Master the Passive Voice in English | Active vs Passive Made Easy! — Transcript

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1. 0:00[music]
2. 0:05Jack, I have some bad news.
3. 0:08>> That is not how I wanted today's lesson
4. 0:10to begin. What happened?
5. 0:13>> My phone was broken.
6. 0:15>> Oh no. Who broke it?
7. 0:18>> Interesting.
8. 0:19>> What?
9. 0:20>> I said my phone was broken, but I didn't
10. 0:24tell you who broke it. Wait, so you
11. 0:27already turned my concern into a grammar
12. 0:30lesson?
13. 0:31>> I saw an opportunity and you just heard
14. 0:34the passive voice.
15. 0:36>> Ah, passive voice. I've seen sentences
16. 0:40like the door was opened, the package
17. 0:43was delivered, English is spoken here,
18. 0:46but I've never really understood why we
19. 0:48use them instead of normal sentences.
20. 0:51>> Perfect. That's exactly what we're going
21. 0:53to fix today. And don't worry, we're not
22. 0:56going to memorize a giant grammar chart.
23. 0:59We're going to understand one simple
24. 1:02idea first. Then we'll use it in the
25. 1:04present, past, future, perfect tenses,
26. 1:08questions, modals, and real everyday
27. 1:12situations.
28. 1:13>> So, by the end, I'll actually know when
29. 1:15passive voice sounds natural.
30. 1:18>> That's the goal. Hey everyone, welcome
31. 1:21back to Talk Emma. I'm Emma. and I'm
32. 1:23Jack.
33. 1:24>> And if our lessons help you, please like
34. 1:27this video and subscribe to Talk Emma.
35. 1:30All right, Jack. Let's begin with the
36. 1:32difference that makes everything else
37. 1:34easier. Imagine this. You walk into the
38. 1:38kitchen. There's flour everywhere.
39. 1:40There's chocolate on the floor. And half
40. 1:43a cake is missing.
41. 1:44>> This story already feels strangely
42. 1:47personal.
43. 1:48>> I say Jack ate the cake. Who did the
44. 1:52action?
45. 1:53>> Unfortunately, Jack did.
46. 1:55>> Exactly. Jack is important. So, I put
47. 1:58Jack first. That's active voice.
48. 2:02>> Jack ate the cake. Jack did the action.
49. 2:05Active. Easy.
50. 2:07>> Now, imagine I don't know who ate it. I
51. 2:11walk in and say, "The cake was eaten."
52. 2:14>> Oh, now the cake comes first.
53. 2:17>> Exactly. That's passive voice. Compare
54. 2:21active Jack ate the cake passive the
55. 2:25cake was eaten. In an active sentence,
56. 2:28we usually focus on the person or thing
57. 2:31doing the action. In a passive sentence,
58. 2:34we focus on what happened to the person
59. 2:37or thing receiving the action.
60. 2:39>> So active asks who did it and passive is
61. 2:43more like what happened to it. That's an
62. 2:46excellent way to think about it because
63. 2:48now we can learn how to build it. Here's
64. 2:51the basic pattern. Be plus participle.
65. 2:55>> Past participle. You promised simple
66. 2:58English, Emma. [laughter]
67. 3:00>> I did. The past participle is simply the
68. 3:03form we see in examples like do, done,
69. 3:07make, made, write, written, eat, eaten,
70. 3:12break, broken, clean, cleaned, deliver,
71. 3:17delivered. So, the room is cleaned every
72. 3:20day. The email was sent yesterday. The
73. 3:24work will be finished tomorrow. Notice
74. 3:27something. The form of be changes. Is,
75. 3:31was, will be, but we keep the past
76. 3:34participle. Cleaned, sent, finished.
77. 3:38>> Exactly. That's the key. The tense
78. 3:41changes mainly through be. Let's see
79. 3:43that in real sentences. Starting with
80. 3:46the present. Our next step is the
81. 3:48present simple passive. We use am, is,
82. 3:52are plus past participle. Imagine a
83. 3:56cafe. They make fresh bread every
84. 3:59morning. That's active. They make fresh
85. 4:02bread every morning. But maybe we don't
86. 4:05care who they are. We care about the
87. 4:08bread. So we say fresh bread is made
88. 4:11every morning.
