Strona bierna (Passive Voice)
Strona bierna we wszystkich czasach, z czasownikami modalnymi i reporting verbs
Passive Voice — Complete Guide
The passive voice is used when the action is more important than the doer, or when the doer is unknown or obvious.
General formula: Subject + be (in the correct tense) + past participle (V3) [+ by + agent]
---
Passive Voice in All Tenses:
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|-------|--------|---------|
| Present Simple | She writes emails. | Emails are written (by her). |
| Present Continuous | She is writing an email. | An email is being written. |
| Present Perfect | She has written an email. | An email has been written. |
| Past Simple | She wrote an email. | An email was written. |
| Past Continuous | She was writing an email. | An email was being written. |
| Past Perfect | She had written an email. | An email had been written. |
| Future Simple | She will write an email. | An email will be written. |
| Going to | She is going to write it. | It is going to be written. |
| Future Perfect | She will have written it. | It will have been written. |
---
Passive with Modal Verbs:
Structure: Subject + modal + be + V3
| Modal | Active | Passive |
|-------|--------|---------|
| can | They can solve this problem. | This problem can be solved. |
| must | You must finish the report. | The report must be finished. |
| should | We should invite them. | They should be invited. |
| may | They may cancel the event. | The event may be cancelled. |
| might | Someone might steal it. | It might be stolen. |
| have to | You have to do it. | It has to be done. |
| could have | They could have prevented it. | It could have been prevented. |
| should have | She should have told us. | We should have been told. |
---
How to Transform Active to Passive:
Step by step:
- The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
- The verb changes to be + V3 (be in the same tense as the original verb).
- The subject of the active sentence becomes the agent (by + noun) — often omitted if unnecessary.
Example:
- Active: The teacher corrected the tests.
- Step 1: The tests...
- Step 2: The tests were corrected...
- Step 3: The tests were corrected by the teacher.
---
When to Use Passive:
- The doer is unknown: My car was stolen last night. (I don't know who did it.)
- The doer is obvious: The criminal was arrested. (obviously by the police)
- Formal/academic writing: The experiment was conducted in 2024.
- Focus on the action/result: The bridge was built in 1890.
- News and reports: Three people were injured in the accident.
---
Passive with Two Objects:
Some verbs (give, offer, send, tell, show, teach) can have two objects:
- Active: They gave me a present.
- Passive 1: I was given a present. (more common)
- Passive 2: A present was given to me.
More examples:
- Active: She offered him a job. → Passive: He was offered a job.
- Active: They told us the truth. → Passive: We were told the truth.
---
Passive with Reporting Verbs:
Structure 1: It + is/was + V3 + that + clause
- It is said that he is very rich.
- It is believed that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old.
- It was reported that the president had resigned.
Structure 2: Subject + is/was + V3 + to + infinitive
- He is said to be very rich.
- She is believed to have left the country.
- They are expected to win.
Common reporting verbs: say, believe, think, know, report, expect, consider, claim, allege, understand
---
Causative — Have/Get Something Done:
When someone else does something for you:
- have + object + V3: I had my car repaired. (Someone repaired it for me.)
- get + object + V3: She got her hair cut. (Someone cut it for her.)
| Tense | Example |
|-------|---------|
| Present Simple | I have my car washed every week. |
| Past Simple | She had her nails done yesterday. |
| Present Perfect | I have had my phone fixed. |
| Future | I will have the house painted. |
---
Najczestsze bledy (Common Mistakes):
- ✗ The house was build in 1990. → ✓ The house was built in 1990. (V3!)
- ✗ The book was wrote by Tolkien. → ✓ The book was written by Tolkien.
- ✗ English is speak worldwide. → ✓ English is spoken worldwide.
- ✗ I was given with a present. → ✓ I was given a present. (no preposition)