Table active and passive voice. Passive voice

The active and passive voices in English are similar in meaning to Russian. They also show how the action is related (or not related) to its performer.

Meaning

Active and Passive Voice(English names of the active and passive voice) show, respectively, that a person (object) performs an action or an action happens to a person (object) and it does not matter who performs this action.

active voice
Emphasis on the performer of the action

We built the well last year. We built a well last year.

passive voice
Focus on the action itself

The well was built last year. - The well was built last year.

Education

The active and passive tenses are formed in almost the same way. If you are fluent in the tense system of the active voice, then you probably already noticed that if you put the passive auxiliary verb (to be) at the right time and add the semantic verb in the third form, you will get a passive voice grammatically.

For example:

He is drinking juice. - The juice is being drunk. (Present Continuous).

Other times are formed similarly.

Note! The entire group of Perfect Continuous tenses and Future Perfect tenses do not have passive voice forms.

Active and Passive Voice Rule

Active voice used when it is important to show who (or what) is performing the action. For example, Tourists visit the UK. - Tourists come to the United Kingdom. In this proposal, the emphasis is on the fact that it is tourists who come (not businessmen, not politicians, but tourists).

Passive voice is used in cases where it is not important who performs the action, and attention is focused on the action itself. For example, London is visited every year. - People come to London all year round. The point of this proposal is that London is a very visited city by visitors. And it doesn't matter who comes - tourists, politicians, athletes or scientists.

Active and passive voice in English: table

If you have not yet learned how to translate the active and passive voice in English in your head, use the pivot table. It gives examples of the formation of all tenses in two voices.

		Present Simple Passive
present simple		Cards are printed.
Present Continuous	I am printing cards.	Cards are being printed.
Present Perfect	I have printed cards.	Cards have been printed.
past simple	I printed cards.	Cards were printed.
Past Continuous	I was printing cards.	Cards were being printed.
past perfect	I had printed cards.	Cards had been printed.
Future Simple	I will print cards.	Cards will be printed.
Future Continuous	I will be printing cards.
Future Perfect	I will have printed cards.	Cards will have been printed.

Active and passive voice in English are widely used both in structure and in writing. At the same time, in communication there is a tendency to use the active voice more widely, and when writing (especially in an official style) - the passive voice.

To show that an action is being performed on an object/person, English uses passive voice.

Look at the examples: “English is spoken in many countries. These machines are made in Germany. This house is for sale.

In such sentences, the emphasis is not on who performs the action, but on what action is performed on the person / object. This is the passive (or passive) voice.

In this article, we will consider schemes for constructing a passive voice in the present tense in English -. We will analyze in detail how to build affirmative, interrogative and negative sentences.

In the article you will learn:

Formation of the passive voice in time Present Simple

What is passive (passive) voice in English

First, let's understand what a deposit is and what it is for.

In English, the pledge shows who is doing the action:

the person/object itself performs the action;
a person/object experiences the action of another object.

In accordance with this, in English there are two types of collateral

active voice(Active voice) - the actor himself performs actions.

for example

Passive voice(Passive voice) - the actor experiences the action of another person.

for example

The vase is broken. (The vase broke, but it didn't break itself, but someone did it).

She is awakened by noise in the street. (She did not wake up by herself, but something woke her up).

When do we use the passive voice?

Rules for using the passive voice in English

The most important thing to remember is that the passive voice is used when we talk about an action that is performed on a person/object.

The following use cases can be distinguished:

1. If we don't know who did the action
For example: "Her wallet was stolen" (we don't know who did it).

2. The action itself is important to us, and not the one who performed it.
For example: "The watch is made in Switzerland" (we don't care who made it).

3. If something bad happened but we don't want to blame anyone else
For example: “The holiday is ruined” (we don’t want to say who exactly did it).

Now let's see how to build sentences in the passive voice in the simple present tense.

Present Simple Passive Voice in English

In the Present Simple, we use the passive voice when we talk about a regular, regular, constant action, which is carried out on a person/object.

for example

Cheese is made from milk.
Mail is delivered every day.

