DEFINITION
A passive voice is a type of a clause or sentence in which an action (through verb), or an object of a sentence, is emphasized rather than its subject. Simply, the subject receives the action of the verb. The emphasis or focus is on the action, while the subject is not known or is less important.
FUNCTION
Style guides do not support the use of passive voice in technical writings, because it makes the text lengthy, slow to read, and often ambiguous. However, it is very common in literature, lab reports, and scientific writings, where the performer is given lesser importance than the action. In these types of writings, a passive voice is very helpful to avoid taking responsibility of the actions. It is also useful when a writer wants to shift focus from the subject to an action.
TYPE
- Short Passive – In this type of construction, the subject or the performer is not known. For instance, in the phrase “a mistake is made,” there is no subject, or the subject is unknown.
- Long Passive – In this type of construction, the object becomes the subject of the sentence. For instance, in the sentence, “The house was cleaned by aunty,” the object “the house” has become the subject.
PATTERN
| Tense | Active Voice | Passive Voice |
| Simple Present Tense | (+) S + Verb (-) S + be + not + Verb (?) Be + s + Verb? | (+) O + be + Verb 3 (-) O + be + not + Verb 3 (?) Be + O + Verb 3? |
| Present Continuous Tense | (+) S + be + Ving (-) S + be + not + Ving (?) Be + S + Ving? | (+) Be + being + V3 (-) Be + not + being + V3 (?) Be + O + being + V3? |
| Present Perfect Tense | (+) S + have/has + Verb 3 (-) S + have/has + not + Verb 3 (?) Have/has + s + Verb 3 | (+) have/has + been + verb3 (-) have/has + not + been + verb 3 (?) Have/has + O + been + verb 3? |
| Simple Past Tense | (+) S + v2 (-) S + was/were + not (?) Was/were + s + v2 ? | (+) O + was/were + Verb 3 (-) O + was/were + not + Verb 3 (?) Was/were + O + Verb 3? |
| Past Continuous Tense | (+) S + was/were + Ving (-) S + was/were + not + Ving (?) Was/were + s + Ving? | (+) O + was/were + being + Verb 3 (-) O + was/were + not + being + Verb 3 (?) O + Was/were + being + Verb 3? |
| Past Perfect Tense | (+) S + had + Verb 3 (-) S + had + not + Verb 3 (?) Had + s + Verb 3 | (+) O + had + been + Verb 3 (-) O + had + not + been + Verb 3 (?) Had + O + been + Verb 3? |
| Simple Future Tense | (+) S + will + V1 (-) S + will + not + V1 (?) Will + S + V1? | (+) O + will + be + Verb 3 (-) O + will + not + be + Verb 3 (?) Will + O + be + Verb 3? |
| (+) S + be + going to + V1 (-) S + be + not + going to + V1 (?) Be + s + going to + V1? | (+) O + be + going to + be + Verb 3 (+) O + be + not + going to + be + Verb 3 (-) Be + O + going to + be + Verb 3? | |
| Future Perfect Tense | (+) S + will + have + Verb 3 (-) S + will + not + have + verb 3 (?) Will + S + have + Verb 3? | (+) O + will + have + been + Verb 3 (-) O + will + not + have + been + Verb 3 (?) Will + O + have + been + Verb 3? |
EXAMPLE
- Sugar cane is grown by farmers. (Tebu ditanam oleh petani.)
- Sara was surprised by the news. (Sarah terkejut oleh berita itu.)
- The report will be written by Mary. (Laporan akan ditulis oleh Mary.)
- The package was mailed by Robby. (Paket itu dikirim oleh Robby.)
- Has the letter signed by Tom? (Apakah surat itu sudah ditandatangani oleh Tom?)
- Did the bird killed by a cat? (Apakah burung itu dibunuh oleh seekor kucing?)
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