Passive forms
Sentences can be active or passive. Tenses can also therefore have "active" verbs and "passive” verbs. The text about electrified roads in Sweden in the Read section of Speak for Yourself #5 included many examples of passive forms.
When we use an active verb, we say what the subject does:
In 2016, eRoadArlanda adapted a 2km stretch of motorway in Sweden
When we use a passive verb, we say what happens to the subject:
In 2016, a 2km stretch of motorway in Sweden was adapted
In passive sentences, the thing receiving the action therefore becomes the subject of the sentence. The person or thing doing the action can be optionally included near the end of the sentence. We do this in English by using the passive agent “By”:
In 2016, a 2km stretch of motorway in Sweden was adapted by eRoadArlanda
You can use the passive form if you think that the thing receiving the action is more important or should be emphasized. You can also use the passive form if you do not know who is doing the action or if it is no so important to specify who performs an action.
We form passives in English in this way:
the auxiliary 'be' + past participle
The form of the auxiliary “be” changes depending on the type of tense used. In English (and not always in other languages) we use passive forms with of all kinds of tense. We can create Present Simple passive and Past Simple passive but also more complex forms such as Present Continuous passive and Present Perfect passive.
Here are some examples of passive forms from the text:
Energy is transferred from two tracks of rail (Present Simple passive)
Should the vehicle overtake, the arm is automatically disconnected (Present Simple passive)
The electrified road is divided (Present Simple passive)
In 2016, a 2km stretch of motorway in Sweden was adapted (Past simple passive)
The system is able to calculate the vehicle’s energy consumption, which enables electricity costs to be debited per vehicle and user (Infinitive passive)
Roadways could be adapted to take advantage of the technology (Infinitive passive after modal “could”)
The world’s first electrified road that recharges the batteries of cars and trucks driving on it has been opened in Sweden (Present Perfect passive)
About 2km (1.2 miles) of electric rail has been embedded in a public road near Stockholm (Present Perfect passive)
PRACTICE:
Download the following report on student satisfaction at a school. It is full of examples of passive forms. Why do you think passives were used in a report of this kind?
First, read the report and try to identify any examples of passives that you can find. Then complete the phrases by transforming them from active to passive:
