The Passive Voice
Compare these two sentences:
Somebody stole my wallet last night.
My wallet was stolen last night.
The two sentences give the same information in different ways. The second sentence uses the passive to place the emphasis on my wallet, making it the focus of the sentence.
What is the passive voice?
The passive is an important grammatical structure, which focuses on the person or thing that is affected by an action, rather than on the person or thing that is doing the action. There are many situations in which we might find this useful, for instance:
We don’t know who did the action. My wallet was stolen last night.
It is not important who did the action. My wallet was made in Argentina.
We don’t want to say who did the action or allocate blame. The original copy has been lost.
We are reporting something as a fact. Paper is made of wood.
We want to avoid commitment. Your complaint will be noted.
How do we form the passive?
We put the object being affected by the action first.
We use to be + past participle.
Teaching the passive voice
Learning to use the passive is important for students who plan on using English in academic and professional contexts. This is because the passive voice is very commonly used in contexts such as academic writing, scientific reports, news articles, and official documents.
However, learning to use the passive voice can be challenging for English learners. It requires a shift in sentence structure and a different way of thinking about the action taking place. The passive often invoices the use of auxiliary verbs and past participles, which add complexity to the sentence. Lastly, students may struggle to identify when and why the passive voice is appropriate.
Tips for teaching the passive voice effectively
Here are a few tips that may help you teach the passive voice to your English learners effectively.
Provide clear explanations: Start by explaining the concept of the passive voice in a clear and concise manner. Use relatable examples and demonstrate how the passive voice can alter the focus and meaning of a sentence.
Contextualise usage. Help students understand the contexts in which the passive voice is commonly used. Discuss academic and professional scenarios where the passive voice is preferred and explore the reasons behind this preference. Go through examples of different text types, and where the passive voice would be most appropriate.
Make use of online resources. Incorporate online resources and interactive learning tools into your teaching, which provide ample opportunities for practice. Tense Buster, our online grammar program, has two units dedicated specifically to the passive voice (at the Intermediate and Advanced levels). It allows students to practise constructing sentences with the passive voice, and reinforces their understanding in an engaging and self-paced manner.
If you have any questions about our online English programs or need further assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.