be: Somebody killed him with a gun. The gun is
the instrument. Somebody is the "agent" or "doer".
Conjugation for the
Passive Voice
We can form the passive
in any tense. In fact, conjugation of verbs in the passive tense is rather
easy, as the main verb is always in past participle form and the auxiliary verb
is always be. To form the required tense, we conjugate the auxiliary
verb. So, for example:
·
present simple: It is
made
·
present continuous: It is
being made
·
present perfect: It has
been made
Here are some examples
with most of the possible tenses:
Infinitive
|
to be
washed
|
Simple
|
present
|
It is
washed.
|
Past
|
It was
washed.
|
Future
|
It will
be washed.
|
conditional
|
It would
be washed.
|
Continuous
|
present
|
It is
being washed.
|
Past
|
It was
being washed.
|
Future
|
It will
be being washed.
|
conditional
|
It would
be being washed.
|
perfect
simple
|
present
|
It has
been washed.
|
Past
|
It had
been washed.
|
Future
|
It will
have been washed.
|
conditional
|
It would
have been washed.
|
perfect
continuous
|
present
|
It has
been being washed.
|
Past
|
It had
been being washed.
|
Future
|
It will
have been being washed.
|
conditional
|
It would
have been being washed.
|
Negative forms
of passive voice
·
That
ball is not kicked by me.
·
A
book is not being read by you now.
·
A
letter was not written by her yesterday.
·
A
present will not be given to you by him tomorrow.
·
TV has
not been watched by them for one hour yet.
·
English
has not been being studied by us since two hours ago yet.
When is it OK to use the passive?
Sometimes
the passive voice is the best choice. Here are a few instances when the passive
voice is quite useful :
1.
To
emphasize an object.Take a look at this example:
100
votes are required to pass the bill.
This
passive sentence emphasizes the number of votes required. An active version of
the sentence (“The bill requires 100 votes to pass”) would put the emphasis on
the bill, which may be less dramatic.
2.
To
de-emphasize an unknown subject/actor. Consider this example:
Over 120
different contaminants have been dumped into the river.
If you
don’t know who the actor is—in this case, if you don’t actually know who dumped
all of those contaminants in the river—then you may need to write in the
passive. But remember, if you do know the actor, and if the clarity and meaning
of your writing would benefit from indicating him/her/it/them, then use an
active construction. Yet consider the third case.
3.
If your
readers don’t need to know who’s responsible for the action.
Here’s
where your choice can be difficult; some instances are less clear than others.
Try to put yourself in your reader’s position to anticipate how he/she will
react to the way you have phrased your thoughts. Here are two examples:
Baby
Sophia was delivered at 3:30 a.m. yesterday.(passive)
and
Dr.
Susan Jones delivered baby Sophia at 3:30 a.m. yesterday.(active)
The
first sentence might be more appropriate in a birth announcement sent to family
and friends—they are not likely to know Dr. Jones and are much more interested
in the “object”(the baby) than in the actor (the doctor). A hospital report of
yesterday’s events might be more likely to focus on Dr. Jones’ role.
Reference :
Bramadi, N.S. Kursus
Singkat Bahasa Inggris. Jakarta: PT Buana Ilmu Populer, 2011.
Horis Ho,
H.F. A COMPREHENSIVE ENGLISH GRAMMAR. Jakarta: DAP, 2014.
NAMA : WIJI LESTARI
KELAS : 4EA19
NPM : 18210504
Bahasa Inggris Bisnis 2
