Hiya!
So far we have talked about the active voice, where we focus the verb action on the subject. But when we put more emphasis on the action itself and not the doer of the action, then we use the passive voice. The possibilities of a sentence transformation from active to passive depend on transitivity: only transitive sentences -those containing a direct object- can be turned into passive, since it is the object in the active that becomes the subject in the passive. On the other hand, the active subject becomes the agent in the passive sentence. In English, the agent is introduced by the preposition by. The shift in the verb is made by means of the verb to be just in the same tense as the active verb, then followed by the past participle of that verb. Look at the following structures and examples:
Active: Subj + Vb + Obj Peter washes the car.
Passive: Subj + Vb + Ag The car is washed by Peter.
Types of Passives
The first type includes the active direct object as the subject in the passive sentence (especially in monotransitive structures):
John saw us in the park last Friday --> We were seen (by John) in the park last Friday
Somebody killed the dog --> The dog was killed
Another type of passive construction has the indirect object in the active as the subject in the passive (especially in ditransitive constructions, that is to say, sentences with a direct object and an indirect object):
The teacher told Sarah her exam marks --> Sarah was told her exam marks
The Queen gave Beckham a gold medal --> Beckham was given a gold medal by the Queen
Notice that with double-object structures, a direct-object-to-subject passive is possible, though the indirect-object construction is best preferred.
A gold medal was given to Beckham by the Queen.
In forthcoming years, you will study another type of passives: impersonal passives.
Choice of Agent
The agent can be optional, obligatory or forbidden in a passive sentence.
◘ 'Optional' means that it is up to the speaker to mention the doer or simply not to mention it. Optional agents are usually common people and the personal pronouns other than they.
The children wrote letters --> Letters were written (by the children).
Samuel makes mistakes --> Mistakes are made (by Samuel).
The focus here is on the action; if I do not want to blame anyone, I do not mention the agent, but if I want to refer to who makes the mistakes, for example, then I do mention the agent. You see, it depends on me. Remember that after a preposition there is a noun phrase or an object pronoun. Watch this:
He cleans up the kitchen --> The kitchen is cleaned up (by him).I broke the window glass --> The window glass was broken (by me).
◘ They is by itself an instance of what we call 'forbidden' agent. We cannot mention the agent when the doer of the action is unknown, unimportant or obvious, or is someone/somebody, they or people.
Someone stole my bike yesterday --> My bike was stolen yesterday. [unknown doer]
They paint graffity on the school walls --> Graffity is painted on the school walls. [unimportant doer]
The police arrested the criminal last week --> The criminal was arrested last week. [obvious doer]
People speak English in South Africa --> English is spoken in South Africa. [obvious doer]
◘ 'Obligatory' refers to the speaker's necessity to mention the agent. Often, celebrities or important people in history are obligatory in the passive sentence.
Shakespeare wrote 'Romeo and Juliet' --> 'Romeo and Juliet' was written by Shakespeare.
Hitler killed thousands of Jews --> Thousands of Jews were killed by Hitler.
Bell invented the telephone --> The telephone was invented by Bell.
Rajoy enacts the educational reform bill --> The educational reform bill is enacted by Rajoy.
¡Hola!
Hasta ahora hemos hablado de la voz activa donde enfocamos la acción del verbo en el sujeto. Pero cuando queremos dar más importancia a la acción y no a quien la ha hecho, utilizamos la voz pasiva. Las posibilidades de transformación de una oración activa a pasiva dependen de la transitividad de dicha oración: sólo las oraciones transitivas (las que llevan complemento directo) pueden ponerse en pasiva, ya que es el complemento directo de la oración activa el que se convierte en el sujeto de la oración pasiva. Por otro lado, el sujeto activo va a ser el complemento agente de la pasiva, que en inglés va introducido por la preposición by. El cambio en el verbo se hace por medio del verbo to be en el tiempo que esté el verbo activo seguido del participio de perfecto del mismo verbo. Mira las siguientes estructuras y ejemplos:
Activa: Subj + Vb + Obj Peter washes the car (Pedro lava el coche)
Pasiva: Subj + Vb + Ag The car is washed by Peter (el coche es lavado por Pedro)
Tipos de Pasiva
El primer tipo tiene el complemento directo en la activa como sujeto de la pasiva (especialmente en construcciones monotransitivas):
John saw us in the park last Friday --> We were seen (by John) in the park last Friday
Somebody killed the dog --> The dog was killed
En el otro tipo de construcciones pasivas el complemento indirecto activo es que se convierte en sujeto pasivo (estructuras ditransitivas, es decir, oraciones con complemento directo e indirecto):
The teacher told Sarah her exam marks --> Sarah was told her exam marks
The Queen gave Beckham a gold medal --> Beckham was given a gold medal by the Queen
Observa que en las estructura de doble complemento objeto, el complemento directo de la activa se puede usar como sujeto en la pasiva, aunque lo más común y lo que se prefiere es usar el indirecto como sujeto.
A gold medal was given to Beckham by the Queen.
En los cursos venideros estudiareis otro tipo de pasivas, las impersonales.
Elección del Complemento Agente
El complemento agente de una oración pasiva puede ser opcional, prohibido u obligatorio.
◘ 'Opcional' quiere decir que depende de la voluntad del hablante mencionar el realizador de la acción o simplemente no mencionarlo. Los complementos agentes opcionales suelen referirse a gente normal y a los pronombre personales que no sean 'they'.
The children wrote letters --> Letters were written (by the children).
Samuel makes mistakes --> Mistakes are made (by Samuel).
The focus here is on the action; if I do not want to blame anyone, I do not mention the agent, but if I want to refer to who makes the mistakes, for example, then I do mention the agent. You see, it depends on me. Remember that after a preposition there is a noun phrase or an object pronoun. Watch this:
He cleans up the kitchen --> The kitchen is cleaned up (by him).I broke the window glass --> The window glass was broken (by me).
◘ They es por sí un ejemplo de lo que llamamos agente 'prohibido'. No podremos mencionar el complemento agente cuando el que realiza la acción sea desconocido, no importante u obvio, o sea 'someone', 'somebody', 'they' o 'people'.
Someone stole my bike yesterday --> My bike was stolen yesterday. [agente desconocido]
They paint graffity on the school walls --> Graffity is painted on the school walls. [agente desconocido]
The police arrested the criminal last week --> The criminal was arrested last week. [agente obvio]
People speak English in South Africa --> English is spoken in South Africa. [agente obvio]
◘ 'Obligatorio' se refiere a la necesidad que tiene el hablante de mencionar el agente. A menudo, los famosos o las personas importantes en la historia son obligatorias en la oración pasiva.
Shakespeare wrote 'Romeo and Juliet' --> 'Romeo and Juliet' was written by Shakespeare.
Hitler killed thousands of Jews --> Thousands of Jews were killed by Hitler.
Bell invented the telephone --> The telephone was invented by Bell.
Rajoy enacts the educational reform bill --> The educational reform bill is enacted by Rajoy.
For practice: Exercise1, Exercise2, Exercise3, Exercise4.
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