The passive voice is a grammatical construction where the subject of the sentence receives the action, rather than performing it. In other words, the focus is on the action itself and the object being acted upon, rather than the person or thing doing the action.
Introduction to Passive Voice
In English, we use two main voices: active and passive.
- Active Voice: The subject performs the action.
- Example: The chef cooks the food.
- Passive Voice: The subject receives the action. The focus is on the action or the object of the action.
- Example: The food is cooked by the chef.
The passive voice is used when:
- The action is more important than who did it.
- We don’t know who did the action.
- It’s obvious who did the action.
Forming the Passive Voice in the Present Simple
To form the passive voice in the present simple, we use the following structure:
Object of the active sentence + auxiliary verb (am, is, are) + past participle of the main verb + (by + subject of the active sentence)
Here’s a table to illustrate:
| Active Voice | Passive Voice |
| I clean the house. | The house is cleaned by me. |
| He/She/It cleans the house. | The house is cleaned by him/her/it. |
| We/You/They clean the house. | The house is cleaned by us/you/them. |
Important Notes:
- The auxiliary verb “to be” (am, is, are) must agree with the new subject (the object of the active sentence).
- The past participle of the main verb is used. For regular verbs, this is the -ed form. For irregular verbs, you’ll need to use the third form (e.g., go – went – gone; write – wrote – written).
- The phrase “by + the subject” is optional. We use it when we want to specify who performed the action.
Examples:
Here are some more examples:
| Active Voice | Passive Voice | Focus/Explanation |
| They make cars in Japan. | Cars are made in Japan. | The focus is on where the cars are made. |
| A famous author writes the book. | The book is written by a famous author. | We mention the author because it’s important. |
| People speak English all over the world. | English is spoken all over the world. | We don’t know or it’s not important who speaks it. |
Negative Passive Sentences
To form negative passive sentences in the present simple, we add “not” after the auxiliary verb (am, is, are).
Object + am/is/are + not + past participle + (by + subject)
Examples:
- The house is not cleaned every day. ( The house is not cleaned every day.)
- The letters are not written by hand anymore. ( The letters are not written by hand anymore.)
- I am not invited to many parties. ( I am not invited to many parties.)
Questions in the Passive Voice
To form questions in the present simple passive, we invert the auxiliary verb (am, is, are) and the subject.
Am/Is/Are + object + past participle + (by + subject)?
Examples:
- Is the house cleaned every day? ( Is the house cleaned every day?)
- Are the letters written by hand anymore? ( Are the letters written by hand anymore?)
- Am I invited to the party? ( Am I invited to the party?)
Uses of the Passive Voice
Here’s a summary of when we use the passive voice:
| Use | Example |
| When the action is more important than the doer. | The room is cleaned every day. |
| When we don’t know who did the action. | My car was stolen. |
| When it is obvious who did the action. | The criminals are arrested. (By the police) |
| In formal writing or announcements. | You are requested not to smoke in this area. |
| To avoid responsibility or blame. | The mistake was made. (Instead of “I made a mistake.”) |
| To emphasize the receiver of the action. | The Mona Lisa is admired by millions every year. |