Passives &
Causatives.
Active to Passive?
There are certain things that people can’t
do, but others have the skills to in these
cases people are paid in order to complete a
task for others. For example, when you call
a plumber, go to the hairdressers hire
someone to paint your house.
Sentence structure
There are two different structures
to be used and express these
situations or ideas; added to the
most used at basic levels .
Example
Mum gave her the
instructions. (Transitive)
The girl made pizza.
(Transitive)
They worked hard.
(Intransitive)
Example
She was given the
instructions.
The pizza was made by
the girl.
They worked hard.
(Intransitive)
Active & Passive Voice
Meaning & Form
Active versus The role of the Subject
Passive Voice
The girl scout planted a
tree. (Active Voice)
The tree was planted by
the girl scout. (Passive
Voice)
Active versus The role of the Subject
Passive Voice
The Scouts gave her an
award. (Active Voice)
She was given an award by
the Scouts. (Passive Voice)
An award was given to her
by the Scouts. (Passive
Voice)
Active versus The focus of interest
Passive Voice
In Active Voice, the focus is on
the performer and on the action
itself. It has a direct tone.
In Passive Voice, the focus is on
the target of the action. This is
preferred when the subject is
clear from the context,
unknown or unimportant.
Active versus The focus of interest
Passive Voice
The janitor takes out the
garbage. (Active Voice)
They take out the garbage.
(Active Voice)
Someone takes out the
garbage. (Active Voice)
Active versus The focus of interest
Passive Voice
The garbage is taken out
every day. (Passive Voice)
Passive Voice be/get + past participle
Passive Voice verbs
combine a conjugated form
of the verb to be (or to get)
with the past participle of
a transitive verb.
Passive Voice be/get + past participle
The woman was saved by
the firefighters.
She's being taken care of
at a local hospital.
Her cat is believed to have
escaped through a window.
She will be assisted by the
local government.
Passive Voice by + agent / with + instrument
The prepositions in the passive
by + agent
with + elements, instrument,
material or ingredients .
The hole in the wall was made by the workers.
The hole in the wall was made with a drill.
Passive Voice by + agent / with + instrument
The hole in the wall was
made by the workers.
The hole in the wall was
made with a drill.
The Passive Causative
Meaning & Form
The Passive have/get something done
Causative
We use have + object + past
participle to express that
someone else does
something for us. Note that
get can be used instead of
have in more informal
contexts.
The Passive have/get something done
Causative
He's just had his hair cut.
We're having the house
painted this week.
I need to get a tooth
removed.
I'll get my car repaired soon.
Study the
verbs in
the 3rd
column
