Passive voice

Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, howover, 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 a passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows :
Example : A mistake was made.
In the case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone.
a).Form of passive
Subject + finite form of to be + past particple
( 3 rd column of irregular verbs )
Example : A letter was written

When rewriting active sentences in passive voice,not the following :
- The object of the active sentences becomes the
subject of the passive sentence.
- The finite form of the verbs in changed.
( to be + past participle )
- The subject of the active sentence becomes the
object of the passive sentence( or is dropped )
b).Passive Sentences with Two Objects
Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two object 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


As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. That’s why it is usually dropped.
c).Personal and Impersonal Passive
Personal passive simply means that the 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 : He says – it is said.

Impersonal passive is not is not as in some other langguages. In english, impersonal, passive is only possible with verbs of parception.
Example : They say that women live loner than men. It is said that women live longer than men.

The subject of the subordinate clause ( women ) goes to the beginning of the sentences : 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 lesson if the indirect object of an active sentence is to become the subject of the passive sentence.