Rules for constructing the passive voice in Present Simple

The passive voice in Present Simple is formed using:

the verb to be in the present tense (am, are, is);
verb in the past tense.

There are regular and irregular verbs in English. Depending on the verb, we:

add the ending -ed if the verb is correct;
put it in the 3rd form if the verb is irregular.

The scheme for constructing a passive voice in Present Simple will be as follows.

Object/person + am/are/is + 3rd form of irregular verb or regular verb with -ed ending.

I	am
You		3rd form irregular verb or correct verb with ending -ed
We	are
They
He
She	is
It

Examples

The bread is baked every morning.
This bread is baked every morning.

Paper is made from wood.
Paper is made from wood.

These rooms are cleaned every day.
These rooms are cleaned every day.

Using by in the passive voice

If we want to indicate who made the action, we add preposition by. We put it at the end of the sentence, and after it comes the actor who performs the action itself.

The scheme of the proposal will be as follows.

Object / person + am / are / is + 3rd form of an irregular verb or a regular verb with the ending -ed + by + the one who performs the action.

Let's look at examples.

Our dinner is cooked by mom.
Mom cooks our dinner.

These jewels are made by Kate.
These decorations are made by Kate.

Using with in the passive voice

If we are talking about the instrument with which the action is performed, we use preposition with. We put it at the end of the sentence, and after it comes the instrument.

Schematic of such a proposal.

Object / person + am / are / is + 3rd form of an irregular verb or a regular verb with the ending -ed + with + an instrument with which an action is performed.

Examples

Bread is cut with a knife.
Bread is cut with a knife.

The pictures are drawn with a pencil.
These pictures are drawn with a pencil.

Negative Present Simple sentences in the passive voice

We can make the offer negative. For this you need to put not after the verb to be.

Negative Sentence Scheme in Present Simple Voice

Object/person + am/are/is + not + 3rd form of irregular verb or regular verb with -ed ending.

I	am
You			3rd form irregular verb or correct verb with ending -ed
We	are
They		not
She
He	is
It

Sentence examples

The flowers are not watered.
Flowers are not watered.

This car is not washed.
This car is not washed.

I am not invited.
I am not invited.

Interrogative sentences Present Simple in the passive voice

To ask a question, we need to put the verb to be in the first place in the sentence. The scheme of the proposal will be as follows.

Am/are/is + object/person + 3rd irregular verb or regular -ed verb?

Am	I
	you	3rd form irregular verb or correct verb with ending -ed
Are	we
	they
	he
Is	she
	it

Examples

Is the house sold?
Is this house for sale?

Are the dogs walked by Tom?
Does Tom walk the dogs?

Now let's put the theory into practice. To do this, do the exercise on the use of the passive voice.

Reinforcement task

Translate the following sentences into English. Leave your answers in the comments below the article.

1. These songs are listened to often.
2. She doesn't get gifts every day.
3. The phone is for sale.
4. Is the exam written with a pen?
5. Are these products made in China?
6. He is punished by his parents.

The postbox (to empty) every day.
The letters (to deliver).

Answers: 1. is emptied 2. are postmarked. 3. are sorted. 4. is loaded. 5. are unloaded. 6. are taken. 7. are sorted. 8. are delivered.

Exercise 2. Open the brackets using the verbs in the Past Simple Passive. (YESTERDAY)

The postbox (to empty) yesterday.
The stamps (to postmark) at the post office.
The letters (to sort) into the different towns.
The mail (to load) into the train.
The mailbags (to unload) after their journey.
The bags (to take) to the post office.
The letters (to sort) into the different streets.
The letters (to deliver).

Answers: 1. was emptied. 2. were postmarked. 3. were sorted. 4. was loaded. 5. were unloaded. 6. were taken. 7. were sorted. 8. were delivered.

Exercise 3. Open the brackets using the verbs in the Future Simple Passive. (TOMORROW)

The postbox (to empty) tomorrow.
The stamps (to postmark) at the post office.
The letters (to sort) into the different towns.
The mail (to load) into the train.
The mailbags (to unload) after their journey.
The bags (to take) to the postoffice.
The letters (to sort) into the different streets.
The letters (to deliverer).

