Passive voice in English: essence, rules of education, ways of translation

Passive voice in English is a fairly simple topic for mastering, if before that, the ways of forming the second participle were studied, especially the table of irregular verbs.

What is passive voice?

In English, it is used very actively, so understanding its essence is the first thing to begin with. Compare the two sentences: "He says", "They talk about him". In the second case, the object does not perform the action, but the action is performed on it. Passive voice is also called passive. "The dress was sewn", "The criminal is taken into custody", "Coffee will be brought to the room" - everywhere the subject performs a passive, passive role, is the object of someone's actions. It is not necessary to indicate the source of the action. The offender is taken into custody by someone specific or not - this is not so important. From the construction of the phrase it is clear that such a source exists, but it is secondary.

Passive voice: grammar

Grammar passive voice in English is quite simple, and all forms can be reduced to the following scheme:

• Subject + auxiliary verb to be or to have in the appropriate form + second participle.

Not all verbs can be used in passive voice. Compare the two verbs: travel (to travel) and write (to write). The second verb can have an object over which it performs an action (writing what? - a letter, a book, an essay), and the first verb of such an object can not have. This object is called a direct complement. And verbs that can have such an addition are called transitive. As you have already understood, only transitive verbs can be used in passive voice.

Passive voice in English has only eight grammatical forms. Three times - the future, the present and the past, plus three states of time - simple, long and complete. It would seem that there should be nine forms of passive voice, but the future is not used for a long time in passive voice.

By studying this topic, you will appreciate how simple and logical English is. Passive pledge, the table of whose forms is given below, is based on a harmonious grammatical scheme. Guided by the table, you can easily make the right suggestions. Despite the fact that this topic is considered rather complicated (it is considered at the Intermediate level), it usually does not cause any special problems for students.

Special attention should be paid to the passive voice in the form of time "Future in the past".

How to translate passive voice

In English, if you forget about Russian and understand the meaning immediately, everything is very simple. Here's the object, here's the action, here's a simple table in three columns for three lines. But in our language the passive voice is grammatically realized much richer and more complex. Therefore, there are several ways to translate the same English sentence.

1. With the help of the verb "to be" and the participle. Especially it is convenient when it comes to the past or future time. As is known, in the Russian language the verb "to be" in the present tense (the form "is") is used very rarely.

• The houses were built here last year . "The houses were built here last year."
• The parcel will be sent tomorrow . "The parcel will be fixed tomorrow."

2. Returning verbs (ending with -s ). This method is convenient for the present time.

• Letters are delivered at 7 every day . - Letters are delivered every day at seven o'clock.

3. Uncertain-personal construction. The verb in this case is in the plural. Suitable for any time, but only used when the object performing the action is not specified.

• The houses were built here last year . "The houses were built here last year."
• Letters are delivered at 7 every day . "Letters are delivered every day at seven o'clock."
• My lawn mower has been repaired . "My mower was already repaired."
• These offices are being cleaned now . - In the offices are being cleaned.
• The parcel will be sent tomorrow . "The parcel will be sent tomorrow morning."

How quickly to master the passive voice? The English language, exercises on which are abundantly represented in a variety of modern textbooks, is really very simple to learn, if only because you are not limited by anything. At your service is a huge methodological base, which allows you to build the mastery of the language to a person with almost any features and needs. Imagine that you are studying a less popular language, for example, Korean or even Spanish. To choose especially there will be nothing, and in many respects it is necessary to be independent, that is fraught with movements "not there" and "not so". Here you only need perseverance. Keep a table with forms of passive voice with you and try to translate everything that caught your eye, starting with the suggestions in your textbook and ending with your own thoughts.