p.

p
Form S be + p.p + by O (of a transitive verb) transitive verb
aspect + tense
Focus on the result
The thief was arrested It's obvious the police arrested the thief)
obvious/unknown
The painting was stolen We don't know who stole the painting)
The agent is people/things in general The doors were left open This suggests that something or someone left the doors
open, but it does not clarify who or what it was)
Jennie was offered great comfort by the kind notes and cards that were sent to
Reasons for using a long phrase (use end-weight principle) her by her colleagues after her loss Active voice: The kind notes and cards that
her colleagues sent to Jennie after her loss offered her great comfort ⇒ abnormal)
It is believed that teamwork is essential for success
To avoid personal involvement/responsibility The focus is on the belief itself rather than on the speaker) Active voice: I believe
that teamwork is essential for success ⇒ a personal opinion)
To avoid "You" in orders and rules ⇒ lessen the seriousness The training must be completed before starting the project ⇒ more formal (Active
voice: You must complete the training before starting the project)
In factual writing (focus on events/achievements, not the agents) The new policy was approved after extensive deliberation
GET p.p BE p.p
negative
The action is unexpected/involuntary/unwelcome
The file got deleted (by accident)
positive
GET instead of BE An achievement based on a previous effort
She got promoted (after years of hard work)
positive
An achievement in difficulty He finally got discharged from the hospital (after
years of struggling with his health)
⇒ informal
ix m

ix m

ix m
She has been being promoted every year ⇒ awkward ⇒ do not use BE
using "GET" in perfect progressive ⇒ spoken + written
She has been getting promoted every year ⇒ use GET
focusing on the change of the stage ⇒ use GET He got benched right before the championship match
rd

rd

rd
a

a
She was hired into the company ⇒ neutral, formal
o

o
responsibility on the subject GET She got hired into the company ⇒ less direct responsibility
BE or GET
B

B
She got herself hired into the company (by networking with the right
people,...) ⇒ active in involving in the hiring process
This house has not got lived in ⇒ awkward ⇒ do not use GET
USUALLY get + action verbs NO stative verbs)
This house has not been lived in ⇒ use BE
The policy got updated on May 28th ⇒ awkward ⇒ do
deliberate/planned actions ⇒ use BE not use get
The policy was updated on May 28th ⇒ updating a policy is a planned ⇒ use BE
indefinite subject Cookies were baked by my grandmother ⇒ not natural enough
The solution is believed by the experts ⇒ awkward
not usually use with stative verbs Exception: definite subject + indefinite by-agent This idea was appreciated by someone
But NO indefinite subject + definite by-agent Anyone is criticized by my teacher ⇒ awkward
verbs of containing contain, hold, comprise, include not “The toys are contained by the box"
Not verbs of measure weight, cost, last not “20 pounds are weighed by the suitcase"
causitive verbs: get, have, want, need, ask, order, force, etc.
reciprocal verbs resemble, look like, equal not “Each other is looked like by them"
She had her assistant type the report → have sb do sth (inf) HAVE sb inf
Active (mention the agent) verbs of fitting fit, suit, match not "She is fit by the dress"
He got the mechanic to fix the car → get sb to-do sth (inf) GET sb to-inf
Structures verbs of possession have, belong not "The car is had by him"
She had the report typed (by her assistant) → have sth done HAVE sth p.p.

ix

ix m
Passive OR NOT

m
Passive (ignore the agent) not "The song is liked to be sung" Active voice:
He got the car fixed (by the mechanic) → get sth done GET sth p.p. People like to sing the song)
GET more common ⇒ informal verbs referring to wanting and liking NO passive with infinitives like, love, want, prefer, hate, wish
not "The project is wanted to be completed" Active
I had my car fixed voice: We want the project to be completed)

rd

rd
I arranged for sb to fix my car) arrange for sb to do sth definite subject These cookies were baked by my grandmother ⇒ more acceptable

a
He got his wallet stolen paying the bill ⇒ informal Passive
verbs of physical actions The fence was painted green ⇒ more acceptable

o
(causative "got", compressed structure) Uses
CAUSITIVE (ask sb to do sth for us) PASSIVE AND CAUSITIVE PASSIVE be deemed, be hospitalized, be scheduled, be staffed, be fined, be jailed, be

