Passive Voice — Otra perspectiva
The passive voice shifts the focus from who does the action to what receives the action.
Why use the passive?
- When we don't know who did something: "My bike was stolen."
- When the object is more important: "The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo."
- In formal texts, news and science: "The experiment was conducted in 2023."
Formula
| Voz | Estructura | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| Activa | Subject + Verb + Object | Shakespeare wrote Hamlet. |
| Pasiva | Object + be + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | Hamlet was written by Shakespeare. |
Passive at different times
| Tiempo | Estructura pasiva | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | am/is/are + done | English is spoken worldwide. |
| Past Simple | was/were + done | The bridge was built in 1900. |
| Present Perfect | has/have been + done | The email has been sent. |
| Future (will) | will be + done | The project will be completed tomorrow. |
| Modal | can/must be + done | This can be fixed easily. |
When to omit "by..."
Ignored when the agent is obvious, unknown or unimportant:
- "Rice is grown in Asia." (no necesitamos decir "by farmers")
- "The building was destroyed." (we don't know by who/what)
💡 If the agent is important or surprising, we use by*: "This song was written by a 10-year-old."