Passive Voice

Use of Passive
Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.
Example: My bike was stolen.
In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.
Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:
Example: A mistake was made.
In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have made a mistake.).
Form of Passive
Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle
When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:

the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence

the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)

the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)
Examples of Passive
Tense
Simple Present

Subject
Active:
Passive:

Simple Past

Active:
Passive:

Present Perfect

Active:
Passive:

Future I

Active:
Passive:

Hilfsverben

Active:
Passive:

Rita
A letter
Rita
A letter
Rita
A letter
Rita
A letter
Rita
A letter

Verb

Object

writes

a letter.

is written

by Rita.

wrote

a letter.

was written

by Rita.

has written

a letter.

has been written

by Rita.

will write

a letter.

will be written

by Rita.

can write

a letter.

can be written

by Rita.

Examples of Passive
Tense
Present Progressive

Subject
Active:
Passive:

Past Progressive

Active:
Passive:

Past Perfect

Active:
Passive:

Future II

Active:
Passive:

Conditional I

Active:
Passive:

Conditional II

Active:
Passive:

Rita

Verb

Object

is writing

a letter.

is being written

by Rita.

was writing

a letter.

was being written

by Rita.

had written

a letter.

A letter

had been written

by Rita.

Rita

will have written

a letter.

will have been written

by Rita.

would write

a letter.

would be written

by Rita.

would have written

a letter.

would have been

written

by Rita.

A letter
Rita
A letter
Rita

A letter
Rita
A letter
Rita
A letter

Passive Sentences with Two Objects

Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects becomes the subject, the other
one remains an object. Which object to transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.
Subject
Active:

Rita

Verb

Object 1

Object 2

wrote

a letter

to me.

Passive:

A letter

was written

to me

by Rita.

Passive:

was written

a letter

by Rita.

.
As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. Thats why it is usually dropped.
Personal and Impersonal Passive
Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. So every verb that
needs an object (transitive verb) can form a personal passive.
Example: They build houses. Houses are built.
Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive sentence (as there is no object that can become the
subject of the passive sentence). If you want to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you need an impersonal construction
therefore this passive is called Impersonal Passive.
Example: he says it is said
Impersonal Passive is not as common in English as in some other languages (e.g. German, Latin). In English, Impersonal Passive is
only possible with verbs of perception (e. g. say, think, know).
Example: They say that women live longer than men. It is said that women live longer than men.
Although Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.
Example: They say that women live longer than men. Women are said to live longer than men.
The subject of the subordinate clause (women) goes to the beginning of the sentence; the verb of perception is put into passive voice.
The rest of the sentence is added using an infinitive construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary verbs and that are dropped).
Sometimes the term Personal Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect object of an active sentence is to become the subject of
the passive sentence.
TO CLEAN", VOZ PASIVA
Sujeto

+ "to be" (conjugado)

+ "past participle"

+ resto de la oracin

is

cleaned

every day.

is being

cleaned

at the moment.

was

cleaned

yesterday.

Simple present
The house
Present continuous
The house
Simple past
The house
Past continuous

Sujeto

+ "to be" (conjugado)

+ "past participle"

+ resto de la oracin

The house

was being

cleaned

last week.

has been

cleaned

since you left.

had been

cleaned

before they arrived.

will be

cleaned

next week.

will be being

cleaned

tomorrow.

would be

cleaned

if they had visitors.

would have been

cleaned

if it had been dirty.

must be

cleaned

before we arrive.

Present perfect
The house
Past perfect
The house
Future
The house
Future continuous
The house
Present conditional
The house
Past conditional
The house
Inifinitivo
The house

Direct and Reported Speech

Cuando queremos comunicar o informar de lo que otra persona ha dicho, hay dos maneras de hacerlo: utilizando el estilo
directo o el estilo indirecto.
Direct Speech (El estilo directo)
Cuando queremos informar exactamente de lo que otra persona ha dicho, utilizamos el estilo directo. Con este estilo lo que la
persona ha dicho se coloca entre comillas () y deber ser palabra por palabra.
Ejemplos:
I am going to London next week, she said. (Voy a Londres la semana que viene, ella dijo.)
Do you have a pen I could borrow, he asked. (Tienes un bolgrafo que puedas prestarme?, l pregunt.)
Alice said, I love to dance. (Alice dijo, Me encanta bailar.)
Chris asked, Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night? (Chris pregunt, Te gustara cenar conmigo
maana por la noche?)
Reported Speech (El estilo indirecto)

El estilo indirecto, a diferencia del estilo directo, no utiliza las comillas y no necesita ser palabra por palabra. En general, cuando
se usa el estilo indirecto, el tiempo verbal cambia. A continuacin tienes un explicacin de los cambios que sufren los tiempos
verbales.
A veces se usa that en las frases afirmativas y negativas para introducir lo que ha dicho la otra persona. Por otro lado, en las
frases interrogativas se puede usar if o whether.

Nota: Ten en cuenta tambin que las expresiones de tiempo cambian en el estilo indirecto. Fijate en los cambios de tiempo en los
ejemplos ms abajo y despus, encontrars una tabla con ms explicaciones de los cambios de tiempo en el estilo indirecto.

