UNIT 5: Community Builders

PASSIVE VOICE

USE

The passive voice is a grammatical structure that is used when you do not want to emphasize who or what performs the action, but rather who or what receives it.

ACTIVA                                                                                                                              PASSIVA

Händel composed Messiah in 1741.               Messiah was composed in 1741 by Händel.

Händel compuso el Mesías en 1741.             El Mesías fue compuesto en 1741 por Händel.

FORM

The passive sentence is constructed using the verb to be in the corresponding verb tense and the main verb in the past participle; that is, either adding the –ed particle to the verb if it is regular, or looking at the past participle in the list of irregular verbs if the verb is irregular.

Object + verbo to be + main verb in past participle + complement 

EXAMPLE

PRESENT SIMPLE

• They sell organic vegetables in this shop.            Organic vegetables are sold in this shopEn esta tienda venden verdura ecológica.           En esta tienda se vende verdura ecológica

PAST SIMPLE

• They found an old letter in the box.                 An old letter was found in the box.
• Encontraron una carta antigua en la caja       Se encontró una carta antigua en la caja.