The passive is often used when you do not know who the person was that
carried out a certain action. In the active voice, the subject (or the person who
carries out a certain action) is obvious: “A strange manstole her purse.” In the
passive sentence, the direct object (her purse) becomes the new subject, and the
verb (stole) is changed to the past participle (stolen). You can say in the passive
voice, “Her purse was stolen by a strange man.” If you don’t know who the thief
is, you can say, “Her purse was stolen.”
Exercise 1.11 Rewrite the following sentences in the tenses shown. Notice that
these sentences contain the passive voice structure (to beplus past participles).
- Present
Past Was the window repaired?
Present Perfect
Past Perfect
Future
Future Perfect - Present
Past The dog was struck by a car.
Present Perfect
Past Perfect
Future
Future Perfect - Present
Past
Present Perfect The package has been shipped by rail.
Past Perfect
Future
Future Perfect - Present
Past
Present Perfect Every thing has been arranged.
Past Perfect
Future
Future Perfect
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