The Passive Voice

The Passive Voice

The passive voice is used when focusing on the person or thing affected by an action.

* The Passive is formed: Passive Subject + To Be + Past Particple
The house was built in 1989.
* It is often used in business when the object of the action is more important than those who perform the action.
For Example:
We have produced over 20 different models in the past two years. Changes to: Over 20 different models have been produced in the past two years.
* If the agent is important (the person, company or thing that does the action, use "by"
For Example: Tim Wilson wrote "The Flight to Brunnswick" in 1987. Changes to:"The Flight to Brunnswick" was written in 1987 by Tim Wilson.
* Only verbs that take an object can be used in the passive voice.

Passive Voice Structure
Present Simple
They make Fords in Cologne. Fords are made in Cologne.
Present Continuous
Susan is cooking dinner. Dinner is being cooked by Susan
Past Simple
James Joyce wrote "Dubliners". "Dubliners" was written by James Joyces.
Past Continuous
They were painting the house when I arrived. The house was being painted when I arrived.
Present Perfect
They have produced over 20 models in the past two years. Over 20 models have been produced in the past two years.
Going to
They are going to build a new factory in Portland. A new factory is going to be built in Portland.
Future Simple
I will finish it tomorrow. It will be finished tomorrow.

REMEMBER:
We use the active form to say what the subject does. For example:
* I speak English every day at work.
* I repaired the flat tire on the car.
We use the passive form to say what happens to people and things, to say what is done to them. For example:
* English is spoken here.
* The car is being repaired.
We use the passive form when we don't know who did the action. For example:
* The car was damaged while it was parked on the street.
* The shirts were made in Turkey.
We use the passive form when what was done is more important than who did it. For example:
* It was approved by Gerry last week.
* I was informed by the Human Resources Manager only two days ago.

IT IS SAID THAT... o HE IS SAID TO...

Estas expresiones confunden habitualmente a los hispano-parlantes. En realidad, se trata de estructuras pasivas que utilizan los ingleses para expresar "Se dice que..."

La siguiente situación te ayudará a comprender este tema gramatical:

Marcelo is very old. Nobody knows exactly how old he is.
(Marcelo es muy anciano. Nadie conoce con exactitud la edad que tiene)
It is said that he is 105 years old.
He is said to be 105 years old.
(Se dice que él tiene 105 años)

Si analizas un poco verás que las dos oraciones significan:
People say that Marcelo is 105 years old.
(La gente dice que Marcelo tiene 105 años)

Ambas estructuras son semejantes en inglés y se traducen del mismo modo al español. Sin embargo, los ingleses cuentan con dos alternativas para expresar la misma idea. La primera alternativa se inicia con IT IS pero la segunda alternativa debe comenzar con el SUJETO (la persona o cosa "afectada" por la acción del verbo).

La misma estructura con otros verbos

Puedes utilizar estas estructuras con muchos otros verbos, siempre en participio pasado. Por ejemplo: it is thought (se piensa), it is believed (se cree), it is considered (se considera), it is reported (se informa), it is known (se sabe), it is expected (se espera), it is alleged (se alega), etc.

Monica works very hard.
Mónica trabaja duro)
It is thought that she works 16 hours a day.
She is thought to work 16 hours a day.
Se piensa que trabaja 16 horas por día) [¿Trabajará en OM Personal?]

The police are looking for a missing girl.
(La policía está buscando a una chica extraviada)
It is believed that the girl is wearing a pink sweater.
The girl is believed to be wearing a pink sweater.
(Se cree que la chica lleva un jersey de color rosado)

OM First Certificate course started today.
(El curso OM First Certificate comenzó hoy)
It is expected that it will be visited by many subscribers.
The OM FCE course is expected to be visited by many subscribers.
(Se espera que el curso OM First Certificate sea visitado por muchos suscriptores)

Estas estructuras se usan comúnmente en las noticias:

It is reported that two people were injured in the fire this morning.
Two people are reported to have been injured in the fire this morning.
(Se informa que dos personas sufrieron heridas en el incendio esta mañana)


TO HAVE / GET SOMETHING DONE
Have something done y get something done son ambos usados para referirse a acciones que son hechas PARA el sujeto . La acción del verbo es hecha por otra persona para el sujeto. Ejemplos:
* Have something done
I don’t know how to repair cars, so I’m having mine repaired at the garage. (No se como reparar el coche, por lo que me lo estan reparando en el garage.
* Get something done
Get your hair cut! ( Cortate el pelo )
Si dices I cut my hair estas diciendo que te lo cortaste tú. Si fuiste a la peluquería, se dice, I Get / have my hair cut.
NOTA ( Diferencia entre have y get )
Have es un poco mas formal que get, y get es mas frecuente que have para imperativos.

* También se usan para hechos que le ocurren a una persona, pero que están fuera de su control.
-After being late for work every day for two weeks, Billy had his pay reduced. ( Después de llegar tarde todos los días durante 2 semanas, le redujeron el sueldo a Billy)
-I stood so close to the fire that I got my legs burnt. ( Permanecí tan cerca del fuego que se me quemaron las piernas)