Welcome to our lesson on passive voice! Passive voice is a grammatical construction where the subject of the sentence receives the action of the verb, rather than performing it. In active voice, the dog chases the ball - the dog performs the action. In passive voice, the ball is chased by the dog - the ball receives the action. The focus shifts from the doer to the receiver of the action.
Now let's learn the structure of passive voice. The basic formula is: Subject plus be verb plus past participle, with an optional 'by' phrase for the agent. The 'be' verb changes depending on the tense and subject. For example, 'The letter was written by John' - here 'the letter' is the subject, 'was' is the be verb, 'written' is the past participle, and 'by John' is the optional agent phrase.
Passive voice can be used in all tenses by changing the 'be' verb. In present tense, we use 'am', 'is', or 'are' plus the past participle, like 'The house is built'. In past tense, we use 'was' or 'were', as in 'The house was built'. For future tense, we use 'will be' plus past participle: 'The house will be built'. In perfect tenses, we use 'have been', 'has been', or 'had been' with the past participle, such as 'The house has been built'.
Now let's learn when to use passive voice. Use passive voice when the doer is unknown or unimportant, like 'My bike was stolen' - we don't know who stole it. Use it to focus on the action or object rather than the doer, such as 'The bridge was built in 1995'. It's common in scientific writing for objectivity, like 'The sample was heated to 100 degrees Celsius'. You can also use it diplomatically to avoid mentioning who's responsible, as in 'Mistakes were made'. However, remember that active voice is usually preferred for clear, direct communication.
Let's practice converting active voice to passive voice! Here's an example: 'The chef cooks the meal' becomes 'The meal is cooked by the chef'. Notice how 'the meal' becomes the subject, we use 'is cooked' as our be verb plus past participle, and 'by the chef' shows who performs the action. Now try this one: 'The students read the book'. The answer is 'The book is read by the students'. Great job! You now understand the basics of passive voice. Remember to use it appropriately in your writing!