Answers: 1. will be emptied. 2. will be postmarked. 3. will be sorted. 4. will be loaded. 5. will be unloaded. 6. will be taken. 7. will be sorted. 8. will be delivered.

Exercise 4. Open the brackets using the verbs in Present, Past or Future Simple Passive.

My question (to answer) yesterday.
Hockey (to play) in winter.
Mushrooms (to gather) in autumn.
Many houses (to burn) during the Great Fire of London.
His new book (to finish) next year.
Flowers (to sell) in shops and in the streets.
St. Petersburg (to found) in 1703.
Bread (to eat) every day.
The letter (to receive) yesterday.
Nick (to send) to Moscow next week.
I (to ask) at the lesson yesterday.
I (to give) a very interesting book at the library last Friday.
Many houses (to build) in our town every year.
This work (to do) tomorrow.
This text (to translate) at the last lesson.
These trees (to plant) last autumn.
Many interesting games always (to play) at our PT lessons.
This bone (to give) to my dog tomorrow.
We (to invite) to a concert last Saturday.
Lost time never (to find) again.
Rome (not to build) in a day.

Answers: 1. was answered. 2. is played. 3. are gathered. 4. were burnt. 5. will be finished. 6. are sold. 7. was founded. 8. is eaten. 9. was received. 10. will be sent. 11. was asked. 12. was given. 13. are built. 14. will be done. 15. was translated. 16. were planted. 17. are always played. 18. will be given. 19. were invited. 20. is never found. 21. was not built.

Exercise 5. Open the brackets, choosing the correct form of the verb.

At the station they will (meet, be met) by a man from the travel bureau.
She will (meet, be met) them in the hall upstairs.
The porter will (bring, be brought) your luggage to your room.
Your luggage will (bring, be brought) up in the lift.
You may (leave, be left) your hat and coat in the cloakroom downstairs.
They can (leave, be left) the key with the clerk downstairs.
From the station they will (take, be taken) straight to the hotel.
Tomorrow he will (take, be taken) them to the Russian Museum.

Answers: 1. will be met. 2. will meet. 3. will bring. 4. will be brought. 5. may leave. 6. can leave. 7. will be taken. 8. will take.

Exercise 6. Transmit the following sentences in Passive Voice, paying attention to the place of the preposition.

E.g. We often speak of her. - She is often spoken of.

The senior students laughed at the freshman.
The group spoke to the headmistress yesterday.
Young mothers looked after their babies with great care.
Nobody lived in that old house.
They sent for Jim and told him to prepare a report on that subject.
We thought about our friend all the time.
The doctor will operate on him in a week.
The teacher sent for the pupil's parents.
They looked for the newspaper everywhere.
Nobody slept in the bed.
The neighbor asked for the telegram.
Everybody listened to the lecturer with great attention.

Answers: 1. The freshman was laughed at. 2. The headmistress was spoken to yesterday. 3. The babies were looked after with great care. 4. That old house was not lived in. 5. Jim was sent for and told to prepare a report on that subject. 6. Our friend was thought about all the time. 7. He will be operated on in a week. 8. The pupil's parents were sent for. 9. The newspaper was looked for everywhere. 10. The bed was not slept in. 11. The telegram was asked for. 12. The lecturer was listened to with great attention.

Exercise 7. Open the brackets using verbs in Active Voice or Passive Voice.

Nobody (to see) him yesterday.
The telegram (to receive) tomorrow.
He (to give) me this book next week.
The answer to this question can (to find) in the encyclopedia.
We (to show) the historical monuments of the capital to the delegation tomorrow.
You can (to find) interesting information about the life in the USA in this book.
Budapest (to divide) by the Danube into two parts: Buda and Pest.
Yuri Dolgoruki (to found) Moscow in 1147.
Moscow University (to found) by Lomonosov.
We (to call) Zhukovski the father of Russian aviation.

