Grammatical Range - Using the passive voice

There are various reasons you might use the passive voice in English writing, but generally speaking, the passive voice is used regularly in formal and academic writing. That means it’s very useful for IELTS Academic Writing Task 1, for formal letters in IELTS General Test Writing Task 1, and of course in Writing Task 2. Below you’ll find the rules, example sentences and then some exercises to practice.

The rules for using the passive voice:

The passive voice is made with the verb be + past participle.

• His suit was made in Italy

The passive can be used with all verb forms e.g. is being made, has been made, will be made etc.

• His suit is being made in Italy.

The passive voice is often used when it’s not important or we’re not interested in who does something.

• She has been given a promotion

If we want to say who does the action while using the passive voice, we can use by.

• He was given the car by his grandfather

The object of the action is the focus of the sentence in a passive sentence.

• You will be told what to do later

The passive voice is often used in more academic or formal writing, so it’s particularly useful in formal letters in IELTS General Writing Task 1, or in Writing Task 2.

• More money should be invested in sports facilities

• The service (which was) provided at your hotel was very disappointing

It is also often used to describe processes, so can be very useful in academic writing task 1 diagram tasks.

• The bricks are transported to the ovens on a conveyor belt

Some verbs cannot be made passive (intransitive verbs, which don’t have an object) e.g. arise, consist, depend, exist, fall, happen, occur, rise.

Some verbs are regularly used in the passive. e.g. accuse, base, be born, design, estimate, jail, situate, shoot

• The young man was accused of stealing a car.

The passive voice can be used to paraphrase clauses using verbs such as suggest, argue, think, believe, establish and recognise. Some people argue that… > It is sometimes argued that… . This is very useful in IELTS Writing Task 2.

• It is commonly thought that the relationships between family members are not as strong as they were previously.

• It is believed by some people that more should be invested in trains, while others claim that improvements to the road system should be prioritised.

• It is sometimes suggested that children in the modern world don’t have enough time for leisure because they spend so much time studying.

• It is well established that people in today’s world live less active lives than in the past.

• It is widely recognised that people are not as polite as they were previously.

Exercise 1:

Paraphrase the following sentences using the passive voice.

1. A generator converts the mechanical energy into electrical energy.

2. Some people think that children do not have enough free time.

3. Her boss gave her a pay rise.

4. Your staff treated us very badly.

5. The construction workers are making too much noise.

6. Her mother has bought her a car.

7. The police arrested the man for burglary yesterday.

8. The government should spend more on education.

9. A pump pumps water through the system.

10. The reactor heats the water and turns it into steam.

11. Many people recognise that there is too great income inequality in many countries.

12. Our driver will pick you up and take you to the meeting location.

13. Our analysts estimate that inflation was 5% last year.

14. Some people suggest that globalisation has too many negative effects.

Activity:

Use the passive to paraphrase the following phrases taken from IELTS Writing Task 2 questions.

1. Some people think that outdoor activities are more beneficial for children’s development than playing computer games.

2. It is generally agreed that family relationships are not as close as they were in the past.

3. Some people believe that you should judge others on their appearance, while others think that appearance is not important.

4. Some people argue that we are born with a fixed personality while others argue that we develop our personality because of our experiences.

5. Children these days spend too much time studying and don’t spend enough time having fun.

6. Some countries are making serious efforts to reduce global warming.

7. Some people think that mobile phones should be banned in public places like libraries, shops and on public transport.

8. People are often less polite these days than they were in the past.

9. It is impossible to help all the people in the world that need help.