Passive Voice

 Passive Voice 

Hi guyss! back again with me, on my blog this time I'll discuss about Passive Voice.

1. Definition of Passive Voice
Passive voice is a form of sentence where the subject of the sentence takes action, not takes action. Unlike active voice which focuses on the party doing the action (doer of action), this form focuses more on the party or object that receives the result of an action (receiver of action).

Example :
Active : My parents plant some flowers
(Performer action)
Passive : Some flowers are planted by my parents
(Receiver action)

Generally, active sentences that can be transformed into passive sentences are in the form of active sentences containing transitive verbs (verbs that require a direct object) such as make, bring, buy, write and so on. Conversely, passive sentences that contain intransitive verbs (verbs that don't require a direct object) such as cry, swim, go, arrive, and die cannot be converted into passive sentences.

However, if the intransitive verbs is followed by a preposition, there is a possibility that the sentence can be turned into a passive sentence but the passive sentence will be very stiff.

2. Passive Voice Formulas

Subject + to be (am / is / are) + past participle (pp)

Tense                         Passive Voice Formulas                 Passive Voice Example

Simple Present             am / is / are + pp                            is created

Present Continuous            am / is / are being + pp                 is being created

Simple Past                         was /were + pp                           was created

Past Continuous             was / were being + pp                     was being created

Present Perfect             has / have been + pp                        has been created

Past Perfect                         had been + pp                                had been created

Simple Future                          will be + pp                                 will be created

Future Continuous        am / is / are going to be + pp             is going to be created

Future Perfect                     will have been + pp                     will have been created

The use of passive sentences with perfect continuous tenses is usually rarely done because it results in a sentence structure that is too complicated and difficult to understand. Therefore, this should be avoided even if it is grammatically correct.

3. Passive Voice Usage and Example

a) When the doer of action is unknown
= My money has been stolen.
In this example of passive voice, the speaker doesn't know who stole his wallet.

b) When the doer of action is clear and does not need to be mentioned
= Wheat is grown in Karawang.
In this example, it is very clear that the farmer is either the actor or the person who grows the wheat.

c) When you don't want to tell who is the doer of action
= Mistakes were made.
In this example, the speaker doesn't want to tell who did wrong.

d) When the doer of action is everyone (people in general)
= Transjakarta is used as an alternative means of transportation to avoid traffic jam.
In this example, the perpetrators of the action are everyone because Transjakarta can be used by the wider community.

e) When the perpetrator of the action has been mentioned in the previous sentence (if it is in a paragraph)
= Mr. Han caught Ari cheating on the test. Ari was given punishment immediately.
In this example of passive voice, Mr. Han as the actor of the action has been mentioned before so there is no need to add it to the second sentence.

Actors in Passive Voice 
Under some conditions of use of the passive voice, the by-phrase is not used for several reasons as noted above. However, we can actually include the perpetrator of the action if the information is very important or under the following conditions:

a) When there is new information (second sentence).
= Bottled water comes from mountain water. It is produced by water company.

b) When knowing the clear name of the perpetrator of the action or the perpetrator of the action is a famous person.
= Siti Nurbaya was written by Marah Roesli.

c) When the identity of the perpetrator of the action is very surprising or unexpected.
= It is hard to believe that this beautiful jazz melody was composed by an eight-year-old.

Passive Voice with Get
The word get can also be used in passive sentences to replace to be (am / is / are). Usually, passive sentences with the word get are used in informal conversations. Just like when using to be (am / is / are), the get form used must also be adjusted to the tense of the sentence.

Subject + to be + past participle (pp)

Tense                         Passive Voice Formulas                            Passive Voice Example

Simple Present                 get / gets + pp                                               get treated

Present Continuous         am / is / are getting + pp                                  is getting treated

Simple Past                             got + pp                                               got treated

Past Continuous          was / were getting + pp                                 was getting treated

Present Perfect                has / have gotten + pp                                  has gotten treated

Past Perfect                     had gotten + pp                                     had gotten treated

Simple Future                         will get + pp                                             will get treated

Future Continuous      am / is / are going to get + pp                       is going to get treated

Future Perfect                   will have gotten + pp                             will have gotten treated

This is a brief explanation of passive voice in English. Keep in mind that the passive voice is considered more formal than the active voice. Therefore, the passive voice is generally used in writing such as scientific writing, technical reports, and newspaper articles and is rarely used in everyday speech.

And this is example passive voice in songs :

That will be all for now. Hopefully it'll help y'all guys!! Thank You!!