The passive voice is a grammatical structure in which the person or thing that receives an action becomes the main focus of the sentence. In contrast, the active voice focuses on the person or thing that performs the action.
For example:
- Active: The teacher explained the lesson.
- Passive: The lesson was explained by the teacher.
In the active sentence, the teacher performs the action. In the passive sentence, the lesson receives the action and becomes the subject.
1. Structure of the Passive Voice
The basic structure of a passive sentence is:
Subject + form of “be” + past participle (V3) + by + agent
For example:
- Active: The chef cooks the food.
- Passive: The food is cooked by the chef.
Here, is is a form of be, and cooked is the past participle of cook.
The “by + agent” part is often unnecessary when the person who performed the action is unknown, obvious, or unimportant.
For example:
- The window was broken.
- English is spoken in many countries.
- The suspect was arrested yesterday.
We do not always need to say who performed the action.
2. Changing Active Voice into Passive Voice
To change an active sentence into the passive voice, follow these steps:
- Move the object of the active sentence to the subject position.
- Use the appropriate form of be.
- Change the main verb into its past participle form.
- Add by + the original subject if necessary.
Example:
Active: Sarah wrote a letter.
- Subject = Sarah
- Verb = wrote
- Object = a letter
Passive: A letter was written by Sarah.
Another example:
Active: The police arrested the thief.
Passive: The thief was arrested by the police.
3. Passive Voice in Different Tenses
The passive voice can be used in many different tenses.
Present simple:
- Active: They clean the rooms every day.
- Passive: The rooms are cleaned every day.
Past simple:
- Active: Someone stole my bicycle.
- Passive: My bicycle was stolen.
Present continuous:
- Active: They are repairing the road.
- Passive: The road is being repaired.
Past continuous:
- Active: They were building a new bridge.
- Passive: A new bridge was being built.
Present perfect:
- Active: Someone has finished the work.
- Passive: The work has been finished.
Past perfect:
- Active: They had completed the project.
- Passive: The project had been completed.
Future simple:
- Active: They will announce the results tomorrow.
- Passive: The results will be announced tomorrow.
With modal verbs:
- Active: You must obey the rules.
- Passive: The rules must be obeyed.
- Active: They can solve the problem.
- Passive: The problem can be solved.
4. When Do We Use the Passive Voice?
The passive voice is particularly useful when the action is more important than the person performing it.
For example:
- The building was constructed in 1920.
- The results were announced yesterday.
- The documents have been sent.
It is also useful when we do not know who performed the action:
- My car was stolen.
- The window was broken.
Sometimes the passive voice is used when the person performing the action is obvious:
- The criminal was arrested.
- The patient was taken to the hospital.
We naturally understand that the police or medical workers performed these actions, so mentioning them may not be necessary.
5. Passive Voice with Two Objects
Some verbs can have two objects, such as give, send, offer, and show.
For example:
Active: The teacher gave John a book.
This can become:
- John was given a book by the teacher.
- A book was given to John by the teacher.
Both sentences are grammatically correct.
6. Passive Voice with Questions
Questions can also be written in the passive voice.
- Active: Did someone clean the room?
- Passive: Was the room cleaned?
Another example:
- Active: When will they announce the results?
- Passive: When will the results be announced?
7. Common Mistakes
A common mistake is forgetting to use the past participle.
❌ The letter was write yesterday.
✅ The letter was written yesterday.
Another mistake is using the wrong form of be.
❌ The cars is repaired every week.
✅ The cars are repaired every week.
It is also important to remember that not every verb can normally be changed into the passive voice. Verbs that do not take an object, such as sleep, arrive, and happen, generally cannot form ordinary passive sentences.
Conclusion
The passive voice is an important part of English grammar. It is formed mainly with a form of “be” + the past participle and is used when the receiver of an action is more important than, unknown, or less important than the person performing it. Learning to recognize and form the passive voice helps you understand formal writing, news reports, academic texts, instructions, and everyday English more effectively.
**受動態（passive voice）**とは、動作を行う人や物ではなく、その動作を受ける人や物を文の中心として表す文法構造です。一方、**能動態（active voice）**では、動作を行う人や物に焦点を当てます。
例えば、
- 能動態: The teacher explained the lesson.
（先生はその授業を説明しました。） - 受動態: The lesson was explained by the teacher.
（その授業は先生によって説明されました。）
能動態では the teacher が動作を行っています。受動態では the lesson が動作を受ける対象となり、主語になります。
1. 受動態の基本構造
受動態の基本的な形は、
主語 + be動詞 + 過去分詞（V3）+ by + 動作主
です。
例えば、
- 能動態: The chef cooks the food.
- 受動態: The food is cooked by the chef.
ここで、is は be 動詞の形で、cooked は cook の過去分詞です。
「by + 動作主」は、その動作を行った人が分からない場合、明らかな場合、または重要ではない場合には、省略できます。
例えば、
- The window was broken.
