We use the passive voice when the focus is on the action or the result, rather than who does the action. The person or thing doing the action (the agent) is often unknown, unimportant, or obvious from context. This form is often used in news reports, formal writing, instructions, and when we don’t want to say who is responsible.
Structure:
Passive Voice = Subject + to be (in the correct tense) + past participle of the main verb
Examples:
• The window was broken. (We don’t know who broke it.)
• The documents are signed every morning. (Focus on the action, not the person.)
• A new road will be built next year. (The agent is not important here.)
Active: The chef cooks the meal.
Passive: The meal is cooked by the chef.
Active: They painted the house.
Passive: The house was painted.
When do we use the passive?
• When the doer is unknown: The documents were stolen.
• When the doer is obvious or not important: English is spoken in many countries.
• When we want to emphasize the action or the object: A new bridge is being built.