English passive voice

In English, the passive voice is marked by a subject that is followed by a stative verb complemented by a past participle. For example:

The enemy was defeated. Caesar was stabbed.

The recipient of a sentence's action is referred to as the patient. In sentences using the active voice, the subject is the performer of the action—referred to as the agent. Above, the agent is omitted entirely, but it may also be included adjunctively while maintaining the passive voice:

The enemy was defeated by our troops. Caesar was stabbed by Brutus.

The initial examples rewritten in the active voice yield:

Our troops defeated the enemy. Brutus stabbed Caesar.

The English passive voice typically involves forms of the verbs to be or to get followed by a passive participle as the subject complement—sometimes referred to as a passive verb.^[1]

English allows a number of additional passive constructions that are not possible in many other languages with analogous passive formations to the above. A sentence's indirect object may be promoted to the subject position—e.g. Tom was given a bag. Similarly, the complement of a preposition may be promoted, leaving a stranded preposition—e.g. Sue was operated on.^[2]^: 66

The English passive voice is used less often than the active voice,^[3] but frequency varies according to the writer's style and the given field of writing. Contemporary style guides discourage excessive use of the passive voice but generally consider it to be acceptable in certain situations, such as when the patient is the topic of the sentence, when the agent is unimportant and therefore omitted, or when the agent is placed near the end of a sentence as a means of emphasis.

^ Peters, Pam (2004). The Cambridge Guide to English Usage. Cambridge University Press. p. 411. ISBN 978-0-521-62181-6.
^ Wanner, Anja (31 July 2009). Deconstructing the English Passive. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-019632-0. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
^ Biber, Douglas; Johansson, Stig; Leech, Geoffrey; Conrad, Susan; Finegan, Edward (1999). Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Harlow, Essex: Longman. p. 938. ISBN 978-0-582-23725-4.

[Cam-1] Peters, Pam (2004). The Cambridge Guide to English Usage. Cambridge University Press. p. 411. ISBN 978-0-521-62181-6.

[wanner-2] Wanner, Anja (31 July 2009). Deconstructing the English Passive. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-019632-0. Retrieved 11 November 2012.

[Longman-3] Biber, Douglas; Johansson, Stig; Leech, Geoffrey; Conrad, Susan; Finegan, Edward (1999). Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Harlow, Essex: Longman. p. 938. ISBN 978-0-582-23725-4.

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