（窓が割られました。） - English is spoken in many countries.
（英語は多くの国で話されています。） - The suspect was arrested yesterday.
（容疑者は昨日逮捕されました。）
誰がその動作を行ったのかを、いつも述べる必要はありません。
2. 能動態を受動態に変える方法
能動態の文を受動態に変えるときは、次の手順を使います。
- 能動態の目的語を主語の位置に移します。
- 適切な形の be動詞を使います。
- 主な動詞を過去分詞に変えます。
- 必要であれば、by + 元の主語を付けます。
例えば、
能動態: Sarah wrote a letter.
- 主語 = Sarah
- 動詞 = wrote
- 目的語 = a letter
受動態: A letter was written by Sarah.
（手紙はSarahによって書かれました。）
もう一つの例：
能動態: The police arrested the thief.
（警察は泥棒を逮捕しました。）
受動態: The thief was arrested by the police.
（泥棒は警察によって逮捕されました。）
3. さまざまな時制の受動態
受動態は、さまざまな時制で使うことができます。
現在形：
- 能動態: They clean the rooms every day.
- 受動態: The rooms are cleaned every day.
- （その部屋は毎日掃除されます。）
過去形：
- 能動態: Someone stole my bicycle.
- 受動態: My bicycle was stolen.
- （私の自転車が盗まれました。）
現在進行形：
- 能動態: They are repairing the road.
- 受動態: The road is being repaired.
- （その道路は修理されています。）
過去進行形：
- 能動態: They were building a new bridge.
- 受動態: A new bridge was being built.
- （新しい橋が建設されていました。）
現在完了形：
- 能動態: Someone has finished the work.
- 受動態: The work has been finished.
- （その仕事は終えられました。）
過去完了形：
- 能動態: They had completed the project.
- 受動態: The project had been completed.
- （そのプロジェクトは完了していました。）
未来形：
- 能動態: They will announce the results tomorrow.
- 受動態: The results will be announced tomorrow.
- （結果は明日発表されます。）
助動詞を使う場合：
- 能動態: You must obey the rules.
- 受動態: The rules must be obeyed.
- （規則は守られなければなりません。）
- 能動態: They can solve the problem.
- 受動態: The problem can be solved.
- （その問題は解決できます。）
4. 受動態はいつ使うのか
受動態は、誰が行ったかよりも、行われた動作のほうが重要な場合によく使われます。
例えば、
- The building was constructed in 1920.
（その建物は1920年に建設されました。） - The results were announced yesterday.
（結果は昨日発表されました。） - The documents have been sent.
（書類は送られました。）
また、誰がその動作を行ったのか分からない場合にも使います。
- My car was stolen.
（私の車が盗まれました。） - The window was broken.
（窓が割られました。）
さらに、動作を行った人が明らかな場合にも使われます。
- The criminal was arrested.
（犯人は逮捕されました。） - The patient was taken to the hospital.
（患者は病院へ搬送されました。）
この場合、警察や医療関係者が行ったことは明らかなので、必ずしもそれを明示する必要はありません。
5. 目的語が2つある場合の受動態
give, send, offer, show など、一つの動詞に2つの目的語を取る動詞があります。
例えば、
能動態: The teacher gave John a book.
（先生はJohnに本を1冊与えました。）
これは次のようにできます。
- John was given a book by the teacher.
（Johnは先生から本を1冊与えられました。） - A book was given to John by the teacher.
（本が先生によってJohnに与えられました。）
どちらも文法的に正しい文です。
6. 疑問文の受動態
疑問文も受動態にすることができます。
- 能動態: Did someone clean the room?
- 受動態: Was the room cleaned?
- （その部屋は掃除されましたか？）
もう一つの例：
- 能動態: When will they announce the results?
- 受動態: When will the results be announced?
- （結果はいつ発表されますか？）
7. よくある間違い
よくある間違いの一つは、過去分詞を使い忘れることです。
❌ The letter was write yesterday.
✅ The letter was written yesterday.
また、be 動詞の形を間違えないことも重要です。
❌ The cars is repaired every week.
✅ The cars are repaired every week.
さらに、すべての動詞を通常の受動態にできるわけではありません。sleep（眠る）、arrive（到着する）、happen（起こる） など、目的語を取らない動詞は、一般的に通常の受動態を作ることができません。
結論
受動態は英語文法の重要な部分です。基本的に、**「be動詞 + 過去分詞」**によって作られ、動作を行う人よりも、動作を受ける人や物を強調したい場合に使われます。また、動作を行った人が分からない場合や、重要ではない場合にも使われます。
受動態を理解して使えるようになると、ニュース記事、学術的な文章、説明書、フォーマルな文章、そして日常英語などを、より正確に理解できるようになります。