Answers: 1 saw. 2. will be received. 3. will give. 4. be found. 5. shall show. 6. find. 7. is divided. 8. established. 9. was founded. 10 call.

Exercise 8. Send the following sentences to Passive Voice.

Not stole a lot of money from the shop.
By six o'clock they had finished the work.
At twelve o'clock the workers were loading the trucks.
By three o'clock the workers had loaded the trucks.
We send our daughter to rest in the south every year.
They will show this film on TV.
They are building a new concert hall in our street.
I bought potatoes yesterday.
We shall bring the books tomorrow.
They are repairing the clock now.
They sell milk in this shop.
I have translated the whole text.
They broke the window last week.
When I came home, they had eaten the sweets.
We shall do the work in the evening.
He wrote this book in the 19th century.
They were playing tennis from four to five.
They have made a number of important experiments in this laboratory.
Livingstone explored Central Africa in the 19th century.
By the middle of autumn we had planted all the trees.
They will stage this play at the beginning of next season.
They have forgotten the story.
Has anybody explained the rules of the game to you?
They haven't brought back my skates.

Answers: 1. A lot of money was stolen from the shop. 2. By six o'clock the work had been finished. 3. At twelve o'clock the trucks were being loaded. 4. By three o'clock the trucks had been loaded. 5. Our daughter is sent to rest in the south every year. 6. This film will be shown on TV. 7. A new concert hall is being built in our street. 8. Potatoes were bought yesterday. 9. The books will be brought tomorrow. 10. The clock is being repaired now. 11. Milk is sold in this shop. 12. The whole text has been translated.. 13. The window was broken last week. 14. When I came home, the sweets had been eaten. 15. The work will be done in the evening. 16. This book was written in the 19th century. 17. Tennis was being played. from four to five. 18. The number of important experiments K-we were made in this laboratory. 19. Central Africa was explored by Livingstone in the 19th century. 20. By the middle of autumn all the trees had been planted. 21. This play will be staged at the beginning of next season. 22. The story has been forgotten. 23. Have the rules of the game been explained to you? 24. My skates haven't been brought back.

Exercise 9. Send the following sentences to Active Voice. Enter any suitable subjects.

The room was cleaned and aired.
Have all these books been read?
Whom were these letters written by?
The letter has just been typed.
She showed me the picture which had been painted by her husband.
I shall not be allowed to go there.
He has been told everything, so he knows what to do now.
All the questions must be answered.
The door has been left open.
Betty was met at the station.
The girl was not allowed to go to the concert.
She said that the new timetable had not yet been hung up on the notice board.
The roast chicken was eaten with appetite.
It was so dark, that the houses could not be seen.
The light has not yet been turned off.
The boy was punished for misbehaving.
By three o'clock everything had been prepared.
The dictation was written without mistakes.
Whom was the poem written by?
Her dress was washed and ironed.
I was not blamed for the mistakes.
The papers had been looked through and corrected by the next lesson.
This house was built last year.
The letter has just been sent.
This article will be translated at the lesson on Tuesday.
When will this book be returned to the library?

Answers: I. She cleaned and aired the room. 2. Have you read all these books? 3. Who wrote these letters? 4. The secretary has just typed the letter. 5. She showed me the picture which her husband had painted. 6. My parents will not allow me to go there. 7. We have told him everything so he knows what to do. 8. You must answer all the questions. 9. They have left the door open. 10. We met Betty at the station.
II. The girl's mother did not allow her to go to the concert. 12. She said that they had not yet hung up the new timetable on the notice board. 13. We ate the chicken with appetite. 14. It was so dark that we could not see the houses. 15. They have not yet turned off the light. 16. She punished the boy for misbehaving. 17. By three o'clock we had prepared everything. 18. We wrote the dictation without mistakes. 19. Who wrote the poem? 20. She washed and ironed her dress. 21. They didn't blame me for the mistakes. 22. The teacher had looked through and corrected the papers by the next lesson. 23.They built this house last year. 24. We have just sent the letter. 25. We shall translate this article at the lesson on Tuesday. 26. When will you return this book to the library?