89. 4:12>> That sounds very natural.
90. 4:14>> It is. More examples. English is spoken
91. 4:17in many countries. These rooms are
92. 4:20cleaned every day. Coffee is served
93. 4:23until 10:00. Orders are checked before
94. 4:26shipping.
95. 4:27>> So if I say millions of emails are sent
96. 4:31every day.
97. 4:32>> Perfect. And notice we don't need to say
98. 4:35who sends every email. The important
99. 4:37information is the emails and what
100. 4:40happens to them.
101. 4:41>> So passive is useful when the action or
102. 4:43result matters more than the person
103. 4:45doing it.
104. 4:46>> Exactly. Now let's move that same idea
105. 4:50into the past. For the past simple
106. 4:52passive, use was were plus past
107. 4:56participle. Let's go back to my phone.
108. 4:59My phone was broken.
109. 5:01>> Still suspicious.
110. 5:03>> Let it go. Another example. Someone
111. 5:06stole my bicycle. That's active. If we
112. 5:09don't know who did it, my bicycle was
113. 5:12stolen.
114. 5:13>> That sounds more natural than my bicycle
115. 5:16was stolen by someone.
116. 5:18>> Exactly. because someone gives us no
117. 5:21useful information. More examples. The
118. 5:24meeting was cancelled. The windows were
119. 5:27cleaned yesterday. The documents were
120. 5:29signed this morning. The road was closed
121. 5:32after the accident.
122. 5:34>> So if I say my wallet was found, the
123. 5:37important thing is that I got my wallet
124. 5:39back, not necessarily who found it.
125. 5:42>> Right? But what if you do know who did
126. 5:44the action and that information matters?
127. 5:47That takes us to our next point. When do
128. 5:50we use by? We can add the person who
129. 5:54performed the action with by. For
130. 5:56example, the novel was written by George
131. 5:59Orwell. Here, the writer is meaningful
132. 6:02information.
133. 6:03>> So, the cake was eaten by Jack.
134. 6:06>> Grammatically correct.
135. 6:07>> Finally, my contribution to English
136. 6:10grammar. [laughter]
137. 6:12>> But we don't always need by. For
138. 6:14example, my car was stolen by someone.
139. 6:18We'd normally just say, "My car was
140. 6:20stolen." Or, "The office is cleaned by
141. 6:23the cleaner every evening." If the
142. 6:25identity of the cleaner isn't important,
143. 6:28simply, "The office is cleaned every
144. 6:30evening."
145. 6:31>> So, don't add by automatically.
146. 6:34>> Exactly. Use it when who did the action
147. 6:36is useful, interesting, or important.
148. 6:39Now, let's look ahead. What if the
149. 6:41action hasn't happened yet? For the
150. 6:44future, the pattern is will be plus past
151. 6:47participle. Imagine you're waiting for a
152. 6:50package. I say your package will be
153. 6:53delivered tomorrow.
154. 6:54>> Not your package will delivered
155. 6:56tomorrow.
156. 6:57>> Correct. You need be will be delivered.
157. 7:01More examples. The results will be
158. 7:04announced Friday. The new store will be
159. 7:07opened next month. The problem will be
160. 7:10fixed soon. You will be contacted by
161. 7:13email.
162. 7:14>> I hear that last one from companies all
163. 7:16the time. You will be contacted.
164. 7:19>> Exactly. Passive voice is extremely
165. 7:22common in announcements, services,
166. 7:24instructions, news, and formal
167. 7:26communication
168. 7:27>> because the person doing me action often
169. 7:30isn't the important part.
170. 7:32>> You've got it. And now let's add another
171. 7:34very useful form, the present perfect.
172. 7:37Our next form is useful when something
173. 7:39has already been completed or when the
174. 7:42result matters. Now we use has been have
175. 7:45been plus past participle.
176. 7:48>> That's a little longer.
177. 7:50>> It is, but listen to real examples. The
178. 7:53problem has been fixed. Your order has
179. 7:55been shipped. The documents have been
180. 7:58signed. The meeting has been cancelled.
181. 8:01>> Oh, I've definitely seen your order has
182. 8:03been shipped.
