Excussive note on Voice

The Passive Voice

Subject + (be) + past participle

The verb "be" indicates the verb tense The past participle is the main verb. To learn more about past participles go here.

for example:

• He's paid every other Friday. (present tense)
• She was paid last Friday. (past tense)
• A new house is being built across the street. (present continuous tense)
• A big mess has been made in the kitchen. (present perfect)
• The movie will be shown at 10:00. (future tense)
  

  The Passive Voice is not easy when you first learn it. The key to understanding the passive voice comes when you practice changing a sentence from the active voice to the passive voice. There will be a lot of sentences to practice later in this lesson.

  
  

  Active Voice: The man threw the pancake up in the air.

  Passive Voice. The pancake was thrown up in the air by the man.

  The first sentence sounds better. The second sentence sounds a little strange.

  
  

  However, sometimes the passive voice sounds much better than the active voice.

  

  Passive Voice: He was born in China.

  Active Voice: His mother bore him in China.

  • bear / bore / born
  • bore = past tense
  • born = past participle

  The sentence in the passive voice sounds good. The second sentence in the active voice sounds really, really bad. Sometimes only the passive voice is used when speaking or writing, and this is why it's so important to understand.
  
  

  "I was born..."

  One good way to begin thinking about the passive voice is with this question: "Where were you born?" The answer: I was born in ___________ (country). This very common question is asked in the passive voice. In fact, it's the only way to ask it. The verb "bear" means to have or to produce children. No one says, for example, "Where did your mother bear you?" This lesson is focused only on where and when you were born, which you are frequently asked in the U.S.

  
  

  Singular	Plural
  I was born	We were born
  You were born	You were born
  He was born
  She was born	They were born
  It was born

  • The simple form of the verb is "bear." The past tense is "bore." The words "bear" and "bore" are typically not used when describing a birth -- except for animals.

  examples

  I was born in Germany.
  You were born in _______.            (name of country)
  This radio announcer was born in Iran.  He was born in Iran.
  This famous actress was born in India.  She was born in India.
  This penguin was born in a zoo.  It was born in a zoo.
  We were born in different countries. I was born in Germany, and you were born in Vietnam.	I you
  You were born in the United States.
  These children were all born in the United States.  They were born in the United States.

  
  

  The Present Passive

  Let's review an old lesson first: Click here and come back.

  Subject + (be) + past participle
  
  

  singular	plural
  I am + __________	We are + __________
  You are + __________	You are + __________
  He is + ___________	They are + __________
  She is + __________
  It is + __________
  * Adding the past participle after the verb "be" causes some students to believe the sentence is in the past tense, but it isn't.