What is a passive sentence?

The passive voice is used in English when it is more convenient or interesting to stress the "thing done", rather than the "doer",  when the doer is unknown, or obvious from the context.


So why do we use the passive?


We use the passive for different purposes:

• To put emphasis on the receiver of the action.
• To connect ideas in different clauses.
• To make generic statements, announcements, and explanations.

You can find examples of passives in news bulletins and instructions manuals for example.

Here you will find more information and the video below.

video source: http://international.ouc.bc.ca/chalkntalk/whypassive/

In English it is almost always necesary to mention the "doer" in active sentences. However, if we use a passive sentence we don't need to mention the doer.


Here is an example:


Peter has eaten all the apples


In this active sentence, Peter is the "doer" and the apples are what he has eaten. The apples are what we call the "object".


Performing a simple series of changes we can transform this sentence into a passive sentence:


All the apples have been eaten (by Peter)


As we said before the doer can be mentioned but it is not necessary