What is Passive voice?

Answer 1

The passive voice is a way of constructing a sentence in which the object of the action is placed in the the subject position of the passive sentence.

In that regard, it is different from the more common sentence in the active voice. Here are some examples of changing the active voice to the passive voice:

Active: The dog bit the boy. Passive: The boy was bittenby the dog.

Active: Mary invited Kaitlin to a party. Passive: Kaitlin was invited to a party by Mary.

Active: My dad always cuts the grass. Passive: The grass is always cut by my dad.

Passive sentences are formed with -- be + past participle.

was bitten -- was = be verb, bitten = past participle of bite

was invited -- was = be verb, invited = past participle of invite

It is not always necessary to show the agent (by the dog, by my dad, by Mary). Passive sentences are used when the agent is not known or not important. eg

Kaitlin was invited to a party.

The Mona Lisa was painted in 1506

The new bridge is being built.

Answer 2

The passive form of the verb phrase follows this pattern:

be + past participle

for example: is used/ was wanted / is being built

Passive is the opposite of active. In most sentences/clauses the subject refers to the doer or actor of the action of the verb.

Eg. The cat chased the mouse. The cat is the subject or the doer of the verb, chase (active).

But the passive form allows us to put someone or something that is not the actor first in the position of the subject.

Eg. The mouse was chased by the cat.

The passive also allows us to leave the actor out, if the actor is not important.

active - Leonardo da vinci painted the Mona Lisa in the 16th century.

passive - The Mona Lisa was painted in the 16th century.

Some examples:

Present simple

Active - We keep the sugar in the cupboard.

Passive - The sugar is kept in the cupboard. (by us)

Past simple

Active - The police brought the child home.

Passive - The child was brought home. (by the police)

Present continuous

Active - The council is building a new library.

Passive - The new library is being built. (by the council)

Past continuous

Active - My parents were discussing my behaviour.

Passive - My behaviour was being discussed.

Answer 3

A passive sentence is one that uses the passive voice, where the object becomes the subject.

Examples : "The opportunity was missed." "The tree was hit by lightning."

Answer 4

The passive student did not stand up for himself when bob the bully made fun of his shiny white sneakers.

Answer 5

Example sentence - She quickly discovered his behavior was passive aggressive and she could be in real danger.

Answer 6

The house was built by Jack.