183. 8:05>> Exactly. Imagine you complained because
184. 8:07your internet wasn't working. Later,
185. 8:10someone says, "The issue has been
186. 8:12resolved." The focus is on the result.
187. 8:15The issue is resolved now.
188. 8:17>> And with plural, the tickets have been
189. 8:20sold.
190. 8:21>> Exactly. Now, passive voice becomes even
191. 8:24more useful when we add words like can,
192. 8:27should, must, and might. This one is
193. 8:30easier than it looks. With modal verbs,
194. 8:33use modal plus be plus past participle.
195. 8:37For example, this problem can be solved.
196. 8:40The form must be completed. Your
197. 8:43password should be changed. The meeting
198. 8:46might be cancelled.
199. 8:47>> Let me try. The door must locked.
200. 8:51>> Something's missing.
201. 8:53>> Right. The door must be locked.
202. 8:56>> Exactly.
203. 8:57>> And this can be done.
204. 8:59>> Perfect. The report should be finished
205. 9:02today.
206. 9:03>> Excellent. You can hear these
207. 9:05everywhere. Seat belts must be worn.
208. 9:08Applications can be submitted online.
209. 9:11Phones should be turned off. Payment
210. 9:14must be made by Friday.
211. 9:16>> Okay, that pattern is actually very
212. 9:18clean. Modal be past participle.
213. 9:22>> Exactly. But learners sometimes
214. 9:24understand positive passive sentences
215. 9:26and then get stuck when they need a
216. 9:28negative. So, let's fix that next.
217. 9:31Negative passive sentences. To make a
218. 9:34passive sentence negative, we put not in
219. 9:37the appropriate place with be or the
220. 9:39helping verb. The door is not locked.
221. 9:42The email was not sent. The work has not
222. 9:46been finished. The event will not be
223. 9:48cancelled. This information should not
224. 9:51be shared.
225. 9:52>> So, I don't suddenly need do or did.
226. 9:56>> Correct? Don't say the email didn't sent
227. 9:59for passive voice. The email wasn't sent
228. 10:03>> and not the room doesn't cleaned every
229. 10:05day.
230. 10:06>> Right? Say the room isn't cleaned every
231. 10:09day.
232. 10:10>> That mistake is easy to make if you're
233. 10:12thinking in active voice.
234. 10:14>> Exactly. And questions can cause the
235. 10:17same problem. So let's make those simple
236. 10:19too. Questions in the passive voice.
237. 10:22Suppose you ordered something online.
238. 10:24You want to know, was my order shipped?
239. 10:27That's a passive question.
240. 10:29>> So, we move the helping verb to the
241. 10:31front.
242. 10:32>> Exactly. The room is cleaned every day
243. 10:35becomes, "Is the room cleaned every
244. 10:38day?" The package was delivered becomes,
245. 10:41"Was the package delivered?" The problem
246. 10:44will be fixed becomes, "Will the problem
247. 10:47be fixed?"
248. 10:49>> What about a question word like when
249. 10:51will the results be announced? Perfect.
250. 10:54Or where was this photo taken? How is
251. 10:57this product made? Why was the meeting
252. 11:00canled?
253. 11:01>> Those are incredibly common.
254. 11:03>> Exactly. Passive voice isn't some
255. 11:05strange grammar that only appears in
256. 11:07exams. You hear it in ordinary English
257. 11:10constantly. And that brings us to
258. 11:13something more important than the
259. 11:14formulas. When should you actually
260. 11:17choose passive instead of active? There
261. 11:20are a few situations where passive voice
262. 11:22is especially useful. First, when we
263. 11:25don't know who did the action. My bike
264. 11:27was stolen. Who stole it? I don't know.
265. 11:31Second, when who did it is obvious. The
266. 11:34thief was arrested.
267. 11:35>> Probably by the police.
268. 11:37>> Exactly. We usually don't need to say
269. 11:39it. Third, when the action or result is
270. 11:42more important than the person. The road
271. 11:45was closed. The flight was cancelled.
272. 11:47Your application has been received.
273. 11:49>> I don't care which employee received my
274. 11:52application. I care that they have it.
