theory and exercise passive voice

PASSIVE VOICE
KALIMAT PASIF
1. Definition (Pengertian)
Kalimat Pasif yaitu kalimat yang ‘subjek-nya’ dikenai pekerjaan. Kalimat ini biasanya kata kerjanya
diartikan “di” atau “ter”.
Contoh :
Aktif : Ahmad cleans the room everyday.
(Ahmad membersihkan ruangan itu setiap hari)
Pasif : The room is cleaned by Ahmad everyday
(Ruangan itu dibersihkan Ahmad setiap hari.
2. Basic pattern (Pola dasar)
Subj + to be + V3
Bentuk to be tergantung pada “Tenses” dan “Subjek”.
Bentuk to be: Present : is, am, are
Past : was, were
Cont. : being
Perfect : been
future/modal : be
Contoh:
Aktif (me/ber) Pasif (di/ter)
1. They clean the room everyday 1. The room is cleaned by them everyday
2. They cleaned the room yesterday 2. The room was cleaned by them yesterday
3. They are cleaning the room now 3. The room is being cleaned by them now
4. They have cleaned the room 4. The room has been cleaned by them
5. They will clean the room tomorrow 5. The room will be cleaned by them tomorrow
6. They must clean the room 6. The room must be cleaned by them

Contoh soal :

1. New products …… in the electronic exhibition in Jakarta Expo Centre a week ago.
a. display c. was displaying e. have displayed
b. displayed d. were displayed
Jawab: d (were displayed) : dipamerkan
2. We cannot swim in the swimming pool now, because it…………….now.
a. cleans c. is being cleaned e. has been cleaning
b. is cleaning d. has cleaned
Jawab: c (is being cleaned) : sedang dibersihkan
3. Geologists have explained the cause of earthquakes in terms of a theory…….as plate tectonics.
a. knows c. which knows e. that known
b. knowing d. known
Jawab: d (known) : diperpendek dari “which is known”=known : yang dikenal
4. A : ‘What time will the delayed plane depart?’
B : ‘They say that it……………..soon.’
a. will announce c. is to announced e. announces
b. has announced d. will be announced
Jawab: d (will be announced) : akan diumumkan
5. A : ‘I’d like to reserve a single room for next week, please.’
B : ‘I’m sorry, Sir. Our hotel ………… until the end of this month.’
a. It is fully booked c. is fully booked e. will book
b. We booked d. booking it fully
Jawab: c (is fully booked) : dipesan (sudah penuh=fully). Kata ‘fully’ (ket. Penegas pada kalimat
pasif, diletakkan setelah to be sebelum Verb3)

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 (3rd column of irregular verbs)

Example: A letter was written.

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		Subject	Verb	Object
Simple Present	Active:	Rita	writes	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	is written	by Rita.
Simple Past	Active:	Rita	wrote	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	was written	by Rita.
Present Perfect	Active:	Rita	has written	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	has been written	by Rita.
Future I	Active:	Rita	will write	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	will be written	by Rita.
Hilfsverben	Active:	Rita	can write	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	can be written	by Rita.

Examples of Passive

Tense		Subject	Verb	Object
Present Progressive	Active:	Rita	is writing	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	is being written	by Rita.
Past Progressive	Active:	Rita	was writing	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	was being written	by Rita.
Past Perfect	Active:	Rita	had written	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	had been written	by Rita.
Future II	Active:	Rita	will have written	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	will have been written	by Rita.
Conditional I	Active:	Rita	would write	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	would be written	by Rita.
Conditional II	Active:	Rita	would have written	a letter.
	Passive:	A letter	would have been written	by Rita.

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	Verb	Object 1	Object 2
Active:	Rita	wrote	a letter	to me.
Passive:	A letter	was written	to me	by Rita.
Passive:	I	was written	a letter	by Rita.

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As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. That’s 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.