PASSIVE AND CAUSATIVE.
1. PASSIVE.
Active sentences vs passive sentences
When A does B, we have two possible ways of talking about it: active or passive. In
active sentences A is the subject (before the verb). In passive sentences B is the
subject. Check the following examples:
• Somebody cleaned the classroom yesterday. (Active)
• The classroom was cleaned every day. (Passive)
As you can see, the object of an active sentence is the subject of a passive sentence.
You can learn how to form the passive in all the different verb tenses with this picture:
When do we use the passive?
The passive is more formal than the active and it is more common in written language.
We often use the passive when we don’t know, when it is obvious, or when we don’t
want so say who or what is responsible for the action.
• A bank was robbed yesterday. (We don’t know who robbed the bank.)
• The robber was arrested last night. (It’s obvious that the police arrested the
robber.)
• I was told that you insulted my brother. (I don’t want to say who told me.)
• Jurassic Park was filmed by Spielberg in 1993. (I’m talking about Jurassic Park and
not about Spielberg.)
The passive voice is very common in the news and in formal writing.
• Arsenal have been defeated 3-‐0 and they are now 4th in the table.
• The British embassy in Israel has been destroyed by an earthquake.
• The Catalan election will be held next September.
Passive verbs with two objects
In a passive sentence, the subject is the object of the corresponding active sentence.
• Somebody said something.
• Something was said (by somebody).
There are some verbs which can take two objects. Some of these verbs are: bring,
get, give, make, offer, promise, send, show, etc.
• I sent my friends a picture. (= I sent a picture to my friends.)
With these verbs, it is possible to make two different passive sentences because you
can use either of the two objects as the subject of the passive sentence:
• My friends were sent a picture.
• A picture was sent to my friends.
It is more common to begin the passive sentence with the person: My friends were sent
a picture.
The passive with reporting verbs
In news reports and formal writing, it is common to use the passive forms of reporting
verbs. Using this resource allows us to give information when we don’t know for sure
whether it is true or not, or when we want to distance ourselves from the source of the
information.
Reporting verbs are verbs of saying or believing such
as agree, announce, believe, claim, consider, expect, hope, know, report, say, sugge
st, think, understand, etc. And we can use their passive form for distancing in two
different ways. Check the examples below:
• It is said that they are in Las Vegas.
• They are said to be in Las Vegas.
It is said that… + subject + verb
We can use the passive of a reporting verb in a sentence after an introductory it: It +
passive reporting verb + (that) + clause (subject + verb)
• It is believed that the murderer is no longer in the country.
• It has been announced that they are going to cancel the tour.
• It has been suggested that the team can’t be trusted defensively.
• It was thought the building could collapse.
Someone is said to + infinitive
When we use the passive form of a reporting verb after the real subject of sentence
(and NOT after it), we need to use an infinitive after the passive of the reporting verb.
Someone is said to do
When the reported action is simultaneous to the reporting, we can use use: subject
+ passive reporting verb + to + infinitive.
• He is said to have the biggest private art collection in the country.
• They were believed to be secretly in love.
We can also use this form to refer to the future.
• She is expected to become a super star.
Someone is said to be doing
When the reported action is in progress simultaneously to the reporting, we can also
use subject + passive reporting verb + to be + -ing (continuous infinitive) with dynamic
verbs.
• They are thought to be living under strict protection.
Someone is said to have done
When the reported action is previous to the reporting (earlier in the past), we
use subject + passive reporting verb + to have + past participle (perfect infinitive).
• She was thought to have left the previous week. (=she left before people thought
about it)
• He is claimed to have hit another student. (=he hit another student first and people
claimed he did it later)
2. CAUSATIVE (en ESPAÑOL)
¿Qué es un verbo causativo?
Los verbos causativos (causative verbs, en inglés) muestran que el sujeto de la oración ha
instigado (causado) una acción pero no la ha realizado. La acción la ha llevado a cabo
otra persona.
Ejemplo:
I checked the pipes. → yo mismo/-a
I had the plumber check the pipes. → le pedí a alguien que lo hiciera por mí
Los verbos causativos en inglés son have y get, y pueden usarse de diferentes maneras.
A continuación te explicamos en qué consisten las diferentes estructuras causativas
con have y get. Practica lo que has aprendido en el apartado de ejercicios.
Estructura have someone do something
La estructura have + persona + infinitivo significa que le hemos pedido a alguien, a cambio de
dinero o como un favor, que haga algo en nuestro lugar.
Ejemplo: I washed the dishes. → I had John wash the dishes because I was tired.
Esta estructura se usa sobre todo con servicios pagados.
Ejemplo: We had the plumber check the pipes.
Puede usarse con todos los tiempos verbales:
Ejemplo:
Jess isn’t happy with the colour, so she is having the decorator repaint. (present
continuous)
He has had the doctor do all different tests, but they still have no answers. (present perfect
simple)
I have the hairdresser style my hair whenever I have an appointment. (present simple)
Estructura have/get something done
En pasiva, la estructura causativa anterior se convierte en: have something done: have +
complemento + participio pasado.
Normalmente, el agente se omite y se pone el foco en el servicio provisto.
Ejemplo:
We had the plumber check the pipes. (activa)
We had our pipes checked. (pasiva)
Si queremos añadir el agente, usamos by.
Ejemplo: We had our pipes checked by the plumber.
También podemos usar get en lugar de have, aunque gana un tono más informal.
Ejemplo: We got our pipes checked.
Visita la página sobre la pasiva si deseas saber más sobre la estructura have/get something done.
Estructura get someone to do something
La última estructura causativa es get + persona + infinitivo con to.
Esta estructura se usa cuando se persuade, se convence, se engatusa o incluso se fuerza a
alguien a hacer algo.
Ejemplo:
I got Patrick to attend the party even though he didn’t want to.
Give the kids chocolate to get them to be quiet.
The police got the suspect to talk.
Esta estructura existe en todos los tiempos verbales, pero no puede usarse en pasiva.
