VERBS

THE PASSIVE

One of my duties during a government career of thirty five years was to teach junior colleagues to avoid the use of the passive, because an active use is better.

English speaking people have a habit of using the passive, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good habit. I am concerned to see that many English lessons (especially on the internet) teach the use of the passive as if it were a good thing.

For example, they give exercises where the student must change a sentence from the active to the passive. This is surely the wrong way round: it would be more useful to ask the student to change  from the passive. Such exercises presenting the passive as something to be achieved belong to a bygone age.

What is the passive? In ordinary English ‘passive’ means the opposite of ‘active’, and that is also its meaning in grammar. It is used where the focus is on the object of the sentence; where the subject is unknown, doesn’t exist, or doesn’t matter.

The normal order of words in an active sentence in English is –

In the passive use this order goes into reverse:

The passive is formed –

by using the verb ‘to be’ (she is) PLUS the past participle (loved).

The use of the passive is generally a matter of style and the writer’s choice. In the modern age you should not use it where an active use is available.

This is because –

• In many cases it is out of date.
• It is too ‘laid-back’ (passive!) for modern commercial use.
• By putting a sentence ‘into reverse’ there is more chance of introducing confusion.
• Even when used correctly it can be ugly.
• It is often used thoughtlessly, without considering a direct construction – and better composition.

In the right place the passive is perfectly good English. In some situations it is considered necessary to write in an impersonal way, for example, on posters and notices:

Trespassers will be prosecuted

No boots to be worn on the dance floor

This building is condemned.

In the following examples of the passive I show some of the subject(s) [the actor(s)] in parenthesis to give you the sense of the sentence, but in many cases these would not be expressly mentioned.

These examples also show that many tenses of the verb ‘to be’ can be involved.

Active: I saw him.

Passive: He was seen (by me).

Active: We will store the eggs.

Passive: The eggs will be stored (by us).

Active: They heard him.

Passive: He was heard (by them).

Active: The hen lays an egg.

Passive: An egg is laid by the hen.

Active: I will send you an invitation.

Passive: An invitation will be sent to you (by me).

Active: Vampires stole the body.

Passive: The body was stolen by vampires

Active: I eat a lot of apples.

Passive: A lot of apples are eaten (by me).

In this list the example about the vampires isn't bad but those about the hen and the apples are ridiculous.

Inanimate things are usually involved with the passive, as it appears that they can’t  DO anything.

Note these correct passive  uses:

This road was built by the Romans.

Dinner will be served at 8 pm.

This closet is being destroyed.

This bridge was opened in 1884.

However,  in English grammar an inanimate thing can still be the actor (subject) of an active verb. Consider the following correct active uses:

This dead fish stinks!

This rock stands in the way of my plans.

A diamond bracelet shone in the light.

This road leads to Barcelona.

This law will be unfair to poor people.

Some people feel obliged to write impersonally, perhaps as a reflection of their belief that they do not personally know (or do not want to know) the recipient of their writing.

This is not a good reason for using the passive, even for government officials or for people in any organization who are many grades senior to, or junior to, the person they’re addressing.

For most students of English it is enough to be aware of the main features of this use and be able to recognize the passive, bearing in mind that a variety of tenses of ‘to be’ might appear.

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