Exercise 10. Translate into English using the verbs in Passive Voice.

We were shown a very strange picture.
They are looking for you. Go home.
You will all be invited to the hall and told about all the changes in the school curriculum.
Why is he always laughed at?
We were all given tickets to the exhibition.
The lectures of this famous professor are always listened to with great attention.
Someone is waiting for me?
They were asked three difficult questions.
The director has already been sent for. Wait a bit.
Everyone was invited to a big hall.
These letters have been reviewed. They can be sent.
The guide met them at the station and took them to the hotel.
These magazines should be returned to the library next week.
In our classes, a lot of attention is paid to pronunciation.
Ivanov was ordered to explain why he missed classes.
Will I be invited to your party?
The children were left at home alone.

Answers: 1. We were shown a very strange picture. 2. You are being looked at. go home. 3. All of you will be gathered in the hall and told about all the changes in the school curriculum. 4. Why is he always laughing at? 5. All of us were given tickets to the exhibition. 6. The lectures of this famous professor are always listened to with great attention. 7. Am I being waited for? 8. They were asked three difficult questions. 9. The headmaster has already been sent for. Please wait a little. 10. Everybody was invited to a big hall. 11. These letters have been looked through. They can be sent. 12. At the station they were met by the guide and taken to the hotel. 13. These magazines must be returned to the library next week. 14. At our lessons much attention is paid to pronunciation. 15. Ivanov was told to explain why he missed classes. 16. Shall I be invited to your party? 17. The children were left alone at home.

WELL DONE!

Literature:

Pavlichenko O.M. English language. Grammar practice. II level. - 2nd ed., corrected. and additional - X .: Ranok, 2012. - 304 p.
Golitsynsky Yu.B. Grammar: A collection of exercises. - 5th ed., - St. Petersburg: KARO, 2005. - 544 p. - (English for schoolchildren).

We would like to start this article by telling you that the passive voice in English is not as difficult to understand as you might think. We actually sympathize with this poor passive structure, as many people hate it.
All you need is a good command and knowledge of the past participle in order to build a beautiful sentence using Passive voice in English.

In this article, you can independently study the passive voice in English (passive voice). You will also learn how the passive voice is formed in English and how to use it. Understand the difference between active and passive voice. Consider a table to compare the active voice and the passive voice, using the appropriate tense.

Active Voice in English

Let's first find out what is a pledge in English?

Pledge is a form of the verb that indicates whether the subject action performs (= active voice) or affects it (= passive voice).

The active voice is the most commonly used in English. And when you think about it, it tends to be much simpler than passive sentences.
We must see the characteristics of this form.

active voice:

The active subject is at the beginning of the sentence.
The subject is followed by a verb and an object.
We can say that the verb is active.
Active voice clearly tells us who performed the action.

Active voice sentence structure:

Subject + Verb + Object

Example with explanation:

- My daughter has won the prize - My daughter won the prize.

In the above sentence we have subject(my daughter) verb(has won't), addition(prize).

What sentence would you use in everyday speech?

- I ate breakfast / the breakfast was eaten by me - I ate breakfast / breakfast was eaten by me.

- They will buy a yacht / the yacht will be bought - They will buy a yacht / the yacht will be bought.

The answer is obvious. However, in some cases it is better to use passive voice. A little later, you will learn exactly when to use the passive voice in English.

What is the passive voice in English?

The passive voice in English is used when the person or thing taking the action is more important than the person or thing doing the action.

Simply put, when we say what a person or thing does, we use Active verb forms. When we say what happened to a person or thing, we often use passive verb forms.

Let's start with how the passive voice is formed.

Formation of the passive voice

The passive voice is formed with the verb in the right tense to be + past participle(past participle or regular verb with -ed ending). Let's look again at how the passive voice is formed.

The passive voice formula in English:

Passive voice — Table

The table shows the active and passive voice in English. Compare the two examples, paying attention to the underlined words.

