You need to understand how to change sentences when writing in any context, including academically and personally. Changing a sentence from active to passive in English does not change its meaning, but shifts the emphasis from the subject (actor of the action) to the direct object (the object that receives the action). To change a sentence to the passive form in English, you need to determine the tense of the sentence first because it is important to maintain the correct tense when changing the active into passive. Second, identify the subject, predicate, and direct object of the sentence. Finally, change the format so that the sentence starts with the direct object and ends with the subject.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Identifying Sentence Tense
Step 1. Recognize the various types of present tense
Present tense explains that an action is taking place in the present moment; not in the future, past, or hypothetical. English has simple present tense, present continuous tense, present perfect tense, and present perfect continuous tense. In all these tenses, the action takes place in the present, but the description of how long the action has been going on varies.
- Simple present tense combines subject + predicate. For example: “He writes” (he writes).
- Present continuous tense combines subject + predicate being (am, is, are) + predicate1 + ing. For example: " He is writing " (he is writing).
- Present perfect tense combines subject + have/has + predicate. For example: “He has written” (he has written).
- Present perfect continuous tense combines subject + has/have + been + predicate + ing. Example: “He has been writing” (he has been writing).
Step 2. Identify the various past tenses
Like the present tense, English also has various past tenses (past). English has simple past tense, past perfect, past conditional, and past perfect conditional tense. All past-tense sentences explain that something happened in the past.
- Simple past tense combines subject + predicate in a sentence. For example: “He wrote” (he wrote).
- Past perfect tense combines subject + had + predicate. For example: “He had written” (he had written).
- Past continuous tense combines subject + predicate being (was, were) + predicate + ing. For example: “He was writing” (he was writing).
- Past perfect continuous tense combines subject + had + been + predicate + ing. For example: “He had been writing” (he has been writing).
Step 3. Identify the future tense
Just like present tense and past tense, English has various forms of future tense. Each version signifies an action that has not happened now, but will take place in the future. The difference between the different types of future tenses signifies whether or not an action will occur in the future.
- Simple future tense combines subject + “will” + predicate. For example, " He will write " (he will write).
- Future perfect tense combines subject + “will have” + predicate. For example, “He will have written” (he will have written).
- Future continuous tense combines subject + “will” + predicate being + predicate. For example, “He will be writing” (he will be writing).
- Future perfect continuous tense combines subject + “have been” + predicate + ing. For example, “He will have been writing” (he will have been writing).
Part 2 of 3: Changing Sentences
Step 1. Move the object to the beginning of the sentence
Sentences in the active form usually start from the subject and describe the action taken to the direct object. To make a passive sentence, put the object directly at the beginning of the sentence. This step will highlight the object and the action it receives.
- For example, "He will write a letter" is a future tense and active sentence.
- To change the active voice to passive, move the object directly to the beginning of the sentence, while maintaining the future tense: "A letter will be written by him".
Step 2. Add the auxiliary verb “be” before the main predicate
Adding the predicate “be” will change the active sentence to passive, and highlight the action on the direct object, instead of the way the subject performs the action (as in the active sentence).
Depending on the tense of the sentence, the being predicate is: " is ", " was ", " will be ", " has been ", and so on
Step 3. Add the preposition “by” before the subject
The subject (preceded by “by”) must be at the end of the passive sentence. By putting “by” towards the end of the sentence, you put the subject after the direct object and predicate have been explained. For example: “The stretch of highway was paved by the construction crew.
- If the subject (actor of the action) is unknown, you cannot add the word “by”.
- For example, if you receive a letter but don't know who sent it, write "The letter was sent to me on November 1st" without specifying the sender.
Step 4. Maintain the tense of the sentence
When changing the active voice to passive, make sure to keep the correct tense of the original sentence. Keep all auxiliary verbs, i.e. verbs that change the main predicate tense. Auxiliary verbs include “be”, “can”, “do”, and “have”. Read the passive voice aloud to make sure the tense is the same as the active sentence. As an example:
- Active and present tense: The cat kills the mice (the cat kills the mouse).
- Passive and present tense: The mice are killed by the cat.
- Active and past continuous tense: Some boys were helping the wounded men.
- Passive and past continuous tense: Wounded men were being helped by some boys.
- Active voice and future perfect tense: Someone will have stolen my purse.
- Active voice and future perfect tense: My purse will have been stolen by someone.
Part 3 of 3: Knowing the Time to Use Passive Sentences
Step 1. Release the emphasis from the subject
While the passive voice is sometimes discouraged because it indicates weak writing, there are some situations where this form is appropriate. Active sentences place the subject firmly, namely as the doer of the action, at the beginning of the sentence, while passive sentences can obscure the subject and instead focus on the direct object that receives the action.
- Be careful when you take the emphasis off the subject of the sentence, because in some cases this can confuse the reader. The passive voice can also completely get rid of the subject.
- For example, a politician who says "I have lied to the American people" will appear more apologetic and sincere. If the person concerned says "The American people have been lied to" (Americans who have been lied to), he diverts all accusations from himself by using the passive voice and omitting the subject.
Step 2. Place the object directly in the important place
You can use the passive voice if the subject of the sentence is relatively unimportant, and the direct object and action performed are significant. Writers often use the passive voice to describe events whose objects and related actions are more relevant than the subject of the sentence.
For example, the phrase "American nuclear devices were first tested in July 1945" emphasizes nuclear testing and anonymizes the researchers concerned
Step 3. Write a scientific or technical paper in the passive voice
In scientific work, the passive voice is used to indicate objectivity and independence towards the topic or research paper. In scientific papers, explanations in the “Method”, “Materials”, or “Process” sections are almost always written in the passive voice.
- For example, instead of writing “My team placed seven stream gages in the river” (my team installed seven gauge posts in the river), it is better to write, “Seven stream gages were placed in the river” (seven gauge posts were installed in the river).
- Here, the passive voice preserves the anonymity of the action: anyone can imitate the experiment by repeating the same procedure. By using the passive voice, you are arguing that experimental results can be replicated regardless of who the researcher is doing.
