Look at these examples to see how the passive voice is used.
A lot of olive oil is produced in Italy.
This book was written by Angela Davis.
The suspect will be released tomorrow.
This product has not been tested on animals.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
We use the passive voice to change the focus of the sentence.
My bike was stolen. (passive – focus on my bike)
Someone stole my bike. (active – focus on someone)
We often use the passive:
- when we prefer not to mention who or what does the action (for example, it's not known, it's obvious or we don't want to say)
- so that we can start a sentence with the most important or most logical information
- in more formal or scientific writing.
How we make the passive
We make the passive using the verb be + past participle. We start the sentence with the object.
| Avatar | was | directed by James Cameron. |
| ↓ | ↓ | ↓ |
| Object | + be + | past participle |
It is not always necessary to add who or what did the action.
| My flight | is | cancelled. |
| ↓ | ↓ | ↓ |
| Object | + be + | past participle |
Only the form of be changes to make the tense. The past participle stays the same. Here are examples of the passive in its most common tenses.
| Tense | Example | Structure |
| Present simple | Alioli is made from oil, garlic and salt. | is/are + past participle |
| Present continuous | The hall is being painted this week. | is/are being + past participle |
| Past simple | John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. | was/were + past participle |
| Past continuous | The signs were being put up last week. | was/were being + past participle |
| Present perfect | Oranges have been grown here for centuries. | has/have been + past participle |
| Past perfect | When he got home, he found that his flat had been burgled. | had been + past participle |
| Future simple | The work will be finished next week. | will be + past participle |
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
First of all thank you for your tremendous job. My question is about the phrase: "my talk". In the section "Grammar test 2", question 7, it says: Someone [saw] my talk at the conference and recommended me as a speaker.
Can we consider "my talking" a better grammar, because of the formal structure which is: [possessive adjective + Gerund]?
Would you explain which one [My talk or My talking] is correct (or more correct) and why?
Hi Emad.E2022,
I'm glad to hear you find the site useful!
Talk is a noun. It means a conversation, discussion or speech. It's the best word choice in this sentence because the context is a conference, which has speeches or presentations.
My talking is grammatically possible, but less preferred in this sentence since the gerund means the general doing of the activity (while talk is a particular unit of talking).
I hope that helps.
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Good explanation. It is well understood.
Hi Mr Jonathan, i would like to know if i can get a certificate from the british council doing all the free lessons, thanks!
Hi Fran96,
Certificates and digital badges (here) are available with our subscription courses (here) but not with our free access courses.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Nice
Hi Peter
They report the defence minister is to resign.
1) It is reported that the defence minister is to resign.
They claim the terrorist is living abroad.
1) It is claimed that the terrorist is living abroad.
2) The terrorist is claimed to be living abroad.
Can you please tell me why the first sentence can’t have the number 2) construction of the second sentence.
I mean why can’t we say ;
The defence minister is reported to resign.
Is there a grammatical rule to prevent that?
Best regards
Andi
Hi Andi,
It is possible to use the second construction:
> The defence minister is reported to be resigning.
The meaning here is an ongoing action, similar to a present continuous construction.
When we use the construction 'reported to + verb' there is a general meaning; it describes a state or a typical action:
> He is reported to live abroad.
> She is reported to work in a hospital in London.
Obviously, a resignation is a single event, not a typical or habitual action or a state. Thus, 'reported to + verb' is not appropriate.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Peter
Thanks a lot for your explanation
Everyone thought he didn’t take the prize.
He was thought not to have taken the prize.
All the experts in the congress thought our wine was the best.
Our wine was thought to be the best by all the experts.
As you can see for two similar active sentences we have two different passive constructions.
Why the passive in the second sentence isn’t;
Our wine was thought to have been….
Or the passive in the first sentence isn’t;
He was thought not to take the prize.
Best regards
Andi
Hello again Andi,
The perfect form here (to have taken / to have been) is used when we want to make clear that the action described happened before and ended before the report. An example will help here:
> She was thought to have lived in Paris.
> She was thought to live in Paris.
In the first sentence she lived in Paris at some point but this ended before the time of the thinking, so to speak. In the second sentence she still lived in Paris at the time of the thinking.
In other words, we can use the normal infinitive form when something is still true at the time of thinking/expecting/believing etc.
In your examples, 'Our wine was thought to be...' is used because it is a fact which is still true at the time. However, the other example must be 'to have taken' because 'take' is an action which was completed at some point before the thinking took place.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team