	Active Voice	Passive Voice
present simple	They take the photos in Belarus.	The photos are taken in Belarus.
Present Continuous	They are taking the photos in Belarus.	The photos are being taken in Belarus.
past simple	They took the photos in Belarus.	The photos were taken in Belarus.
past continuous	They were taking the photos in Belarus.	The photos were being taken in Belarus.
Future Simple	They will take the photos in Belarus.	The photos will be taken in Belarus.
Present Perfect	They have taken the photos in Belarus.	The photos have been taken in Belarus.
past perfect	They had taken the photos in Belarus.	The photos had been taken in Belarus.
Future Perfect	They will have taken the photos in Belarus.	The photos will have been taken in Belarus.
Infinitive + to	They used to take the photos in Belarus.	The photos used to be taken in Belarus.
Perfect Infinitive	They should have taken the photos in Belarus.	The photos should have been taken in Belarus.
-ing form	They talked about taking the photos in Belarus.	They talked about photos being taken in Belarus.
Modals + be + p.p	You must take the photos in Belarus.	The photos must be taken in Belarus.

The windows have been broken Not(the windows have broken).

3. Use Present Participle instead of Past Participle

— Someone has broken the windows —>
- The windows have been broken NOT (the windows has been breaking).

4. Confuse the plural and singular.

Someone- unit h so after it comes the verb has reported.
The windows is plural so we have to say have been broken Not(the windows has been...).

Verbs that cannot be used in the passive

Not all verbs are used in the passive voice. Passive structures are not possible with such as die, cry, arrive which do not have padding (object).

- She died last year - She died last year.
- My baby cried - My baby cried.

Some are also rarely used in the passive. Most of these verbs express a state, not an action.

Examples: have, resemble, lack, etc.:

- I have a flat in the countryside - I have an apartment in the countryside. ( Not A flat is had by me).
- My jacket doesn't fit me - My jacket doesn't fit me. ( Not I'm not fitted by my jacket).

Some prepositional verbs are more commonly used in the asset.

Examples: agree with and walk into:

- I walked into the room Not The room was walked into by me).
- He agreed with his mother ( Not He was agreed with his mother).

When not to use Passive voice in English?

Many students of the passive begin to ‘abuse’ the passive. Here is the important point:

Don't use the passive voice unless you have a reason to.
Here, for example, if you use a passive, especially when writing, think about why you will use passive. Do you need to use it to highlight the beginning of a sentence? Or sound polite and formal? Do you want to highlight the action, and no one performed it? If not, then don't use Passive Voice.
By using the passive, your sentences will be long and complex.

Watch the passive voice video and listen to how the passive voice is used in TV shows.

We have analyzed what the real and passive voice is in English and when exactly to use it in speech. As you understand, the active and passive voice in English has its own characteristics.
Of course, active voice is more common, but having learned the rules of the passive voice, now you can easily understand any text. Learning the passive voice will be difficult if you leave it aside for a long time. But if you repeat the table from time to time and use it at the same time and use this rule in speech, then the rule will have no choice but to obey you and stay with you forever!

Passive voice exercises

Do passive voice exercises. Your task will be to open the brackets in the passive voice, if you find it difficult to answer, do not hesitate to look at the table.

P.S.
Since many people may forget to put dots in the test, we did not use them, so they do not need to be put. If you put a dot, then the score will not be counted.

In this lesson we will analyze a very difficult grammatical topic - Active and Passive Voice in English. Simply put, the pledge is an indicator of whether the subject performs an action or the action is performed on it.

There are two forms of voice in English: the active voice (the Active Voice) and the passive voice (the Passive Voice).

In the active voice, the verb denotes an action that is performed by the subject:

I read twenty pages yesterday.
Yesterday I read twenty pages.

In the passive voice, the verb denotes an action that is performed on the subject:

Twenty pages were read by me yesterday.
Yesterday I read twenty pages.

Compare the following examples:

They usually sing such songs in class. (Active Voice)
Usually they sing such songs in class.

Such songs are usually sang by them in class. (Passive Voice)
Such songs are usually sung by them in the classroom.

Has the manager checked up your report? (Active Voice)
Did the manager check your report?

