Speaking: Grammar in Speaking B1 - Lesson 5: Using Simple Passive Voice in Explanations

Speaking: Grammar in Speaking B1 - Lesson 5

Using Simple Passive Voice in Explanations

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to form and use the simple passive voice to focus on an action when the "doer" is unknown or unimportant.

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Focusing on the Action, Not the "Doer"

Sometimes, the person or thing that does an action (the "doer") is not important, is obvious, or is unknown. In these cases, we can use the Passive Voice² to focus on the action itself and the thing that receives the action.

Compare the Active Voice¹ (focus on the doer) with the Passive Voice (focus on the receiver).

Tense	Active Voice (Focus on the Doer)	Passive Voice (Focus on the Action)
Present	Farmers grow a lot of rice in Battambang.	A lot of rice is grown in Battambang. (Who grows it? Not important.)
Past	Someone stole my moto last night.	My moto was stolen last night. (Who stole it? We don't know.)

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Key Grammar Terms

1. Active Voice: The 'normal' sentence structure where the subject performs the action: កត្តុវាចក ↩
2. Passive Voice: A sentence structure where the subject receives the action. It focuses on what happened, not who did it: កម្មវាចក ↩
3. Past Participle: The third form of a verb (e.g., eat -> ate -> eaten), used to form the passive voice: កិរិយាស័ព្ទទី៣ ↩

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record_voice_over Pronunciation: Stress in Passive Sentences

In passive sentences, the helping verb "be" (is, are, was, were) is usually unstressed and weak. The main stress falls on the important content words: the receiver of the action and the main verb (past participle³).

• Listen: "My MOto w'z STOlen." (The focus is on the moto and what happened to it).
• Listen: "A lot of RICE iz GROWN in BATTambang." (The focus is on the rice and the action).

lightbulb How to Form the Passive Voice

The formula for the passive voice is simple. It is always a form of the verb 'to be' + Past Participle (Verb 3).

Present Simple Passive

Formula: [Receiver] + is/are + Past Participle
Used for facts, processes, and general truths.

• Fish amok is made with coconut milk.
• Many motos are sold in Cambodia.

Past Simple Passive

Formula: [Receiver] + was/were + Past Participle
Used for past events.

• This bridge was built many years ago.
• My keys were lost yesterday.

sports_esports Practice the Passive Voice

Activity 1: Active or Passive?

Read the sentences. Are they in the active voice or passive voice?

1. My brother cleaned the house. (Active)
2. The house was cleaned by my brother. (Passive)
3. English is spoken here. (Passive)
4. She sells beautiful flowers at the market. (Active)

Activity 2: Change to Passive

Change the active sentence to a passive sentence. Focus on the receiver of the action.

• Active: They make these cakes in Battambang.
  Passive: These cakes are made in Battambang.
• Active: Someone broke the window.
  Passive: The window was broken.
• Active: Shakespeare wrote 'Romeo and Juliet'.
  Passive: 'Romeo and Juliet' was written by Shakespeare. (We can use 'by' if the doer is important).

task Your Grammar Mission

This week in Battambang, your mission is to find and use the passive voice.

1. Find: Look at the label on your shirt or your phone. Find where it was made.
2. Speak: Tell a friend your finding using the passive voice. For example, "My phone was made in China." or "This shirt was made in Cambodia."