La voz pasiva - The Passive Voice
Concepto de Voz Activa y Pasiva
Podemos enfocar la acción del verbo en el sujeto (voz activa) o en el objeto (voz pasiva).Ejemplos:
Voz Activa:
The porter carries the bags. (el portero lleva los bolsos)
Voz Pasiva:
The bags are carried by the porter. (los bolsos son llevados por el portero)
Reglas gramaticales
La voz pasiva se forma utilizando:verbo to be + verbo principal en participio (past participle).
Para transformar una oracion activa a pasiva tenemos en cuenta los siguientes puntos:
- El objeto de la oración activa pasa a ser el sujeto de la pasiva
- El verbo principal se sustituye por el auxiliar "to be", en su mismo tiempo, junto al verbo principal en participio.
- El sujeto de la oración principal pasa a ser complemento agente de la pasiva
- Si hacemos mención en la oración al sujeto que realiza la acción (sujeto agente), éste irá normalmente introducido por la preposición by:
Tabla de cambios verbales en la transformación de Voz Activa a Voz Pasiva
Tomando en cuenta los puntos anteriormente mencionados, en este esquema vemos los cambios que sufre el tiempo verbal de una oracion activa al ser transformada a oracion pasiva.Usamos como ejemplo: to write a letter (escribir una carta)
write (presente/present) / wrote (pasado/past) / written (participio/participle)
Tiempo verbal de la frase activa | Frase activa | Frase pasiva |
present | I write a letter | The letter is written |
present continuos | I'm writing a letter | The letter is being written |
past | I wrote a letter | The letter was written |
past continuos | I was writing a letter | The letter was being written |
present perfect | I've written a letter | The letter has been written |
past perfect | I had written a letter | The letter had been written |
future | I will write a letter | The letter will be written |
future II | I'm going to write a letter | The letter is going to be written |
modals | I have to write a letter | The letter has to be written |
modals | I should write a letter | The letter should be written |
modals | I must write a letter | The letter must be written |
Usos de la voz pasiva
- Usamos la voz pasiva cuando queremos dar importancia a "lo que pasó" más que a quién hizo la acción.
Ejemplo:
Her money was stolen. (su dinero fue robado)
- Usamos la voz pasiva para mantener un mismo sujeto en varias frases:
Ejemplo:
I met that woman. I was surprised at how attractive she was... (Me encontré con esa mujer. Me quedé sorprendido de lo hermosa que era.)
En este ejemplo la persona se mantiene ella misma como sujeto.
- También usamos la voz pasiva para describir procesos científicos.
Ejemplo:
The water is heated to a temperature of from 60° to 80° C. (El agua es hervida a una temperatura de entre 60 a 80 grados)
They made this car in 1963. (active) This car was made in 1963. (passive)
El sujeto de un verbo en pasiva corresponde al objeto de un verbo en activa.
Spanish | is spoken in Argentina | PASIVA | |
(sujeto) | |||
Argentinians speak | Spanish | ACTIVA | |
(objeto) |
Estudia la siguiente lista de las formas del verbo en pasiva.
(pp = participio pasado)
(pp = participio pasado)
Verb Tense | Structure | Example |
PRESENT SIMPLE | am/are/is + pp | Spanish is spoken here. |
PRESENT CONTINUOUS | am/are/is being + pp | Your questions are being answered. |
FUTURE (WILL) | will be + pp | It’ll be painted by next week. |
FUTURE (GOING TO) | am/are/is going to be + pp | Terry is going to be made redundant next year. |
PAST SIMPLE | was/were + pp | We were invited to the party, but we didn’t go. |
PAST CONTINUOUS | was/were being + pp | The hotel room was being cleaned when we got back from shopping. |
PRESENT PERFECT | have/has been + pp | The President of America has been shot. |
PAST PERFECT | had been + pp | When he got home he found that all of his money had been stolen. |
FUTURE PERFECT | will have been + pp | Our baby will have been born before Christmas. |
En las formas del ‘future progressive’ (will be being + pp) y ‘perfect progressive’ (has been being + pp) no es muy común su uso.
Para decir quién hacía la acción o qué la causaba, usa 'by'.