Has your report been checked up by the manager? (Passive Voice)
Has your report been reviewed by a manager?

If you have reached the topic of pledges in English, then so far, you have already managed to learn tense forms of the verb in Active Voice. You already know that there are 12 main active voice tenses in English. Each tense is formed in its own way, with the help of endings and auxiliary verbs. What does the tense system look like in the passive voice?

The passive voice also has a system of tenses. But unlike the active voice, there are only 8 tense forms in it. All times of the Perfect Continuous group, as well as the time of Future Continuous in Passive Voice are not used.

To form the tenses of the passive voice, we need the auxiliary verb to be, which must have the corresponding form of the active voice, and the past participle of the semantic verb. You already know that the past participle is formed with the ending -ed for regular verbs, or the third form of irregular verbs from the table is used, which you need to know by heart.

The passive voice formation scheme for all tenses is as follows: How are temporary forms of the passive voice formed?

Below are examples of conjugation tables for the verbs to promote and to choose in the passive voice (affirmative form).

Simple Tenses in the Passive Voice −
Simple tenses in the passive voice

Present Simple Passive	Past Simple Passive	Future Simple Passive
I am promoted/chosen You are promoted/chosen He/ She/ It is promoted/ chosen	I was promoted/chosen You were promoted/chosen He/ She/ It was promoted/ chosen	I shall/ will be promoted/ chosen You will be promoted/chosen He/ She/ It will be promoted/ chosen
We are promoted / chosen You are promoted/chosen They are promoted/chosen	We were promoted / chosen You were promoted/chosen They were promoted/chosen	We shall/ will be promoted / chosen You will be promoted/chosen They will be promoted/chosen

Continuous Tenses in the Passive Voice
Continuous tenses in the passive voice

Present Continuous Passive	Past Continuous Passive
I am being promoted/chosen He/ She/ It is being promoted/ chosen	I was being promoted/chosen He/ She/ It was being promoted/ chosen
We are being promoted / chosen You are being promoted/chosen They are being promoted/chosen	We were being promoted / chosen You were being promoted/chosen They were being promoted/chosen

Perfect Tenses in the Passive Voice
Perfect tenses in the passive voice

Present Perfect Passive	Past Perfect Passive	Future Perfect Passive
I have been promoted/chosen He/ She/ It has been promoted/ chosen	I had been promoted/chosen He/ She/ It had been promoted/ chosen	I shall/ will have been promoted/ chosen He/ She/ It will have been promoted/ chosen
We have been promoted / chosen You have been promoted/chosen They have been promoted/chosen	We had been promoted / chosen You had been promoted/chosen They had been promoted/chosen	We shall/ will have been promoted / chosen You will have been promoted/chosen They will have been promoted/chosen

What verbs form Passive Voice forms?

All verbs in English have Active Voice forms. Passive Voice forms can form not all verbs, mostly only transitive verbs (Transitive Verbs).

Transitive verbs express an action directed at some object and take a direct, indirect or prepositional object.

Examples of transitive verbs in active and passive voices:

Active: The pioneers have done much useful work on the collective farm.
Passive: Much useful work has been done by the pioneers on the collective farm.

Active: Jane's friends gave her many gifts for her birthday.
Passive: Jane was given many gifts for her birthday.

Active: We shall build Communism in this country within the next twenty years.
Passive: Communism will be built in this country within the next twenty years.

Active: Everybody listened to the lecturer with great attention.
Passive: The lecturer was listened to with great attention.

Intransitive verbs express an action that characterizes the subject, but is not directed at any object. Intransitive verbs do not take objects. As a rule, they do not have forms of passive voice or have them only in some cases.

Examples with intransitive verbs:

We live in Russian Federation.
I am a teacher.

