Mini-grammar lesson on Passive Voice for ESL 502.

1. Grammar Lesson:
Passive Voice
Presented by Thomas Mazzolla
Wilkes University
for ESL 502

2. Passive Voice
The topic of this lesson is the Passive Voice.
First let’s examine what we mean by
“voice.”
In grammar, it doesn’t mean the sound
produced by the human vocal cords.

3. Definition of Voice in Grammar
Voice shows the form of a
verb indicating whether the
subject is doing the action or
receiving the action.

4. Active Voice
In Active Voice, the subject
does the action of the verb:
Subject + Verb + Object =
Doer of action + verb + receiver of action
Examples:
Chris bought the eggs.
Manuel read the book.

5. Passive Voice
In Passive Voice, the subject and
direct object change places, and the
subject receives the action:
Subject + Verb by Object. =
Receiver of action + verb by doer of action
Examples:
The eggs were bought by Chris.
The book was read by Manuel.

6. Changing a verb from active to passive voice requires
adding a form of the verb “to be” as an auxiliary and
changing the main verb to its past participle form:
Active Passive
Simple Present I see her. She is seen by me.
Simple Past I saw her. She was seen by me.
Simple Future I will see her. She will be seen by me.
Present Progressive I am seeing her. She is being seen by me.
Past Progressive I was seeing her. She was being seen by me.
Future Progressive I will be seeing her. She will be seen by me.
Present Perfect I have seen her. She has been seen by me.
Past Perfect I had seen her. She had been seen by me.
Future Perfect I will have seen her. She will have been seen by
me.

7. Let’s focus on the simple forms
of the passive voice
Active: I saw her.
Passive: She is seen by me.
Notice the passive doer of the action is after the
verb following “by” if the doer of the action is
stated. The doer of the action can be omitted
from the sentence.
Active: I cooked the rice.
Passive: The rice was cooked by me.

8. Remember that verbs can be either
transitive (need an object of the
action) or intransitive (need no
object).
Examples:
He throws the ball.
Throws is a transitive verb.
He sleeps.
Sleeps is an intransitive verb.

9. Remember that only transitive verbs
can become passive.
A simple test to determine if a verb is transitive
or intransitive is to try to make it passive.
Examples:
The ball is thrown. Throw is transitive.
He sleeps. Cannot make passive. Sleep is
intransitive.

10. Passive Voice Tip
Too many sentences in passive voice make a
written passage wordy and dull.
Use passive voice only where it is needed so it
will not lose its effect.

11. Exercise
Are these sentences Active or Passive?
1. The teacher was told that his student is
absent.
Answer:
Passive

12. Exercise
Are these sentences Active or Passive?
2. Hamid took the book to the library.
Answer:
Active

13. Exercise
Are these sentences Active or Passive?
3. The book was dropped by Liz.
Answer:
Passive

14. Exercise
Are these sentences Active or Passive?
4. A great time was had by everyone.
Answer:
Passive

15. Exercise
Are these sentences Active or Passive?
5. Mr. Han drove his truck to the dump.
Answer:
Active

16. Exercise
Are these sentences Active or Passive?
6. The burglar was caught by the police.
Answer:
Passive

17. Exercise
Are these sentences Active or Passive?
7. My mother was seen by the doctor at the
hospital.
Answer:
Passive

18. Exercise
Are these sentences Active or Passive?
8. Our mayor and the senator were given
applause for their comments last night.
Answer:
Passive

19. Exercise
Are these sentences Active or Passive?
9. The football player in the red shirt runs
toward the goal quickly.
Answer:
Active

20. Exercise
Are these sentences Active or Passive?
10. The goal line was approached by the football
player.
Answer:
Passive

21. Application: Look at the picture and
make up sentences about it using the
passive voice.

22. Some examples of sentences
based on the picture
• The board is being written on by the boy and girl.
• The kitten is being given by the boy.
• The fish tank is being cleaned.
• The classroom door is being opened by the boy.
• The student is being sneezed on.
• The apple is being given.
• The toy is being played with by the children.
• The girl is being hugged.

23. Sources
Cliffs Study Solver. (2003). English Grammar.
New York, NY: Wiley Publishing, Inc.
http://www.eslflow.com/picturelessonsandteac
hingideas.html