passive voice tec iii

8/2/2019 Passive Voice Tec III

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English Grammar II, Semester IIIDaysi Suleyma Alvarado

Nereyda Rodriguez Gavidia April, 10th 2012.



Menu What is the Passive Voice

Rule of Passive Voice

How use Passive Voice

Where use Passive Voice

Example of the structures in

present simple.

Example of the structures in pastsimple.

passive with a direct and indirectobject.

Past Participle form in Passive

Voice

Differences between Passive Voice and Academic Writing

Passive Voice with Modal Verbs

Present Progressive/Continuous

Past Progressive/Continuous

Done for



What is the Passive Voice?

The passive voice it is an expression that involve a formof how we say something to other people in a sentence.But, what is a passive voice? Why and where we use thepassive voice? And How its form in the sentences?



Passive Voice meaningPassive voice is a voice that indicates that the subject isthe patient or recipient of the action denoted by the verb.

Here is an example of a construction in passive voice:

The man was nudged by a passer-by.

(SIL International,2004)



How use Passive Voice

We use the passive voice when want to place more

emphasis on the object or receiver of an action for thepeople.

Example:

Insulin was first discovered in 1921 by researchers at theUniversity of Toronto. (English grammar online, 2010)



We also use the passive voice when we do not know whois performing action, or it is not apparent who isperforming the action. An animal or an inanimate object

could be performing the action as well.

Example:

We don't know who made them

We are not interested in who is building it.

(Bloomberg, 2005)



Where use the passive voice?

When the agent of the action is unknown:

Example:

My wallet was stolen last night(Macromedia, Inc, 2009)



When the agent is unimportant:

Example:The new students’ center was completed last week.

(Macromedia, Inc, 2009)



When the agent of the action is obvious from thecontext:

Example:

I was born in March of 1955.




Sometimes passives can be formed with get or have. A passive formed with get is more common in informal,spoken English than in formal, written English.

Example:He had his article published last month.




The passive voice can be used with modal verbs, too,following the patterns used with will.

Examples:

The book can be taken by you.

The rules must be obeyed by everybody.

(Language Dynamics, 2010)



Example of the structures in

present simple

The Passive Voice Formation (Present Simple)

Subject + verb To Be + Past Participle

Example: the apple is eaten.

(English club.com guide to the passive voice for ESLstudents, 2001)



Example of the structures in past

simple

The Passive Voice formation (Past Simple)

Subject + Past of To Be + Past Participle

Example: the apple was eaten

(English club.com guide to the passive voice for ESLstudents, 2001



When a passive voice is possible with transitive verbs- verbs such as paint, throw, eat, write-tense and aspect in

the passive are shown by the form of the verb be + theparticiple of the main verb.

Ex. Mary wrote that letter. (Active voice)

That letter was written by Mary. (Passive voice)(Bartles, 1983)



Options are available to us when

we use a passive with a direct andindirect object:

Ex. A long report has been given to the president.

The president is given prominence by being placed last.

In second sentence, the report is given prominence by being placed last.

Reimes, How English Work, 1998)



Ex. The president has been given a long report.

To help you decide, you will have to consider the wholecontext including what comes before and after.

(Reimes, How English Work, 1998)



Rule of Passive Voice

The passive voice is built with a form of “to be” (tenses)

and the past participle. Use “by” to add who or what isresponsible for an action.

(Smalzer r. M., 1980-2000)



A participle form can be used to describe a situation, not

an action. In these cases, no agent is implied, and there

is not equivalent active form denoting as passive voice.

(Smalzer r. M., 1980-2000)



Identifying Past Participle form in

Passive Voice

Regular Verbs Irregular Verbs Infinitive + -

edServe: Served

3rd column

Build: Built (Thornbury, How to Teach English, 1999)



Differences between Passive Voice

and Academic Writing

Academic writing often focuses on differences betweenthe ideas of different researchers, or between your ownideas and those of the researchers you are discussing.Too many passive sentences can create confusion.

(English as 2nd Language, 2012)



When should avoid passive voice?

Passive sentences can get you into trouble in academic writing because they can be vague about who is

responsible for the action:Example:

Both Othello and Lake desire Desdemona. She iscourted. Who courts Desdemona? Othello? Lake? Bothof them?

(Bloomberg, 2005)



Passive Voice with Modal Verbs

The passive voice can be used with modal verbs, too,

following the patterns used with will.

Examples:

The house can be seen from the mountain.

The roof must be repaired soon.(Language Dynamics, 2010)



Passive - Present

Progressive/Continuous

Is/are being + past participle = present

Example:

He was drinking coffee and listening to the news on theradio this morning.



Passive - Past


Was/were + past participle = past

Example:

We will be talking about that next week. I really lookforward

Note: The progressive/continuous forms of the perfectaspects/tenses are hardly ever used in the passive voice.



Thank you for paying attention.

Done for:

Daysi Suleyma Alvarado Chávez.Nereyda Marlene Rodríguez Gavidia.



Passive - Past


Was/were + past participle = past

Example:

We will be talking about that next week. I really lookforward

Note: The progressive/continuous forms of the perfectaspects/tenses are hardly ever used in the passive voice.

passive voice tec iii

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