1.8 Passive

The passive forms are made with be (or get) and the past participle.

	Passive form	Corresponding active form
Present simple	Photos are taken.	They take photos.
Present continuous	Photos are being taken.	They are taking photos.
Past simple	Photos were taken.	They took photos.
Past continuous	Photos were being taken.	They were taking photos.
Present Perfect simple	Photos have been taken.	They have taken photos.
Past Perfect simple¹	Photos had been taken.	They had taken photos.
Modal, e.g.: will	Photos will be taken.	They will take photos.
Modal, e.g.: can	Photos can be taken.	They can take photos.
Modal, e.g.: must	Photos must be taken.	They must take photos.
Modal, e.g.: would	Photos would be taken.	They would take photos.
Modal, e.g.: will + Perfect	Photos will have been taken.	They will have taken photos.
going to	Photos are going to be taken.	They are going to take photos.
have to	Photos have to be taken.	They have to take photos.

¹ The continuous forms are unusual.

An active sentence and the corresponding passive sentence have the same meaning, but they are not normally interchangeable.

One main use of the passive forms is when we want to express what happened without mentioning the people or things responsible for the action. This happens when we don't know the people, etc., responsible, e.g.:

My computer is being repaired.
(Estan reparando mi ordenador.)

These houses were built in the seventeenth century.
(Estas casas se construyeron en el siglo XVII.)

Another main use is when we want to appear objective, for example in describing scientific experiments or giving medical advice, e.g.:

100 grams of salt were dissolved in 1 litre of water.
(Se disolvieron 100 gramos de sal en 1 litro de agua.)

The pills should be taken before meals.
(Las píldoras deberían tomarse antes de las comidas.)

Another main use is when the people or things responsible constitute new information. Compare the following situations:

First situation:

"I will introduce you to Sally Winters. She's a friend of mine and she painted my portrait."

In this situation, the conversation is about Sally Winters, and it is natural to give more information about her by saying: "She painted my portrait".

Second situation:

A: "I like that portrait of you."

B: "I'm glad you like it. It was painted by Sally Winters. She's a friend of mine."

In this situation, the conversation is about the portrait, and it is natural to give more information about it by saying: "It was painted by Sally Winters".

Similarly, if someone asks "What happened to Mrs Lawrence?" it would be more natural to reply "She was attacked by a dog" than "A dog attacked her".

Notice that, in a passive sentence, when we mention the people or things responsible, the preposition is by (not for), e.g.:

Mrs Lawrence was attacked by a dog.
(A la señora Lawrence la atacó un perro.)

Hamlet was written by Shakespeare.
(Hamlet lo escribió Shakespeare.)

You will be met by a representative of the company.
(Le recibirá un representante de la empresa.)

For by, see also means.

You will sometimes see passives with get instead of be, with very similar meaning, e.g.:

Tim was/got caught trying to steal a radio.
(Cogieron a Tim cuando intentaba robar una radio.)

As distinct from Spanish, an indirect object can become the subject of a passive sentence, e.g.:

Wendy was given a bicycle for her birthday.
(A Wendy le dieron una bicicleta por su aniversario.)

If you are offered cocaine, don't accept it.
(Si te ofrecen cocaína, no la aceptes.)

For have something done, see causative.