1. Passive Voice: Form
- The passive voice focuses on what happens to something, rather than what it does.
- It is formed using a form of the verb “be” + past participle.
- Examples: “The union is run by executive officers,” “The university should be run by executives.”
2. Passive Voice: Use
- Used when the object is more important than the subject, and the agent (doer) is obvious, unimportant, or unknown.
- Used in formal writing to make it less personal and more impersonal.
- Used to describe processes.
- Generally not used for natural or biological processes where humans are not involved.
3. Reporting with Passive Verbs
- Reporting verbs and verbs of thinking or feeling can be used in the passive.
- Use “it + passive verb + that” or “subject + passive verb + to-infinitive.”
- Example: “It was felt that the facilities needed renovation,” “Our sports facilities are said to be the best.”
4. Have Something Done
- To show that someone performs a service for us, use “have + object + past participle.”
- In informal English, “get + past participle” can be used similarly.
- Example: “I had my photo taken.”
5. Need + -ing
- “Need + -ing” can be used as an alternative to the passive to express necessity without stating who will do it.
- Example: “Some facilities need improving around the campus.”
These guidelines help in using the passive voice effectively to convey different shades of meaning and focus in sentences.