Direct Speech
Present Simple

Reported Speech
Past Simple

He is American, she said.

She said he was American.

I am happy to see you, Mary said.

Mary said that she was happy to see me.

He asked, Are you busy tonight?

He asked me if I was busy that night.

Present Continuous

Past Continuous

Dan is living in San Francisco, she said.

She said Dan was living in San Francisco.

He said, Im making dinner.

He told me that he was making dinner.

Why are you working so hard? they asked.

They asked me why I was working so hard.

Past Simple

Past Perfect Simple

We went to the movies last night, he said.

He told me they had gone to the moviesthe

night before.

Greg said, I didnt go to work yesterday.

Greg said that he hadnt gone to work the day

before.

Did you buy a new car? she asked.

Past Continuous
I was working late last night, Vicki said.

She asked me if I had bought a new car.

Past Perfect Continuous
Vicki told me shed been working late the
night before.

They said, we werent waiting long.

They said that they hadnt been waitinglong.

He asked, were you sleeping when I called?

He asked if Id been sleeping when he called.

Present Perfect Simple

Heather said, Ive already eaten.

Past Perfect Simple

Heather told me that shed already eaten.

We havent been to China, they said.

Have you worked here before? I asked.

They said they hadnt been to China.

I asked her whether shed worked there
before.

Present Perfect Continuous

Past Perfect Continuous

Ive been studying English for two years, he

said.

He said hed been studying English for two

years.

Steve said, weve been dating for over a year

now.

Steve told me that theyd been dating for over

a year.

Have you been waiting long? they asked.

Past Perfect Simple
Id been to Chicago before for work, he said.

They asked whether Id been waitinglong.

Past Perfect Simple (NO CHANGE)
He said that hed been to Chicago before for
work.

Past Perfect Continuous

Past Perfect Continuous (NO CHANGE)

She said, Id been dancing for years before

the accident.

She said shed been dancing for years before

the accident.

Nota: Cuando hablamos de algo que no ha cambiado (que sigue siendo cierto) o de algo en el futuro, no es necesario
cambiar el tiempo verbal.
Ejemplos:
Im 30 years old, she said. She said she is 30 years old.
Dave said, Kelly is sick. Dave said Kelly is sick.
We are going to Tokyo next week, they said. They said they are going to Tokyo next week.
Ill cut my hair tomorrow, Nina said. Nina said she is cutting her hair tomorrow.
Modal Verbs (Los verbos modales)
El tiempo verbal cambia en el estilo indirecto tambin con algunos de los verbos modales.

Nota: Con would, could, should, might y ought to, el tiempo no cambia.

Direct Speech
Will
Ill go to the movies tomorrow, John said.

Will you help me move? she asked.

Can

Indirect Speech
Would
John said he would go to the movies the next
day.
She asked me if I would help her move.
Could

Debra said, Allen can work tomorrow.

Debra said Allen could work the next day.

Can you open the window, please?, he asked.

He asked me if I could open the window.

Must

Had to

You must wear your seat belt, mom said.

My mom said I had to wear my seat belt.

She said, You must work tomorrow.

She said I had to work the next day.

Shall
Shall we go to the beach today? Tom asked.

What shall we do tonight? she asked.

May
Jane said, I may not be in classtomorrow.

May I use the bathroom, please?, the boy

asked.

Should
Tom asked if we should go to the beachthat
day.
She asked me what we should do that night.
Might/Could
Jane said she might not be in class the next
day.
The boy asked if he could use the bathroom.

Nota: A continuacin tienes una tabla donde puedes observar los cambios que sufren las expresiones de tiempo cuando
usamos el estilo indirecto.
Direct Speech
Indirect Speech
today

that day

tonight

that night

this week/month/year

that week/month/year

tomorrow

the next day

next week/month/year

the following week/month/year

yesterday

the day before or the previous day

last week/month/year

the week/month year before or the

previous week/month/year

now

then/at that moment

Otros cambios
here

there

Reported Statements
When do we use reported speech? Sometimes someone says a sentence, for example "I'm going to the cinema tonight".
Later, maybe we want to tell someone else what the first person said.
Watch my reported speech video:

Here's how it works:

We use a 'reporting verb' like 'say' or 'tell'. (Click here for more about using 'say' and 'tell'.) If this verb is in the
present tense, it's easy. We just put 'she says' and then the sentence:

Direct speech: I like ice cream.

Reported speech: She says (that) she likes ice cream.

We don't need to change the tense, though probably we do need to change the 'person' from 'I' to 'she', for example. We
also may need to change words like 'my' and 'your'.
(As I'm sure you know, often, we can choose if we want to use 'that' or not in English. I've put it in brackets () to show
that it's optional. It's exactly the same if you use 'that' or if you don't use 'that'.)
But, if the reporting verb is in the past tense, then usually we change the tenses in the reported speech:

Direct speech: I like ice cream.

Reported speech: She said (that) she liked ice cream.