This house was built by my mother. / Esta casa fue construida por mi madre.
Washington was bombed by Pakistan. / Washington fue bombardeado por Pakistán.
Washington was bombed by Pakistan. / Washington fue bombardeado por Pakistán.
La voz pasiva se suele utilizar cuando se desconoce o no interesa mencionar quién o qué hace la acción.
Es más normal encontrar en español formas con ‘se’, por ejemplo: ‘se habla’, ‘se alquila’ o verbos en plural como ‘venden’, ‘compran’.
Es más normal encontrar en español formas con ‘se’, por ejemplo: ‘se habla’, ‘se alquila’ o verbos en plural como ‘venden’, ‘compran’.
German is spoken here / Aquí se habla alemán
When was this house built? / ¿Cuando se construyó ( fue construida) ésta casa?
A lot of songs have been written about love / Se han escrito muchas canciones sobre el amor
When was this house built? / ¿Cuando se construyó ( fue construida) ésta casa?
A lot of songs have been written about love / Se han escrito muchas canciones sobre el amor
The Passive Form
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Passive Voice
The passive voice is less usual than the active voice. The active voice is the "normal" voice. But sometimes we need the passive voice. In this lesson we look at how to construct the passive voice, when to use it and how to conjugate it.Construction of the Passive Voice
The structure of the passive voice is very simple:subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past participle)
The main verb is always in its past participle form.
Look at these examples:
subject | auxiliary verb (to be) | main verb (past participle) | ||
Water | is | drunk | by everyone. | |
100 people | are | employed | by this company. | |
I | am | paid | in euro. | |
We | are | not | paid | in dollars. |
Are | they | paid | in yen? |
Use of the Passive Voice
We use the passive when:- we want to make the active object more important
- we do not know the active subject
subject | verb | object | |
give importance to active object (President Kennedy) | President Kennedy | was killed | by Lee Harvey Oswald. |
active subject unknown | My wallet | has been stolen. | ? |
Look at this sentence:
- He was killed with a gun.
Conjugation for the Passive Voice
We can form the passive in any tense. In fact, conjugation of verbs in the passive tense is rather easy, as the main verb is always in past participle form and the auxiliary verb is always be. To form the required tense, we conjugate the auxiliary verb. So, for example:- present simple: It is made
- present continuous: It is being made
- present perfect: It has been made
infinitive | to be washed | |
simple | present | It is washed. |
past | It was washed. | |
future | It will be washed. | |
conditional | It would be washed. | |
continuous | present | It is being washed. |
past | It was being washed. | |
future | It will be being washed. | |
conditional | It would be being washed. | |
perfect simple | present | It has been washed. |
past | It had been washed. | |
future | It will have been washed. | |
conditional | It would have been washed. | |
perfect continuous | present | It has been being washed. |
past | It had been being washed. | |
future | It will have been being washed. | |
conditional | It would have been being washed. |
Active or Passive Quiz
1 | I ate a piece of chocolate cake. | |
2 | The librarian read the book to the students. | |
3 | The money was stolen. | |
4 | They are paid on Fridays. | |
5 | The movie is being made in Hollywood. | |
6 | I washed my car three weeks ago. | |
7 | His hair was cut by a professional. | |
8 | I will introduce you to my boss this week. | |
9 | It would have been fixed on the weekend. | |
10 | The national anthem is being sung by Jason this time. |
Passive Tense
Our editors find that one of the greatest weaknesses of admissions essays is their frequent use of the passive tense. For this mini-lesson you will learn why the passive voice should be avoided, how to identify it, and how to replace it with the preferred active voice.Overuse of the passive voice throughout an essay can make your prose seem flat and uninteresting. Sentences in active voice are also more concise than those in passive voice. You can recognize passive-voice expressions because the verb phrase will always include a form of to be, such as am, is, was, were, are, or been. The presence of a be-verb, however, does not necessarily mean that the sentence is in passive voice. In sentences written in passive voice, the subject receives the action expressed in the verb; the subject is acted upon. In sentences written in active voice, the subject performs the action expressed in the verb; the subject acts.
EXAMPLES:
(Passive) I was selected to be the tuba player by the band leader.
