The passive voice is a grammatical construction (specifically, a "voice"). The noun
or noun phrase that would be the object of an
active sentence (such as Our troops defeated the enemy) appears
as the subject of
a sentence with passive voice (e.g. The enemy was defeated by
our troops). The subject of a sentence or clause featuring the passive
voice typically denotes the recipient of the action (the patient)
rather than the performer (the agent). The passive voice in English is formed periphrastically: the usual form uses the auxiliary verb be (or get)
together with the past participle
of the main verb.
For example, Caesar
was stabbed by Brutus uses the passive voice. The subject denotes the
person (Caesar) affected by the action of the verb. The agent is expressed here
with the phrase by Brutus, but this can be omitted. The equivalent
sentence in active voice is Brutus
stabbed Caesar, in which the subject denotes the doer, or agent, Brutus. A
sentence featuring the passive voice is sometimes called a passive sentence,
and a verb phrase in passive voice is sometimes called a passive verb.
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.
|
?
|
Note that we always use by to
introduce the passive object (Fish are eaten by
cats).
Look at this sentence:
- He was killed with a gun.
Normally we use by
to introduce the passive object. But the gun is not the active subject. The gun
did not kill him. He was killed by
somebody with
a gun. In the active voice, it would be: Somebody killed him with a gun. The gun
is the instrument. Somebody is the "agent" or "doer".
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
Here are some examples with most of the possible
tenses:
|
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.
|
|
EXAMPLES OF PASSIVE VOICE
1. Jika active voice dalam simple present tense, maka ‘be’ passive voice-nya adalah is, am atau are.
Active : He meets them everyday.
Passive : They are met by him everyday.
Passive : They are met by him everyday.
2. Jika active voice dalam simple past tense, maka ‘be’ passive
voice-nya adalah was atau were
Active : He met them yesterday
Passive : They were met by him yesterday
Passive : They were met by him yesterday
3. Jika active voice dalam present perfect tense, maka ‘be’
passive voice-nya adalah been yang diletakkan setelah auxiliary has atau have,
sehingga menjadi ‘has been’ atau ‘have been
Active : He has met them
Passive : They have been met by him.
Passive : They have been met by him.
4. Jika active voice dalam past perfect tense, maka ‘be’ passive
voice-nya adalah been yang diletakkan setelah auxiliary had, sehingga menjadi
had been
Active : He had met them before I came.
Passive : They had been met by him before I came.
Passive : They had been met by him before I came.
5. Jika active voice dalam simple future tense, maka ‘be’ passive
voice-nya adalah be
Active : He will meet them tomorrow.
Passive : They will be met by him tomorrow.
Passive : They will be met by him tomorrow.
6. Jika active voice dalam future perfect tense, maka ‘be’ passive
voice-nya adalah been yang diletakkan setelah auxiliary will have, sehingga menjadi
‘will have been’
Active : He will have met them before I get there tomorrow.
Active : He will have met them before I get there tomorrow.
Passive : They will have been met by him before I get there tomorrow.
7. Jika active voice dalam past future perfect tense, maka ‘be’ passive
voice-nya adalah been yang diletakkan setelah auxiliary would have, sehingga
menjadi ‘would have been’.
Active : He would have met them.
Passive : They would have been met by him.
Passive : They would have been met by him.
8. Jika active voice dalam present continuous tense, maka ‘be’
passive voice-nya adalah (is, am atau are) + being.
Active : He is meeting them now.
Passive : They are being met by him now.
Passive : They are being met by him now.
9. Jika active voice dalam past continuous tense, maka ‘be’
passive voice-nya adalah (was atau were) + being.
Active : He was meeting them.
Passive : They were being met by him.
Passive : They were being met by him.
10. Jika active voice dalam perfect continuous tense, maka ‘be’
passive voice-nya adalah (has/have) been + being.
Active : He has been meeting them.
Passive : They have been being met by him.
Passive : They have been being met by him.
11. Jika active voice dalam past perfect continuous tense, maka
‘be’ passive voice-nya adalah had been + being.
Active : He had been meeting them.
Passive : They had been being met by him.
Passive : They had been being met by him.
12. Jika active voice dalam future continuous tense, maka ‘be’
passive voice-nya adalah will be + being.
Active : He will be meeting them.
Passive : They will be being met by him..
Passive : They will be being met by him..
13. Jika active voice dalam past future continuous tense, maka ‘be’
passive voice-nya adalah would be + being.
Active : He would be meeting them.
Passive : They would be being met by him.
Passive : They would be being met by him.
14. Jika active voice dalam future perfect continuous tense, maka
‘be’ passive voice-nya adalah will have been + being.
Active : He will have been meeting
them.
Passive : They will have been being met by him.
Passive : They will have been being met by him.
15. Jika active voice dalam past future perfect continuous tense,
maka ‘be’ passive voice-nya adalah would have been + being.
Active : He would be meeting them.
Passive : They would be being met by him.
Passive : They would be being met by him.
