Advanced Passives Review ⚡️⚡️⚡️

Understanding the different forms of the passive voice is essential. Let’s explore how it works through examples and exercises.

Examples of Passive Voice Usage:

• The interview was recorded yesterday.

• Cleaner sources of energy must be developed.

• An electrical fault is believed to have caused the power cut.

Grammar Explanation:

The passive voice allows us to shift the focus of a sentence. For instance:

• Aliya Monier directed the film. 

  (Focus on Aliya Monier)

• The film was directed by Aliya Monier. 

  (Focus on The film)

We often utilize the passive voice in specific situations:

• To begin a sentence with the most significant or logical information.

• When we prefer not to specify who or what performs the action (for example, when it’s unknown, obvious, or we choose not to disclose it).

• In more formal or scientific writing contexts.

Structure of Passive Voice:

The typical structure for forming the passive voice is: subject + be + past participle.

Example: The new smoke alarm was installed yesterday.

In this structure, the 'doer' of the action is referred to as the agent. Often, the agent is omitted, but if it’s relevant, we can mention them using the preposition "by."

Example: The new smoke alarm was installed yesterday by the company director herself.

Passive with Modal Verbs:

We can also form the passive voice with modal verbs like can, must, and should by using modal + be + past participle.

Examples:

• A podcast can be made with minimal resources.

• The accident must be reported to the police.

• New laws should be created to regulate electric scooters.

Using 'Get' in Passive Voice:

In informal English, we sometimes use "get" instead of "be" to form the passive.

Example: My bicycle got stolen last night. 

(= My bicycle was stolen last night.)

Impersonal Passive:

The impersonal passive is used with reporting verbs such as allege, believe, claim, consider, estimate, expect, know, report, say, think, and understand. It conveys what an unspecified group of people asserts or believes.

The impersonal passive can take two forms:

1. It + be + past participle + (that) + subject + verb:

   • It is estimated that millions of people visit the site every year.

   • It is believed that the walls date from the third century BCE.

   • It is reported that mosquitoes transmit the disease.

2. Someone/something + be + past participle + infinitive:

   • Millions of people are estimated to visit the site every year.

   • The walls are believed to date from the third century BCE.

   • Mosquitoes are reported to transmit the disease.

Note that the infinitive can be simple (as shown above), perfect (indicating a past action), or continuous (indicating an ongoing action).

Examples:

• Millions are estimated to visit the site this year. (simple infinitive)

• The walls are believed to have been built in the third century BCE. (perfect infinitive)

• Mosquitoes are reported to be transmitting the disease. (continuous infinitive)