Topic: Passive Voice

Day 3: Some Special Passive Structures

1. Modal verbs

1) The formula for the passive voice of Modal Verbs is “modal verbs + be + past participle”.

Canà	He can draw a picture.
	A picture can be drawn by him.
Couldà	He could draw a picture.
	A picture could be drawn by him.
Shouldà	He should draw a picture.
	A picture should be drawn by him.
Wouldà	He would draw a picture.
	A picture would be drawn by him.
Mustà	He must draw a picture.
	A picture must be drawn by him.

2) There are some exceptions: ought to and have to. When these are used in the passive sense, their own structure remains unchanged but they are then followed by a passive infinitive. A passive infinitive is formed by “to be” + the past participle.

e.g.:	You ought to be criticized for your carelessness.
	The book has to be published next month.

2. Sentences with two objects

When we want to change an active voice sentence with two objects (a direct object and an indirect object) to the passive voice, only one object can become the subject of the passive sentence.

e.g.:	She sent me a book on my birthday.
→	I was sent a book on my birthday.
Or →	A book was sent to me on my birthday.

Usually we use the indirect object from the active voice sentence as the subject of the passive voice sentence.

If the direct object is to become the subject in the passive voice, we have to add “to” or “for” before the original indirect object. “To” is usually added after verbs such as give, tell, show, bring, sell, lend, pass, write, pay, take, send while “for” is added after buy, draw, sing, get, find, fetch, play, cook, save.

e.g.: a.	They gave him some magazines.
→	He was given some magazines (by them).
→	Some magazines were given to him (by them).
b.	My father bought me a camera last month.
→	I was bought a camera last month (by my father).
→	A camera was bought for me last month (by my father).

3. Sentences with a complex object (an object + an objective complement)

When a sentence with a complex object is changed from the active voice to the passive voice, the object becomes the subject of the passive voice sentence and the objective complement becomes the subjective complement.

e.g.:	The story made us laugh.
→	We were made to laugh by the story.

4. If the predicate verb is a Verb Phrase in the active voice, the preposition or adverb in the verb phrase cannot be omitted in the passive voice.

e.g.:	She has turned off the light.
→	The light has been turned off (by her).
	I will take good care of the children.
→	The children will be taken good care of.

5. Infinitives after verbs such as hear, notice, see, watch, make and feel. With these verbs, in the active voice, the infinitive as objective complement does not take “to”. However, in the passive voice it always takes “to”.

e.g.:	We often heard him sing this song.
→	He was often heard to sing this song.
	The boss made the workers work from morning till night.
→	The workers were made to work from morning till night.

6. When the subject is a noun of place in the active voice, it has to be changed to “in + noun of place”, rather than “by + noun of place” in the passive voice.

e.g.:	Northwest China grows the best cotton.
→	The best cotton is grown in northwest China.

7. When the object in an active voice negative sentence is anything or anyone (anybody), the subject in the passive voice has to be changed to the negative form, e.g. nothing, no one or nobody. The word “not” is then dropped from the sentence. So the noun gets negated, not the verb.

e.g.:	The government hasn’t done anything to stop the pollution.
→	Nothing has been done to stop the pollution by the government.
	They didn’t ask anybody to help them.
→	Nobody (No one) was asked to help them.

8. When the subject in an active voice sentence is a negative indefinite pronoun such as nobody, no one, this has to be changed to “by + anybody, anyone” in the passive voice sentence. The word “not” then has to be added to the predicate verb. So here the verb gets negated, not the noun.

e.g.:	Nobody can work out the problem.
→	The problem can’t be worked out by anybody.

In both these cases, the changes are because ‘nobody’ and ‘nothing’ can be subjects, but cannot normally be objects, and certainly cannot follow “by”.

9. When we change a question beginning with an Interrogative Pronoun as the subject from the active voice to the passive voice, the interrogative pronoun should be changed to “by + interrogative pronoun”. This phrase comes at the beginning of the passive voice sentence.

e.g.:	Who cleaned the window?
→	By whom was the window cleaned?

In very formal correct English, ‘By whom was the window cleaned?” is the only acceptable formula. However, in more informal English “Who was the window cleaned by?” is far more common and is the generally accepted formula.