The Passive Voice: A Quick Review
A. Reviewing the passive voice: When you decide to use the passive instead of the active voice, make sure that:
You use the correct form of the verb be and the past participle of the verb.
The verb is a transitive verb (i.e. one that takes an object)
It is justified grammatically and stylistically (see the sheet on when/why to use the passive voice.
Formation:
|
Active Voice |
Passive Voice |
|
Frank assists a lot of international students. |
A lot of international students are assisted by Frank. |
|
Frank is assisting a lot of international students this year. |
A lot of international students are being assisted by Frank this year. |
|
Frank has assisted a lot of international students this year. |
A lot of international students have been assisted by Frank this year. |
|
Frank assisted a lot of international students last year. |
A lot of international students were assisted by Frank last year. |
|
Frank was assisting a lot of international students during registration. |
A lot of international students were being assisted by Frank during registration. |
|
Frank had assisted a lot of international students before he was promoted. |
A lot of international students had been assisted by Frank before he was promoted. |
|
Frank will assist a lot of international students during his career. |
A lot of international students will be assisted by Frank during his career. |
|
Frank is going to assist a lot of international students during his career. |
A lot of international students are going to be assisted by Frank during his career. |
|
Frank will have assisted a lot of international students during his career. |
A lot of international students will have been assisted by Frank during his career. |
Bmany Canadians who had hoped he might one day become Prime Minister.
