Form: passive voice
In an active sentence the basic word order is S-V-O (subjectThe person or thing that performs the action of a verb or that is described by a verb. E.g.: Andy has never been to Brunei. ("Andy"), verbA part of speech that expresses an action or a state. E.g.: John seldom plays tennis. and objectA person or thing that is affected by the action of a verb or involved in the result of an action.). When we transform it into the passive voiceThe form of the transitive verb that shows whether the subject acts (active voice) or is acted upon (passive voice)., the word order remains the same but the object of the active sentence (1) becomes the subject of the passive sentence and the subject of the active sentence (2) (the doer of the actionA general term expressing that somebody or something does something) may or may not be mentioned. (See table below.)
Only those sentences can be transformed into the passive voice which contain a transitive verbA verb that has a direct object. E.g.: I know you. and its object(s). In the passive sentence this verb is transformed in a way that its third form (3) is preceded by the verb be (4), which is in the same form (5) (usually tenseA grammatical category that is marked by verb inflection. To express when an event or action happens in time or when a state exists, we use tenses.) as the verb was in the active sentence (6).
| active sentence | subject (object of the active sentence) (1) | auxiliariesA helping verb used with main verbs to express mood, voice and tense. E.g.: I can't stand when I am disturbed. ("can", "am") and modals and be (5) | the third form of the verb (3) | agentThe doer of an action; the person or the thing that does something. E.g.: True Romance was written by Tarantino. ("Tarantino") (subject of the active sentence) (2) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| auxiliaries and modals | be of the passive voice (4) | ||||
| Someone misled (6) her. | She | was | misled. | ||
| Everyone misleads (6) her. | She | is | misled | by everyone. | |
| No one could mislead (6) her. | She | couldn't | be | misled | (by anyone). |
| He is misleading (6) her. | She | is | being | misled | (by him). |
| They have misled (6) her. | She | has | been | misled. | |
| I've been misleading (6) her. | She | has been | being | misled. | |
Topics with similar tags
- Appendix: irregular verb forms
- Notes: indirect speech
- GET + something + past participle
- HAVE + something + past participle
- Passive voice and causative structures
- Reporting a simultaneous event with passive voice
- Reporting an earlier event with passive voice
- Indirect speech with passive voice
- Uses of passive voice
- The difference between agent and instrument in passive voice
Comments and questions
No offence, but this page is
No offence, but this page is not as clear and informative as the others... sorry :)
Something is confusing
Is useful if you know something about the grammar topic.
But if you dont know about it,would be hard to understand.
Or maybe is because the topic as it self is really really complex !
Nice try
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agent
I would like to know if there are clear rules for word order when we have an agentThe doer of an action; the person or the thing that does something. E.g.: True Romance was written by Tarantino. ("Tarantino") in a passive sentence. For example:
A kid was molested by an old man (in the park) yesterday.
Thanks
The agent can come
The agentThe doer of an action; the person or the thing that does something. E.g.: True Romance was written by Tarantino. ("Tarantino") can come at the end of the sentence:
A kid was molested (in the park) yesterday by an old man.
or follow the verbA part of speech that expresses an action or a state. E.g.: John seldom plays tennis. phrase directly, which is probably more common:
A kid was molested by an old man (in the park) yesterday.
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