In English, there are verbs that, depending on the meaning, can be either transitive or intransitive. For example, the verb to grow in the meaning of "grow" is intransitive and does not form a passive form. In the meaning of "grow" it is transitive and forms forms of the passive voice. Compare:

Barley grows very fast - Barley grows very fast (intransitive, Active Voice)
We grow many beautiful flowers in our small garden - We grow many beautiful flowers in our small garden (transitional value, Active Voice)
Many beautiful flowers are grown in our garden - Many beautiful flowers are grown in our garden (transitional meaning, Passive Voice)

An example of a sentence in the form of active and passive voice

Verb constructions in Passive Voice

If a verb in Active Voice takes direct and indirect objects, then any of these objects can act as the subject in a sentence with a verb in Passive Voice.

Compare the following sentences:

My parents told me many interesting facts about our family's past. (verb to tell in Active Voice; indirect object - me, direct object - facts)
I was told many interesting facts about our family's past by my parents. (verb to tell in Passive Voice; subject in sentence 2 corresponds to indirect object in sentence 1 (I − me)
Many interesting facts about our family's past were told to me by my parents. (verb to tell in Passive Voice; subject in sentence 3 corresponds to direct object in sentence 1 (facts - facts)

Type 2 sentences in Passive Voice use the following verbs: to allow - to allow, to ask - to ask, to award - to assign, to forbid - to forbid, to forgive - to forgive, to give - to give, to offer - to offer, to pay - to pay, to present - to give, to show - to show, to teach - to teach, to tell - to speak.

My big brother was given many gifts for his birthday - My older brother was given a lot of gifts for his birthday
They were asked some questions at the enter-exams - They were asked a couple of questions at the entrance exams
We will be taught Spanish next year - We will be taught Spanish next year
I was shown the way by a small girl - A little girl showed me the way

In Russian, sentences of type 2 are not used in Passive Voice. Instead, indefinitely personal sentences or personal sentences with a verb in Active Voice are used. Compare:

We were told many interesting stories - We were told many interesting stories (vaguely personal sentence)
We were told many stories by our teacher − Our teacher told us many stories (personal sentence with verb in Active Voice)

If a verb in Active Voice takes a prepositional object, then the prepositional object can act as a subject in a sentence with a verb in Passive Voice (and the preposition is placed after the verb). Compare:

People speak much about that film - People talk a lot about that film (Active Voice)
That film is much spoken about - There is a lot of talk about that film (Passive Voice)
Olga liked to wear very short dresses, and she was often made fun of by her classmates - Olga liked to wear very short dresses, which is why classmates often laughed at her

In Russian, sentences of this type are not found. Instead, indefinitely personal sentences or personal sentences with a verb in Active Voice are used:

He is waited for − They are waiting for him
He is waited for by his friends − Friends are waiting for him

Using Passive Voice Forms

Passive Voice predicate sentences are used in English when the main interest is the object undergoing the action (action object) rather than the action performer (action subject), as in Active Voice verb sentences.

In sentences with Passive Voice, the object of the action is the subject, and the subject of the action is either expressed by a prepositional object with the prepositions by/with, or not mentioned at all.

Examples of sentences with a verb in Passive Voice, in which the subject of the action is not mentioned:

Tennis is played all over the world − Tennis is played all over the world
The wounded were flown to hospital - The wounded were sent by plane to the hospital
I am told you're a bad player - I was told that you are a bad player
Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14 - Valentine's Day is celebrated on February 14
A new building is being built in my street - A new building is being built on my street

As you have probably already noticed, sentences of this type are translated into Russian as indefinitely personal sentences, or less often, sentences with a verb in the passive voice.

Examples of sentences with a verb in Passive Voice, in which the subject of the action is expressed by a prepositional object with the prepositions by / with:

Many flowers were planted by our children last spring - Our children grew many flowers last spring
The sky wasn't covered with dark clouds - The sky was not covered with dark clouds
The radio was invented by Popov In 1895 - Popov invented the radio in 1895

Tenses in the passive voice have the same meanings as the corresponding tenses in the active voice. The passive voice in English is used much more often than in Russian, where the same meaning is conveyed by indefinitely personal, impersonal or personal sentences with a verb in the active voice.

No matter how difficult the topic “Active and Passive Voice in English” seems to you, you simply have to learn it, because. the passive voice is very often used in both spoken and written English.

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