B
His wallet got stolen while he was paying the bill Passive ONLY shipped, be suspended, be born,... He was fined for speeding
⇒ less informal (passive form with "get", less unfortunate experiences
compressed than the first) passive form = existing state/situation
His wallet was stolen while he was paying the bill no action occurring
⇒ formal (passive form with "be")
no agent
I had my hair cut by a professional stylist
The agent, the stylist, performed the action of BY agent p.p. = adj
cutting the hair.) Stative Passive
often used with prepositional expression
The cake was decorated with icing Icing is the WITH instruments/materials Watch out!
material used to decorate the cake) Leon was worried about his mother
She got her nails painted in red Red is the color p.p. as adj + other prepositions The window is broken (This
used in the action of painting) refers to the state of the
window (it’s in a broken
condition), not the action of
breaking it)
no interest in who/what performs the actions
not mentioning focus on the action, the result, who/what is affected
My house has been broken
The Agents into twice
The proposal was approved by
mentioning the information is important and we want to hear more about it the board of directors, who
ix m

ix m

ix m
had been debating it for weeks
a person and a thing
USUALLY have TWO passive forms
rd

rd

rd
give, send, show, teach, offer,...
a

a
Verbs with 2 objects (typically a DO and a IO Active: They sent her IO a
o

o
letter DO
Passive 1 She was sent a
B

B
letter → passive form with the
subject which is closer to the
agent in its active voice →
preferable
Passive 2 A letter was sent to
her → the subject is not closer
to the agent in its active voice
→ not preferable
NO intransitive verbs in passive Active: He sleeps
Passive: X
Active: They described the scenery to the tourists
Some verbs (explain, suggest, describe) can't change the IO into the subject Passive 1 The scenery was described to the tourists → (correct)
Passive 2 X - The tourists were described the scenery → (unnatural,
Verbs with Limited Uses in Passive awkward)
Some verbs phrases with 2 objects I bear him no ill will/ I wish you
luck → X Passive
Active: They called him a genius
Some verbs are followed by 2 nouns, but the 2nd is not an object Passive: He was called a genius (Only him
becomes the subject, not “a genius
transitive/intransitive intransitive NO passive The meeting started at 10 AM (intransitive use of "start" NO passive)
Ergative verbs sell, begin, start, boil, open, close, etc.
Vt + O = S + Vi She started the project (transitive use of "start") The project was started
ix

ix m
m

She hopes to complete the project (the subject

subject = agent, the sentence is active an active infinitive (she) is the agent performing the action
(completing)
The project is to be completed by her
rd

rd
subject # agent passive infinitive (the project is not doing the action; instead, it is
a

a
the recipient of the action (being completed).
o

o
Active inf There is nothing to do (to do is active, meaning
there is no task that someone can perform)
B

B
active and passive infinitives with the same meaning with there There is nothing to be done (to be done is passive,
Passive inf meaning there is no task left that needs to be
done by someone)
Active inf I need something to do (= the speaker needs an
activity to perform, so to do is active)
something/anything/nothing + to do
Passive inf There’s nothing to be done (to be done is passive,
meaning there is nothing left that requires action)
Infinitive and -ing form passive active (subject=agent) People say that she is intelligent
passive (the focus is shifted to the reported fact) She is said to be intelligent (passive infinitive with
“to be”)
report verbs
Passive 1 The old lady was said to be kidnapped by the man
They said that the man kidnapped the old lady Passive 2 It was said that the old lady was kidnapped by the man
(active) Passive 3 The man was said to kidnap the old lady
Passive 4 It was said that the man kidnapped the old lady ⇒ unnatural
Passive with Infinitive They decided to go to the cinema (active) Passive: It was decided to go to the cinema
passive -ing forms (being + -ed)
perfect passive -ing forms (having been + -ed)
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ix m

ix m
Passive with -ing after verbs normally followed by -ing forms I enjoy being covered with snow
as participles = "because" Being worked on diligently, the project meets the deadline
as the subject of a sentence Being praised is a kind of motivation
rd

rd

rd