Index
Passive form in english
Hi everyone! You are ready to explore one of the verbal forms more useful and fascinating than English? Today we will immerse ourselves in the world of passive form!
Non preoccupatevi, non è così complicato as sembra. Anzi, una volta che ne avrete compreso la logica, vi si aprirà un mondo di nuove possibility per esprimervi in modo più preciso e versatile.
What is passive form?
In a phrase “Normal” (called form active), the so ggetto performs the action.
For example:
Mary cooks the dinner.
(Mary cucina la cena.)
Here, Mary it is the so ggetto who performs the action of cooking.
In passive form, on the other hand, the so ggetto undergo or receives the action. Attention shifts to the object that undergoes the action, while those who perform it (the agent) is mes so in the background or homes so completely. To create a phrase passiva, si usa la seguente structure:
Subject + verb "to be” (coniugato nel tempo corretto) + past participle of verb principale.
We transform the phrase first:
The dinner is cooked by Mary.
(La cena è cucinata da Mary.)
Time, la dinner it is the so ggetto who receives the action. The agent (Mary) is introduced by the preposition "by".
When is the passive form use?
The passive form non è solo un exercise of grammar, but it has be n precisely in communication. It is used when:
- Non conosciamo o non vogliamo specificare chi compie l’azione.
The window was broken.(La finestra è stata rotta.) – Non sappiamo chi l’ha rotta.
- The action is more important than the agent.
- The agent is obvious or irrelevant.
The email has been sent.(L’email è stata inviata.) – Ovviamente è stata inviata da qualcuno, ma non è necessario specificarlo.
The passive form in the various verbal times
Il bello della passive form è che si può usare con quasi tutti i british verbal times. The only thing changing is the conjugation of the verb "to be". Vediamo insieme as si comporta nei tempi più comuni, con un esempio per ciascuno.
Simple present
- Form attiva:
The read a book. - Passive form:
A book is read by me.
Simple past
- Form attiva:
They built this house. - Passive form:
This house was built by them.
Present continuous
- Form attiva:
He is writing an email. - Passive form:
An email is being written by him.
Past continuous
- Form attiva:
She was cleaning the room. - Passive form:
The room was being cleaned by her.
Present perfect
- Form attiva:
The have finished the work. - Passive form:
The work has been finished by me.
Past perfect
- Form attiva:
They had already sold the car. - Passive form:
The car had already been sold by them.
Simple future (with "Will")
- Form attiva:
Someone will announce the news. - Passive form:
The news will be announced.
Future (with "Going to")
- Form attiva:
He is going to paint the wall. - Passive form:
The wall is going to be painted by him.
Modals (can, must, should, etc.)
- Form attiva:
You must wash the dishes. - Passive form:
The dishes must be washed by you.
The golden rule
As avete visto, la regola è sempre la stessa:
Verb "to be” coniugato nel tempo of verb attivo originale + past participle of verb attivo originale.
Simple, right? The practice makes perfect, therefore prov ate to transform some phrase activate in passive and vice versa. You will see that it will become a kids game!
If you have questions or want to ask some tests together, so no here to help you!