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I’m learning how to book a plane ticket
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I’m discovering the passive structure with an adverb
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I’m discovering the British Empire
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Grammar : the passive voice
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the passive voice
The passive voice is a grammatical structure where the subject receives the action rather than doing it. It’s especially useful when the doer of the action is unknown, unimportant, or deliberately left out.
🧠 How to Form the Passive Voice
Structure: Subject + form of "be" + past participle (+ by agent)
Examples:
| Tense |
Active Voice |
Passive Voice |
| Present Simple |
They clean the room. |
The room is cleaned. |
| Past Simple |
She wrote the book. |
The book was written. |
| Future Simple |
He will deliver the package. |
The package will be delivered. |
| Present Perfect |
They have built a bridge. |
A bridge has been built. |
You can include the agent (the doer) using "by", but it’s often omitted:
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The cake was eaten (by the children).
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The documents were signed.
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✨ Why Use the Passive Voice?
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To emphasize the action or result rather than the actor “The Mona Lisa was painted in the 16th century.”
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When the actor is unknown or irrelevant “The window was broken.”
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In formal or scientific writing “The experiment was conducted under strict conditions.”
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🔍 Passive with Adverbs
You can add adverbs to modify the verb:
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The work was quickly completed.
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The message was clearly understood.