Passive Voice

1. Uses

1.1. 1. We use the passive voice when we do not know who has done the action.

1.1.1. EXAMPLE: A civilian has been killed.

1.2. 2. We use the passive voice when we want to give more importance to what happened, to who did the action or when we do not want to say who performed it.

1.2.1. EXAMPLE: The letter was delivered yesterday.

2. SIMPLE TENSES

2.1. PRESENT SIMPLE

2.1.1. Affirmative Form: Object + am / is / are + verb (past participle)

2.1.1.1. EXAMPLE: This writer's articles are read by many people

2.1.2. Question form: Am / Is / Are + Object + verb (past participle) ?

2.1.2.1. EXAMPLE: Who are umbrellas sold by?

2.2. PAST SIMPLE

2.2.1. Affirmative form: Subject + was / were + participle + other phrase

2.2.1.1. EXAMPLE: the desserts were made.

2.2.2. Negative form: Subject + was not / were not + participle + remainder of sentence

2.2.2.1. EXAMPLE: The house wasn't cleaned today.

2.2.3. Question form: Was / were + subject + participle + remainder of sentence

2.2.3.1. EXAMPLE: Were the desserts made?

2.3. FUTURE SIMPLE

2.3.1. Affirmative form: Object + will + be + verb (past participle)

2.3.1.1. EXAMPLE: The horses will be taken to the stable.

2.3.2. Question form: Will + object +be + verb (past participle)

2.3.2.1. EXAMPLE: Will I be given a job by the boss?

3. Grammatical Rules

3.1. Subject + auxiliary verb (to be) + past participle

3.1.1. EXAMPLE: The speech is written for the president.

3.2. 1. The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive.

3.3. 2. The main verb is replaced by the auxiliary "to be", in its same time, next to the main verb in participle.

3.4. 3. The subject of the main sentence becomes the agent complement of the passive.

3.5. 4. If we mention in the sentence of the subject who performs the action (subject agent), this will normally precede by the preposition "by".

4. When we want to give more importance to the action and not to who has done it, we use the passive voice.