The passive voice
ተገብሮ ድምፅ (passive voice)
be + past participle: the sentence starts with the thing that receives the action, not the person who does it. Used when the doer is unknown, unimportant or obvious, and in formal notices.
What the passive is, and when to use it
Amharic has a passive too, usually with ተ-: ሰረቀ (stole) → ተሰረቀ (was stolen), ሠራ → ተሠራ. English makes it with be + past participle. The object of the active sentence becomes the subject. Use it when you don't know who did it (My bike was stolen), when it doesn't matter (The office is cleaned every night), or in news, rules and forms (Applications must be submitted by Friday).
In Amharic
አማርኛም ተገብሮ አለው፤ ብዙ ጊዜ በ ተ-፦ ሰረቀ → ተሰረቀ፣ ሠራ → ተሠራ። እንግሊዝኛ በ be + past participle ይሠራዋል። የገቢሩ ዓረፍተ ነገር ተሳቢ ባለቤት ይሆናል። ማን እንደሠራው ሳያውቁ (My bike was stolen)፣ ሠሪው ሳያስፈልግ (The office is cleaned every night)፣ ወይም በዜና፣ በደንብና በፎርም (Applications must be submitted by Friday) ይጠቀሙበት።
| Active | Passive |
|---|---|
| Someone stole my bike. | My bike was stolen. |
| They clean the office every night. | The office is cleaned every night. |
| The city will close the road. | The road will be closed. |
| A dog bit my son. | My son was bitten by a dog. |
- Passive = be (in the right tense) + past participle. be carries the tense; the participle never changes.
- Only verbs with an object can be passive: you cannot say It was happened.
- Questions and negatives work through be: Was it sent? It wasn't sent.
- Our car was towed last night.
- Spanish is spoken in many homes in Las Vegas.
- The pool is closed for repairs.
- Was your application accepted?
- Rent is paid on the first of every month.
The passive in every tense
To make any tense passive, put be into that tense and add the past participle. The continuous passive uses being; the perfect passive uses been. After a modal, use be + past participle.
In Amharic
ማንኛውንም ጊዜ passive ለማድረግ be ን በዚያ ጊዜ ያስቀምጡና past participle ይጨምሩ። የቀጣይ passive being ይጠቀማል፤ የፍጹም passive been ይጠቀማል። ከሞዳል በኋላ be + past participle ይጠቀሙ።
| Tense | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| present simple | am / is / are + p.p. | The trash is collected on Tuesdays. |
| present continuous | am / is / are being + p.p. | The elevator is being repaired. |
| past simple | was / were + p.p. | The house was built in 1998. |
| past continuous | was / were being + p.p. | The road was being cleaned when we arrived. |
| present perfect | has / have been + p.p. | Your package has been delivered. |
| past perfect | had been + p.p. | The tickets had been sold before we got there. |
| future (will) | will be + p.p. | You will be paid on Friday. |
| future (going to) | am / is / are going to be + p.p. | A new school is going to be built here. |
| modals | modal + be + p.p. | This form must be signed by a parent. |
- is cleaning (active, -ing) is not the same as is cleaned (passive, participle).
- Irregular verbs need the third form: was stolen, has been written, will be taken.
- Customers are being served in the order they arrived.
- Has the bill been paid yet?
- All visitors must be signed in at the front desk.
- The results will be sent by email.
by + agent, and the get-passive
Add by + the doer only when it is new or important information: The song was written by a famous singer. Don't add it when it says nothing: English is spoken in America (not by people). In everyday speech, get + past participle is often used for things that happen to us, good or bad: I get paid on Fridays. She got hired. He got hurt at work.
In Amharic
by + ሠሪውን የሚጨምሩት አዲስ ወይም አስፈላጊ መረጃ ሲሆን ብቻ ነው፦ The song was written by a famous singer። ምንም ካልጨመረ አያስገቡት፦ English is spoken in America (by people አያስፈልግም)። በዕለት ንግግር get + past participle ብዙ ጊዜ በእኛ ላይ ለሚደርሱ ጥሩም ሆኑ መጥፎ ነገሮች ይውላል፦ I get paid on Fridays። She got hired። He got hurt at work።
| get-passive | Meaning |
|---|---|
| get paid | receive your pay |
| get hired / get fired | be given a job / lose a job |
| get married / get divorced | marry / divorce |
| get hurt / get injured | be hurt |
| get stuck | be unable to move (in traffic, in an elevator) |
| get towed | your car is taken away |
- Use by only when the doer matters: The lease was signed by both tenants.
- The get-passive is informal; in formal writing use be.
- Questions and negatives with get use do: Did you get paid? I didn't get chosen.
- The new park was designed by local students.
- We got stuck in traffic on the 15.
- My cousin got hired at a casino last month.
- Did your car get towed?
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The package was delivered yesterday. | The passive needs be + past participle. | |
| The form must be signed. | After a modal: be + past participle. | |
| My phone was stolen. | Use the past participle, not the past simple. | |
| This house was built in 1990. | The passive cannot drop be (was). | |
| The rent is paid on the first. | -ing is active; the passive uses the past participle. | |
| English is spoken in America. | Leave out by + agent when it adds nothing. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
The office ___ every night.
My car ___ stolen last week. (one word)
Your order ___ tomorrow.
The windows were ___ (break) in the storm.
The new clinic ___ right now.
They have sent the letter. → The letter has ___ sent. (one word)
This form must ___ by a parent.
Informal: I ___ paid every Friday. (one word, not am)
Which sentence needs by + agent?
Someone repaired the roof. → The roof ___ repaired. (one word)