Transcript The Passive Voice

The Passive Voice
What, why, when, where and how?
In most sentences, we can recognize the following
“formula”:
Thing/Person doing the action
+
verb
+
thing/person receiving action
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(My friend)
(is feeding)
( his dog.)
Let's examine the following sentences:
1. Ellen saw David at the mall yesterday.
2. David was seen at the mall yesterday.
In both sentences, the verb "to see" is being used.
• In the first sentence, Ellen did the "action".
• In the second sentence, we don't know from reading
the sentence who saw David but we know that
someone saw him.
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When it is obvious that the subject
of the sentence is not the one who did
the action, and the action is “done”
to/on him, we say that the sentence is
in the passive voice.
‫כאשר ברור שהנושא של המשפט הוא לא זה שעושה את הפעולה‬
‫ אנו אומרים שהמשפט הוא‬,‫ הפעולה נעשתה לו או עליו‬,‫כלומר‬
."‫בצורת ה"סביל‬
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When do we use it?

When we are interested in the act that was done but
we don't know who did.
Example: My neighbour's car was stolen.
The action was done by an unknown thief.

When the action is more important to us than the
identity of the one who did.
Example: The gift will be delivered before the holiday.
We are interested in its arrival on time and not in who will deliver it.
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The passives is used more in journalism
(newspapers, magazines) than in fiction
(novels, stories), but most journalists and
fiction writers use far more active than
passive sentences.
However, using the passive voice is very
common in all types of scientific and technical
writing.
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How do we use it?
Subject + to be in the suitable tense + Past Participle
The past participle = verb+ed/3rd column of irregular verbs
Examples:
The table is cleaned after every meal.
The table is being cleaned now.
The table was cleaned after we ate.
The table was being cleaned when we entered the restaurant.
The table will be cleaned in a few moments.
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ACTIVE / PASSIVE - EXAMPLES:

Simple Present
Once a week, Tom cleans the car. ACTIVE
Once a week, the car is cleaned by Tom. PASSIVE

Simple Past
Tom repaired the car. ACTIVE
The car was repaired by Tom. PASSIVE
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MORE EXAMPLES:

Present Continuous
Right now, Tom is writing the letter. ACTIVE
Right now, the letter is being written by Tom. PASSIVE

Past Continuous
The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the
store. ACTIVE
The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came
into the store. PASSIVE
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MORE EXAMPLES:

Simple Future
John will certainly finish the work by 5:00 PM. ACTIVE
The work will certainly be finished by 5:00 PM. PASSIVE
Sally is going to make a beautiful dinner tonight. ACTIVE
A beautiful dinner is going to be made by Sally tonight. PASSIVE
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Practicing on the web:
In the following links you will be able to practice the subject you’ve just learned:
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Exercise on Passive with Simple Present
Exercise on Passive with Simple Present
Exercise on Simple Present
Exercise on Passive with Simple Past
Exercise on Passive with Simple Past
Exercise on Simple Past
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Exercise on Passive with Future I
Exercise on Passive with Future II
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Exercise on Passive with Present Progressive
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Exercise on Passive with Past Progressive
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English irregular verbs
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