Forma passiva inglese (present & past)

Forma passiva inglese

The passive form inglese si usa quando il soggetto subisce l’azione anziché compierla. È un’alternativa utile alla form attiva, specialmente quando non sappiamo o non vogliamo specificare chi ha compiuto l’azione.


Struttura generale della forma passiva inglese

The structure basis of the passive form is:

Subject + to be (married) + past participle of main verb

  • Example: "The letter wAS written." (La letter è stata scritta.)

Se vogliamo specificare chi ha compiuto l’azione, usiamo la preposizione by.

  • Example: "The letter was written by John." (La letter è stata scritta da John.)

Simple present passive

We use the simple present passivo per parlare di azioni che si svolgono regolarmente o di fatti generali. La structure is:

Soggetto + am / is / are + past participle

  • Example (active): "People make cars in factories." (Le persone fanno le macchine nelle fabbriche.)
  • Example (passive): "Cars are made in factories." (Le macchine sono fatte nelle fabbriche.)
Phrase activePhrase passive
People eat pizza everywhere.Pizza is eat en everywhere.
They build houses in the city.Houses are built in the city.
He doesn't repair the bike.The bike is not repaired.

Simple past passive

We use the simple past passivo per parlare di azioni che sono state completate nel passato. La structure is:

Soggetto + was / were + past participle

  • Example (active): "Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet." (Shakespeare ha scritto Romeo e Giulietta.)
  • Example (passive): "Romeo and Juliet wAS written by Shakespeare." (Romeo e Giulietta è stato scritto da Shakespeare.)
Phrase activePhrase passive
They built this house in 1990.This house was built in 1990.
I didn't send the email.The email was not sent.
She paid the bill.The bill was paid.

Remember that the passive form it is useful so above all when attention is on the object that undergoes the action, rather than on the so ggetto that performs it.

Verbal timeStructure passiveExample
Simple presentam / is / are + past participleThe book is read by many people.
Simple pastwas / were + past participleThe book was read yesterday.

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