LEARNING GRAMMAR

THE PASSIVE VOICE

A.  Form

     The Passive of an active tense is formed by putting the verb to be in to the same tense as the active verb and adding the past participle of the active verb.

The subject of the active verb becomes the “agent” of the passive verb. The agent is very often not mentioned. When it is mentioned, it is preceded by “by” and placed at the end of the clause.

Active:

Students  study English grammar.

     S          V                O

Passive:

English grammar  is studied  by students.

            S                    V             Agent

    Only transitive verbs (verbs that can be followed by an object) are used in the passive. It is impossible to use intransitive verbs (such as happen, sleep, come, seem) in the passive.

Active:

I always sleep at ten o’clock at night.

Passive:

(none)

B. Active Tenses and Their Passive Equivalents

No	Tense	Active	Passive
1.	Simple Present Tense	S + V1(s/es) Example: I always write down my lecturer’s explanation in a note book neatly.	S + am/is/are + V3 Example: My lecturer’s explanation is always written in a note book neatly by me.
2.	Present Progressive Tense	S + be (am/is/are) +Ving Example: Rina is studying English grammar 1 this semester.	S + be (am/is/are) + being + V3 Example: English grammar 1 is being studied by Rina this semester.
3.	Present Perfect Tense	S + have/has + V3 Example: All of the students who take English grammar 1 have passed the Intensive Course.	S + have/has + been + V3 Example: The Intensive Course has been passed by the students who take English grammar 1.
4.	Present Perfect Progressive Tense (*)	S + have/has + been + Ving Example: I have been studying English since I was in the primary school.	S + have/has + been + being + V3 Example: English has been being studied by me since I was in the primary school.
5.	Simple Past Tense	S + V2 Example: I used a white-grey uniform when I was in senior high school.	S + was/were + V3 Example: A white-grey uniform was used by me when I was in senior high.
6.	Past Progressive Tense	S + was/were + Ving Example: Devi was doing the grammar test when suddenly her handphone rang.	S + was/were + being + V3 Example: The grammar test was being done by Devi when suddenly her handphone rang.
7.	Past Perfect Tense	S + had + V3 Example: I had done a national examination when I enrolled to this university.	S + had + been + V3 Example: A national examination had been done by me when I enrolled to this university
8.	Past Perfect Progressive Tense (*)	S + had + been + Ving Example: Ika had been typing her assignments for 10 minutes when suddenly her father called for a help.	S + had + been + being + V3 Example: The assignments had been being typed by Ika for 10 minutes when suddenly her father called for a help.
9.	Simple Future Tense	S + will/be going to + V1 Example: Ika will buy a new laptop if she gets a scholarship.	S + will/be going to + be + V3 Example: A new laptop will be bought by Ika if she gets a scholarship.
10.	Future Progressive Tense (*)	S + will + be + Ving Example: I will be taking the fifth semester when my little brother enters the elementary school.	S + will + be + being + V3 Example: The fifth semester will be being taken by me when my little brother enters the elementary school.
11.	Future Perfect Tense	S + will + have + V3 Example: Trining will have finished her PKM by the time June 2009.	S + will + have + been + V3 Example: The PKM will have been finished by Trining by the time June 2009.
12.	Future Perfect Progressive Tense (*)	S + will + have + been + Ving Example: Abid will have been finishing his thesis by the time his cousin graduates from Junior high school.	S + will + have + been + being + V3 Example: The thesis will have been being finished by Abid by the time his cousin graduates from Junior high.
13.	Past Future Tense (this tense is used in Conditional Sen- tences type II (untrue in the present or future))	S + would + V1 Example: I would buy a new motorcycle if I won a lottery	S + would + be + V3 Example : A new motorcycle would be bought by me if I won a lottery
14.	Past Future Perfect Tense (this tense is used in Conditional Sen- tences type III (untrue in the past))	S + would + have + V3 Example: I would have taken English reguler department if I had followed SNMPTN.	S + would + have + been + V3 Example: English reguler department would have been taken by me if I had followed SNMPTN
15.	Past Future Progressive (this tense is rarely used that some books do not explain about it)	S + would + be + Ving Example : Ennis would be typing the her final project on the laptop when you came to our boarding house.	S + would + be + being + V3 Example : The final project would be being typed by Ennis on her laptop when you came to our boarding house.
16.	Past Future Perfect Progressive Tense (*) (this tense is rarely used that some books do not explain  about it)	S + would + have + been + Ving Example : I would have been baking the cookies when my favorite comedy program began.	S + would + have + been + being + V3 Example: The cookies would have been being baked by me when my favorite comedy program began

(*) not normally/very rarely used in the passive