(Active) The bandleader selected me to be the tuba player.
(Passive) I will be prepared for college as a result of the lessons my mother taught me. (Active) My mother taught me lessons that will prepare me for college
(Passive) I am reminded of her voice every time I hear that song.
(Active) That song reminds me of her voice.
EXERCISE #4: STRONG VERBS vs. WEAK VERBS
Fill in the blanks using the most descriptive or active verb phrase.
1. After working closely with my mentor, I __________ advanced techniques in oil painting.Answers:
a) was beginning to masterb) began to masterc) mastered2. My newspaper article on the labor strikes __________ both praise and criticism.
a) generatedb) gotc) was the recipient of3. Once I joined the debate team, I __________ the opportunity to compete every weekend.
a) soughtb) hadc) was exposed to4. Samuel's touchdown __________ the stadium crowd.
a) created much energy inb) energizedc) really energized5. Woolf's essay __________ my opinion of gender inequality.
a) challengedb) made me take another look atc) was challenging to6. As Jessica drew near me, I __________ the baton and took off running.
a) graspedb) gotc) was given7. Once my mother had fallen asleep, I __________ the dolls on her nightstand.
a) putb) arrangedc) set up8. Chris and I __________ an educational project for first-graders in our community.
a) beganb) startedc) initiated9. "Why didn't you ask me before throwing it away?" Jason __________.
a) holleredb) said angrilyc) started to yell10. Mr. Franklin __________ that he was our true father.
a) let us knowb) told usc) revealed
1) c; 2) a; 3) a; 4) b; 5) a; 6) a; 7) b; 8) c; 9) a; 10) c;
Changing Passive Voice to Active Voice
If you want to change a passive-voice sentence to active voice, find the agent in the phrase, the person or thing that is performing the action expressed in the verb. Make that agent the subject of the sentence, and change the verb accordingly. For many instances of the passive voice in your essay, you can follow these steps:
1. Do a global search for the words "was" and then "were." These words often indicate the passive voice.
2. Cross out the "was" or the "were."
3. Add -ed to the verb that follows "was" or "were."
4. If that changed verb does not make grammatical sense, it is an irregular verb, so change it to the simple past tense.
5. Rewrite the sentence around the new active-voice verb.
EXERCISE #5: MAKING SENTENCES MORE ACTIVE
Change these sentences from passive voice to active voice, or note if no change should be made.
1. I was taught by my brother the principles of barbecuing.Answers:
___________________________________________
2. My father was given the title by the former head chief.
___________________________________________
3. The house was wrecked by the party and the cat was let loose by the guests.
___________________________________________
4. The house is a mess, the cat is lost, and the car has been stolen by Justin.
___________________________________________
5. Unfortunately, my plan was ruined by Gerald, the building superintendent.
___________________________________________
6. The roof was leaking. It had been leaking all week.
___________________________________________
7. The ball was thrown by Lucy, who had been hiding in the bushes.
___________________________________________
8. Francesca was placed on the first flight to Boston. Her father put her there.
___________________________________________
9. "To be or not to be?" That is the question.
___________________________________________
10. A feast had been created from nothing. I was astounded.
___________________________________________
1. My brother taught me the principles of barbecuing.
2. The former head chief gave the title to my father.
3. The party wrecked the house and the guests let the cat loose.
4. The house is a mess, the cat is lost, and Justin has stolen the car.
5. Unfortunately, Gerald, the building superintendent, ruined my plan.
6. No change.
7. Lucy, who had been hiding in the bushes, threw the ball.
8. Francesca's father placed her on the first flight to Boston.
9. No change.
10. A feast had been created from nothing. This astounded me.
EXERCISE #6: PASSIVE-FREE WRITING
Write a 100-word essay on anything at all (preferably relating to your essay topic) without using any form of the verb "to be."
Active Voice, Passive Voice
There are two special forms for verbs called voice:- Active voice
- Passive voice
active | subject | verb | object |
> | |||
Cats | eat | fish. |
passive | subject | verb | object |
< | |||
Fish | are eaten | by cats. |
subject | verb | object | |
active | Everybody | drinks | water. |
passive | Water | is drunk | by everybody. |