Tense

Direct Speech

Reported Speech

present simple

I like ice cream

She said (that) she liked ice cream.

present
continuous

I am living in London

She said (that) she was living in London.

past simple

I bought a car

She said (that) she had bought a car OR She said (that)
she bought a car.

past
continuous

I was walking along

the street

She said (that) she had been walking along the street.

present perfect

I haven't seen Julie

She said (that) she hadn't seen Julie.

past perfect*

I had taken English

lessons before

She said (that) she had taken English lessons before.

will

I'll see you later

She said (that) she would see me later.

would*

I would help, but..

She said (that) she would help but...

can

I can speak perfect

English

She said (that) she could speak perfect English.

could*

I could swim when I

was four

She said (that) she could swim when she was four.

shall

I shall come later

She said (that) she would come later.

should*

I should call my
mother

She said (that) she should call her mother

might*

"I might be late"

She said (that) she might be late

"I must study at the

She said (that) she must study at the weekend OR She

weekend"

said she had to study at the weekend

must
* doesn't change.

Occasionally, we don't need to change the present tense into the past if the information in direct speech is still true (but
this is only for things which are general facts, and even then usually we like to change the tense):

Direct speech: The sky is blue.

Reported speech: She said (that) the sky is/was blue.

Reported Questions
So now you have no problem with making reported speech from positive and negative sentences. But how about
questions?

Direct speech: "Where do you live?"

How can we make the reported speech here?

In fact, it's not so different from reported statements. The tense changes are the same, and we keep the question word.
The very important thing though is that, once we tell the question to someone else, it isn't a question any more. So we
need to change the grammar to a normal positive sentence. A bit confusing? Maybe this example will help:

Direct speech: "Where do you live?"

Reported speech: She asked me where I lived.

Do you see how I made it? The direct question is in the present simple tense. We make a present simple question with
'do' or 'does' so I need to take that away. Then I need to change the verb to the past simple.
Another example:

Direct speech: "where is Julie?"

Reported speech: She asked me where Julie was.

The direct question is the present simple of 'be'. We make the question form of the present simple of be by inverting
(changing the position of)the subject and verb. So, we need to change them back before putting the verb into the past
simple.
Here are some more examples:

Direct Question

Reported Question

Where is the Post Office, please?

She asked me where the Post Office was.

What are you doing?

She asked me what I was doing.

Who was that fantastic man?

She asked me who that fantastic man had been.

So much for 'wh' questions. But, what if you need to report a 'yes / no' question? We don't have any question words to
help us. Instead, we use 'if':

Direct speech: "Do you like chocolate?"

Reported speech: She asked me if I liked chocolate.

No problem? Here are a few more examples:

Direct Question

Reported Question

Do you love me?

He asked me if I loved him.

Have you ever been to Mexico?

She asked me if I had ever been to Mexico.

Are you living here?

She asked me if I was living here.

Click here to practise reported 'wh' questions.

Click here to practise reported 'yes / no' questions.
Reported Requests
There's more! What if someone asks you to do something (in a polite way)? For example:

Direct speech: "Close the window, please"

Or: "Could you close the window please?"

Or: "Would you mind closing the window please?"

All of these requests mean the same thing, so we don't need to report every word when we tell another person about it.
We simply use 'ask me + to + infinitive':

Reported speech: She asked me to close the window.

Here are a few more examples:

Direct Request

Reported Request

Please help me.

She asked me to help her.

Please don't smoke.

She asked me not to smoke.

Could you bring my book tonight?

She asked me to bring her book that night.

Could you pass the milk, please?

She asked me to pass the milk.

Would you mind coming early tomorrow?

She asked me to come early the next day.

To report a negative request, use 'not':

Direct speech: "Please don't be late."

Reported speech: She asked us not to be late.

Reported Orders
And finally, how about if someone doesn't ask so politely? We can call this an 'order' in English, when someone tells
you very directly to do something. For example:

Direct speech: "Sit down!"

In fact, we make this into reported speech in the same way as a request. We just use 'tell' instead of 'ask':

Reported speech: She told me to sit down.

Direct Order

Reported Order

Go to bed!

He told the child to go to bed.

Don't worry!

He told her not to worry.

Be on time!

He told me to be on time.

Don't smoke!

He told us not to smoke.

Click here for an exercise to practise reported requests and orders.

Time Expressions with Reported Speech

Sometimes when we change direct speech into reported speech we have to change time expressions too. We don't
always have to do this, however. It depends on when we heard the direct speech and when we say the reported speech.
For example:
It's Monday. Julie says "I'm leaving today".
If I tell someone on Monday, I say "Julie said she was leaving today".
If I tell someone on Tuesday, I say "Julie said she was leaving yesterday".
If I tell someone on Wednesday, I say "Julie said she was leaving on Monday".

If I tell someone a month later, I say "Julie said she was leaving that day".
So, there's no easy conversion. You really have to think about when the direct speech was said.
Here's a table of some possible conversions:

now

then / at that time

today

yesterday / that day / Tuesday / the 27th of June

yesterday

the day before yesterday / the day before / Wednesday / the 5th of December

last night

the night before, Thursday night

last week

the week before / the previous week

tomorrow

today / the next day / the following day / Friday