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Passive Voice in English - Coggle Diagram
Passive Voice in English
Form: be + past participle
Basic Structure:
Subject + form of be + past participle (+ by-phrase)
Example: The cake was baked (by my sister).
Tense Examples:
Present: is/are + V3 → The house is cleaned.
Past: was/were + V3 → The letter was sent.
Note (Hudson, 2003)
Passive constructions may omit the agent if it's unknown or unimportant
Function: Focus on the Action or Result
Use When:
The agent is unknown (The window was broken.)
The agent is not important (English is spoken worldwide.)
We care more about the action/result (The exam was passed.)
Typical in [Biber et al., 2021]
Formal writing
news reports
academic writing
Active vs. Passive (Contrast Node)
Active:
The chef cooked the meal.
Passive:
The meal was cooked (by the chef).
Focus Shift:
Active = who did it; Passive = what was done
Common Passive Verbs
make
write
build
eat
send
open