The passive voice

Tense

Active

Passive

Note: the action is done to the subject

Indefinite(Simple)

Present

V(s)

ask(s)

am

is

are

+ Ved/3

asked

He asks / He is asked

Он спрашивает / Его спрашивают

He asked /He was asked

Он спросил / Его спросили

He will ask / He will be asked

Он спросит /Его спросят

Past

Ved/2

asked

was

were

Future

will V

will ask

will be

Continuous

Present

am

is

are

+Ving

asking

am

is

are

+ being Ved/3

being asked

He is asking / He is being asked

Он сейчас спрашивает / Его сейчас спрашивают

Past

was

were

was

were

He was asking / He was being asked

Он спрашивал / Его спрашивали

Future

will be

-

Perfect

Present

have

has

+Ved/3

asked

have

has

+ been Ved/3

been asked

He has asked / He has been asked

Он уже спросил / Его уже спросили.

He had asked / He had been asked

Он тогда уже спросил / Его уже тогда спросили

He will have asked / He will have been asked

Он уже спросит / Его уже спросят

Past

had

had

Future

will have

will have

PASSIVE WITH MODAL VERBS

can / could

may / might

must/have to

should / would needn't

+ be Ved/3

+ have Ved/3

Can/could be done

Can/could have been done

1. We use the passive when it is not so important (or unknown) who or what did the action

E.g.: My article was published yesterday. Rome wasn't built in one day. The origin of the Universe will never be explained.

2. It's wrong to consider the passive to be another way of expressing a sentence in the active voice. We use it only when we don't know or don't want to say who did it.

E.g.: Helen likes English (But not "English is liked by Helen". It sounds funny in English).

3. Only the verbs which take on object can go into the passive. Intransitive verbs can't be used in the Passive voice. They are:

- to fly, to arrive; - to be, to become; - to have, to lack, to possess, to consist, to belong; - to hold, to suit, to resemble, to fit; - to appear, to seem, to come, to go, to last

E.g.: The hall holds 500 people. They have a nice house. My shoes don't fit me. Sylvia resembles a Greek goddess. My mother lacks tact.

4. There are sentences in the active having a passive meaning.

E.g.: This shirt irons well. Your book reads well. This coat will wear a lifetime. The door closed and there was silence in the room.

5. If you want to say who did it or what caused the action, use by or with.

E.g.: The house was built by my grandfather. It was destroyed by fire. The room was filled with smoke.

6. We use the infinitive after modal verbs and a number of other verbs. The passive infinitive is to be done / to have been done.

E.g: I want to be left alone. The music could be heard far away. My bicycle has disappeared. It must have been stolen.

Active

Passive

E.g.: He was given a ten days' leave.

Have you been shown the documents?

They were told to wait.

Russian

Я просил...

Я сказал ему...

Меня попросили...

мне сказали...

English

I asked...

I told him...

I was asked...

I was told...

A. to agree to / with

to agree on / upon

to arrive at an agreement

to arrive at a compromise

to arrive at a conclusion

to arrive at a decision

to call for, on

to count on

to deal with

to hear of

to insist on / upon

to interfere with

to laugh at

to look after

to look at

to put up with

to refer to

to rely on / upon

to send for

to speak about / of, to

to talk about

-соглашаться с чем-то

-прийти к соглашению

-прийти к соглашению

-прийти к компромиссу

-прийти к заключению

-прийти к решению

-зайти за

-надеяться, рассчитывать на

-иметь дело с

-слышать о

-настаивать на

-вмешиваться в, мешать

-смеяться над

-ухаживать за

-смотреть на

-примириться с

-ссылаться на

-полагаться на

-посылать за

-говорить о/с

-говорить о

to think of

to write about

to find fault with

to make fun of

to pay attention to

to take care of

В. to account for

to comment on

to listen to

to look for

to operate on

to provide for

to lose sight of

to make a fool of

to make use of

to put an end

to to take (no) notice of

-думать о

-писать о

-придираться к

-насмехаться над

-обращать внимание на

-заботиться о

-объяснять

-комментировать

-слушать

-искать

-оперировать

-снабжать

-потерять из виду

-дурачить

-использовать

-положить конец

-(не) замечать

E.g.: The boat was soon lost sight of.

The child should be taken care of.

His remark was taken no notice of.