When you write in the passive voice, the sentence comes out backwards; someone or something has something done to them. If that sounds a bit confusing, don't worry - our Structured Writing Methodhas the problem covered: Samantha delivered the parcel. The parcel was delivered by Samantha. Kenneth Beare Updated on January 05, 2019 The passive voice in English is used to express what is done to someone or something. Here are a few examples: The company was sold for $5 million. That novel was written by Jack Smith in 1912. My house was built in 1988. In each of these sentences, the subject of the sentences does nothing. Start writing with Ginger The passive voice is used when we want to emphasize the action (the verb) and the object of a sentence rather than subject. This means that the subject is either less important than the action itself or that we don't know who or what the subject is. My laptop was stolen. We sometimes use the verb get with a past participle to form the passive: Be careful with that glass. It might get broken. Peter got hurt in a crash. We can use the indirect object as the subject of a passive verb: Active. Passive. I gave him a book for his birthday. He was given a book for his birthday. Do you know how to use the passive voice to change the focus of a sentence? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you. Look at these examples to see how the passive voice is used. For example, in the sentence "The cake was eaten by the teacher," the subject (the cake) receives the action of the verb, "was eaten." Thus, the sentence is in the passive voice. If it was written in active voice, it would be "The teacher ate the cake." There are two types of passive voice: short passive and long passive. Example: A criminal stole my bike. In contrast, the passive voice focuses on the action itself. Passive sentences tell us what happens to the recipient of the action. Example: My bike was stolen. We use the passive when the person or thing performing the action (known as the agent) is unknown, unimportant or obvious. Examples: Mu6P6g.

passive voice dialogue example