275. 11:54>> Exactly. And passive voice can also make
276. 11:57some messages sound less direct. Compare
277. 12:01you made a mistake in this report with a
278. 12:04mistake was made in this report.
279. 12:06>> Ah, nobody gets blamed directly.
280. 12:09>> Exactly. Sometimes that's useful in
281. 12:12professional situations. So if I eat the
282. 12:15last cookie
283. 12:17>> don't
284. 12:18>> I can say the last cookie was eaten.
285. 12:21>> Passive voice will not save you from
286. 12:23everything Jack. Now here's an important
287. 12:26point that learners sometimes miss. Not
288. 12:29every active sentence can naturally
289. 12:31become passive.
290. 12:33>> Why not?
291. 12:34>> Passive voice normally needs something
292. 12:36that receives the action. Take Emma
293. 12:39opened the door. What did Emma open?
294. 12:42>> The door. So we can say the door was
295. 12:45opened by Emma. But take Jack slept.
296. 12:48What received the action?
297. 12:50>> Nothing. I just slept very successfully.
298. 12:54[laughter]
299. 12:54>> Exactly. So we don't normally make a
300. 12:57passive sentence from Jack slept. Same
301. 13:00with he arrived. She laughed. They
302. 13:02disappeared. There's no object receiving
303. 13:05the action.
304. 13:06>> So I shouldn't try to turn every English
305. 13:08sentence into passive just because I
306. 13:10learned the formula. Exactly. And now
307. 13:13you know why speakers choose it. But
308. 13:15before we finish, let's catch some
309. 13:17common mistakes. Ready?
310. 13:19>> Try me.
311. 13:20>> Are the room cleaned every morning.
312. 13:23Correct or incorrect?
313. 13:25>> Incorrect. We need be. The room is
314. 13:28cleaned every morning.
315. 13:30>> Good. Next. The email didn't sent.
316. 13:34>> That's mixing active and passive. The
317. 13:36email wasn't sent.
318. 13:38>> Exactly. Now, English is spoke in many
319. 13:42countries.
320. 13:43>> Ooh. Speak spoke spoken. English is
321. 13:47spoken in many countries.
322. 13:50>> Perfect. One more. My keys were stolen
323. 13:53by someone.
324. 13:54>> It's grammatically possible, but by
325. 13:57someone probably adds nothing. I'd
326. 13:59simply say, "My keys were stolen."
327. 14:02>> Excellent. You're not only building
328. 14:04passive sentences now, you're deciding
329. 14:06when information is actual useful. Let's
330. 14:09finish with a quick challenge. Everyone
331. 14:12listening can answer before Jack. Change
332. 14:15this active sentence into passive. They
333. 14:18clean the office every evening.
334. 14:20>> The office is cleaned every evening.
335. 14:23>> Correct. Next. Someone stole my phone.
336. 14:27>> My phone was stolen.
337. 14:29>> Good. They will announce the results
338. 14:31tomorrow.
339. 14:32>> The results will be announced tomorrow.
340. 14:35>> Excellent. Now you must complete this
341. 14:38form.
342. 14:39>> This form must be completed.
343. 14:41>> And the last one, they have fixed the
344. 14:44problem.
345. 14:45>> The problem has been fixed.
346. 14:47>> Five out of five.
347. 14:49>> Look at that. Passive voice has been
348. 14:51mastered.
349. 14:52>> Careful. That's another passive
350. 14:54sentence.
351. 14:55>> I planned that.
352. 14:57>> Of course you did. Now, here's your
353. 14:59comment challenge. [music] Change this
354. 15:02active sentence into passive. Someone
355. 15:04opened the window. Write your answer in
356. 15:07the comments. And if this lesson made
357. 15:09passive voice easier, please like,
358. 15:11share, and subscribe to Talk Emma.
359. 15:14>> And Emma,
360. 15:15>> yes. [music]
361. 15:16>> Your phone, it wasn't broken.
362. 15:19>> What?
363. 15:19>> I just turned it off.
364. 15:22>> Jack,
365. 15:23>> but a very useful lesson was created.
366. 15:26>> I'll give you that one. See you next
367. 15:28time, everyone.
368. 15:29>> Bye.