LECP an 1, sem.

PASSIVE VOICE
We use passive forms for reasons of style and clarity, as well as of meaning. Mostly the rules of passive formation are straightforward, but it needs to be noted that certain words and structures cannot be used in the passive. A number of changes undergo when turning an active sentence into a passive one. Thus, the subject of an active verb becomes the agent in the passive; the object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb (note that verbs that do not have direct object can not be used in the passive); the passive form of verbs can be made in all tenses by using be in the appropriate tense plus the past participle of the main verb. e.g. active voice: The judge will read the names of the winners. passive voice: The names of the winners will be read by the judge.
Here are more examples with all the changes an active sentence undergoes when turned into passive. TENSES ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE

Simple Present Simple Past Present Continuous Past Continuous. Pres. Perfect Past Perfect Future Future Perfect Conditional Condit. Perfect Present Infinitive Perfect Infinitive

He repairs cars. He repaired the car. Hes repairing the car. He was repairing a car. He has repaired the car. He had repaired the car. He will repair the car. He will have repaired the car. He would repair the car. He would have repaired the car. He ought to repair the car. He ought to have repaired the car.

Cars are repaired here. The car was repaired. The car is being repaired. The car was being repaired. The car has been repaired. The car had been repaired. The car will be repaired. The car will have been repaired. The car would be been repaired. The car would have been repaired. The car ought to be repaired. The car ought to have been repaired.

Notes 1. In colloquial English be can be replaced by get in the passive voice in some expressions. e.g. Hell get (= be) fired if he continues to be late for work. 2. have + object + past participle can be used colloquially to replace a passive verb when we want to talk about an accident or misfortune. e.g. She had her arm broken. (= Her arm was broken) 3. The agent is omitted when it is: a) a pronoun, b) words like one, someone, people, etc. or c) can be easily understood. e.g. Someone destroyed the evidence. The evidence was destroyed. The passive voice is used: 1. when the person who performs the action (agent) can easily be understood. e.g. He has been arrested. (The police have arrested him.) 2. when the subject of the active verb is people, he, she, they, one, somebody, etc. e.g. They say she is smart. It is said that she is smart. /She is said to be smart. 3. when we are interested in the action itself rather than the person who performs it. e.g. The new shopping centre will be opened tomorrow (by the Mayor of the city). 4. when we mean to be tactful by not naming the agent.

e.g. All my perfume has been used. (instead of Youve used all my perfume!) Further points on the passive voice: 1. make, hear, see, help are followed by to + infinitive in the passive. e.g. He helped her cross the street. She was helped to cross the street. 2. let becomes was/were allowed to in the passive. When the subject of let and the object of the infinitive that follows let are the same, then let, when used in the passive voice, is followed by a reflexive pronoun + bare/short passive infinitive. e.g. Mother let me go to the party. I was allowed to go to the party. Dont let them laugh at you. Dont let yourself be laughed at. 3. The passive with verbs such as assume, believe, consider, feel, know, report, say, think, understand, etc. is formed in two ways. a) it + passive + that-clause e.g. They believe she is a spy. It is believed that she is a spy. b) subject + passive + to-infinitive e.g. They believe she is a spy. She is believed to be a spy. 4. Verbs which take two objects as allow, ask, give, lend, send, etc. have two passive forms. e.g. He showed me his latest novel. I was shown his latest novel. and He showed me his latest novel. His latest novel was shown to me. 5. Passive voice with by or with. a) by + agent e.g. Penicillin was discovered by Fleming. b) with/by +instrument e.g. She was killed with a hammer. c) with + material e.g. Irish coffee is made with whisky. d) past participles (such as filled, packed, etc.) + with/by e.g. The theatre was filled with hundreds of spectators. 6. Verbs followed by a certain preposition take the preposition immediately after them when put in the passive. e.g. They accused him of drug running. He was accused of drug running.