BASIC PRINCIPLESThe passive voice emphasizes the person or object that experiences an action rather than the person or object that performs the action.

In an active voice construction, we have a subject performing an action; in a passive voice construction, something performs an action on the subject.

We often prefer to use the passive voice when:1. We do not know who the agent is:'I had the feeling that Iwas being followed.''I had the feeling that somebody was following me.'2.When it is obvious to the listener or reader who the agent is:'Ihad been instructedto remove all the ash trays.'instead of:'My boss had instructed me to remove all the ash trays.'3. When it is not important to know who the agent is:'Do you want a lift?' 'No thanks, Imbeing collected.'instead of:'Do you want a lift?' 'No thanks, someone is collecting me.'4. When the agent has already been mentioned:'In the next session of parliament, new lawswill be introducedaimed at stopping domestic violence.'instead of:'In the next session of parliament, the government will introduce new laws aimed at stopping domestic violence.'

5. When people in general are the agents:'All the Beatles records canbe borrowedfrom the central library.instead of: You can borrow all the Beatles records from the central library.6. For news reports-Missing boy not seen for three days7. You want to be vague about who is responsible:Mistakes were made. [Common in bureaucratic writing!]8. You are talking about a general truth:Rules are made to be broken. [By whomever, whenever.]9. Passive voice is often preferred in lab reports and scientific research papers. The sodium hydroxide was dissolved in water. This solution was then titrated with hydrochloric acid.

to be+past participle

How to form a passive:the object of the "active" sentence becomes the subject in the "passive" sentence

the subject of the "active" sentence becomes the object in the "passive" sentence" (or is left out)

Active:Peterbuildsa house.Passive:A houseisbuiltby Peter.

ActivePassiveSimple PresentOnce a week, Tomcleansthe house.Once a week, the houseis cleanedby Tom.Present ContinuousRight now, Sarahis writingthe letter.Right now, the letteris being writtenby Sarah.Simple PastSamrepairedthe car.The carwas repairedby Sam.Past ContinuousThe salesmanwas helpingthe customer when the thief came into the store.The customerwas being helpedby the salesman when the thief came into the store.Present PerfectMany touristshave visitedthat castle.That castlehas been visitedby many tourists.Present Perfect ContinuousRecently, Johnhas been doingthe work.Recently, the workhas been being doneby John.Past PerfectGeorgehad repairedmany cars before he received his mechanic's license.Many carshad been repairedby George before he received his mechanic's license.Past Perfect ContinuousChef Joneshad been preparingthe restaurant's fantastic dinners for two years before he moved to Paris.The restaurant's fantastic dinnershad been being preparedby Chef Jones for two years before he moved to Paris.

Simple Future: WILLSomeonewill finishthe work by 5:00 PM.The workwill be finishedby 5:00 PM.Simple Future BE GOING TOSallyis going to makea beautiful dinner tonight.A beautiful dinneris going to be madeby Sally tonight.Future Continuous WILLAt 8:00 PM tonight, Johnwill be washingthe dishes.At 8:00 PM tonight, the disheswill be being washedby John.Future Continuous BE GOING TOAt 8:00 PM tonight, Johnis going to be washingthe dishes.At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishesare going to be being washedby John.Future Perfect WILLTheywill have completedthe project before the deadline.The projectwill have been completedbefore the deadline.Future Perfect Continuous :WILLThe famous artistwill have been paintingthe mural for over six months by the time it is finished.The muralwill have been being paintedby the famous artist for over six months by the time it is finished.Future in the Past WOULDI knew Johnwould finishthe work by 5:00 PM.I knew the workwould be finishedby 5:00 PM.Future in the Past WAS GOING TOI thought Sallywas going to makea beautiful dinner tonight.I thought a beautiful dinnerwas going to be madeby Sally tonight.

http://www.autoenglish.org/gr.passive.pdfhttp://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/download/test_passive1_en.pdfhttp://www.e-grammar.org/passive-voice/test1-exercise1/http://www.e-grammar.org/passive-voice/test2-exercise1/http://campus.claroline.net/claroline/backends/download.php?url=L1Bhc3NpdmVfVm9pY2UvZXhlcmNpc2VzLW9uLXRoZS1wYXNzaXZlLXZva

Some verbs that have two objects can make two different active sentences, and so two different passive sentences too: Active: He gave the book to me. objectPassive: The book was given to me (by him). subject

Active: He gave me the book objectPassive: I was given the book (by him) subject

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/support-files/passive_verbs_with_two_objects.pdfhttp://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/active_passive/objects_tenses.htmhttp://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/passive/exercises?07

They are used when we report information we are not totally sure about and therefore we put some distance between the statement and us: People believe that thousands of birds died. The same idea can be expressed by using the passive in two different ways:

A) It + passive of reporting verb + that + clause

It is believed that thousands of birds died. B) subject + passive of reporting verb + `to infinitive

Thousands of birds are believed to have died.

Some other reporting verbs that can be used in this way are: calculate, claim, consider, discover, estimate, expect, feel, hope, know, prove, report, say, show, think, understand, etc. With present reference, the passive is followed by the present infinitive: People think that Johnson is in Cardiff. Johnson is thought to be in Cardiff. With past reference, the passive is followed by the past infinitive: People believe that Johnson left Cardiff last month. Johnson is believed to have left Cardiff last month. http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=6854http://english.lingolia.com/en/grammar/verbs/passive-voice/exerciseshttp://torroxenglishdepartment.blogspot.com.es/2012/01/impersonal-passive.html

This construction is passive in meaning. It may describe situations where we want someone else to do something for us. Examples Active: Somebody must cut your hairPassive: I must get / have my hair cut. (somebody else will cut your hair)

If the verb refers to something negative or unwanted, it has the same meaning as a passive sentence: Active: Someone stole Jims car last nightPassive:Jim had his car stolen last night. (= Jim's car was stolen qnd obviously he didnt like it))

The construction can refer to the completion of an activity, especially if a time expression is used: We'll get the work done as soon as possible. I'll get those letters typed before lunchtime. http://www.autoenglish.org/modalverbs/gr.havedone.pdfhttp://pepearca.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/have-something-done.pdfhttp://www.webstudio.nazwa.pl/webstudio/wp-content/uploads/english/passive_voice.pdf

Referenceshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv65.shtmlhttp://www.uc.utoronto.ca/passive-voicehttp://www.eoioviedo.org/anacarmen/passive/Passive.pdfhttp://www.diegodesiloe.com/WEB2/attachments/article/399/PASSIVE%20VOICE.pdf