Passive Voice

Kalimat pasif atau passive voice digunakan untuk menunjukkan ketertarikan pada seseorang atau objek yang dikenai tindakan dan bukan seseorang atau objek yang melakukan tindakan. Jadi, hal atau orang yang terpenting akan menjadi subjek kalimat.

Contoh

• The passive voice is used frequently. (= kita tertarik dengan kalimat pasif, bukan siapa yang menggunakannya.)
• The house was built in 1654. (= kita tertarik dengan rumahnya, bukan siapa yang membangunnya.)
• The road is being repaired. (= kita tertarik dengan jalannya, bukan siapa yang melakukan perbaikan.)

Terkadang, kita menggunakan kalimat pasif karena kita tidak mengetahui atau tidak ingin menyatakan siapa yang melakukan tindakan.

        Contoh

• I noticed that a window had been left open.
• Every year thousands of people are killed on our roads.
• All the cookies have been eaten.
• My car has been stolen!

Kalimat pasif sering digunakan dalam teks formal. Mengubahnya menjadi kalimat aktif akan membuat tulisan Anda lebih jelas dan lebih mudah dibaca.

Pasif	Aktif
A great deal of meaning is conveyed by a few well-chosen words.	A few well-chosen words convey a great deal of meaning.
Our planet is wrapped in a mass of gases.	A mass of gases wrap around our planet.
Waste materials are disposed of in a variety of ways.	The city disposes of waste materials in a variety of ways.

Jika ingin mengatakan siapa atau apa yang melakukan suatu tindakan dalam kalimat pasif, kita menggunakan preposisi by. Saat kita mengetahui siapa yang melakukan tindakan itu dan tertarik dengan subjeknya, lebih baik kita mengubahnya ke kalimat aktif.

Pasif	Aktif
"A Hard Day's Night" was written by the Beatles.	The Beatles wrote "A Hard Day's Night".
The movie ET was directed by Spielberg.	Spielberg directed the movie ET.
This house was built by my father.	My father built this house.

    Membentuk passive voice

Kalimat pasif dalam bahasa Inggris terdiri dari dua unsur:

bentuk kata kerja to be yang sesuai + past participle

Positif	Negatif	Pertanyaan	Pertanyaan Negatif
The house was built in 1899.	The house wasn't built in 1899.	Was the house built in 1899?	Wasn't the house built in 1899?
These houses were built in 1899.	These houses weren't built in 1899.	Were these houses built in 1899?	Weren't these houses built in 1899?

        To clean, passive voice

Subjek	+ to be (disesuaikan)	+ past participle	+ sisa kalimat
Simple present
The house	is	cleaned	every day.
Present continuous
The house	is being	cleaned	at the moment.
Simple past
The house	was	cleaned	yesterday.
Past continuous
The house	was being	cleaned	last week.
Present perfect
The house	has been	cleaned	since you left.
Past perfect
The house	had been	cleaned	before they arrived.
Future
The house	will be	cleaned	next week.
Future continuous
The house	will be being	cleaned	tomorrow.
Present conditional
The house	would be	cleaned	if they had visitors.
Past conditional
The house	would have been	cleaned	if it had been dirty.
Inifinitive
The house	must be	cleaned	before we arrive.

    Passive voice dengan infinitive

Kalimat pasif infinitive digunakan setelah modal kata kerja (modal verb), dan kata kerja lainnya biasanya diikuti oleh infinitive.

        Contoh

•             You have to be tested on your English grammar.
•             John might be promoted next year.
•             She wants to be invited to the party.
•             I expect to be surprised on my birthday.
•             You may be disappointed.

    Passive voice dengan gerund

Gerund digunakan setelah preposisi, dan kata kerja biasanya diikuti oleh gerund.

        Contoh

•             I remember being taught to drive.
•             The children are excited about being taken to the zoo.
•             The children are excited to be taken to the zoo.
•             Most film stars hate being interviewed.
•             Most film stars hate to be interviewed.
•             Poodles like to be pampered.
•             Poodles like being pampered.

    Menggunakan 'to be born'

To be born adalah bentuk pasif dan biasanya digunakan dalam bentuk past tense. Namun, dalam beberapa kasus, present atau future tense dapat digunakan.

        Contoh

•             I was born in 1976.
•             Where were you born?
•             Around 100 babies are born in this hospital every week.
•             We don't know on exactly which day the baby will be born.

Terkadang, kalimat pasif dibentuk menggunakan kata kerja to get atau to have, dan bukan to be. Berikut halaman terpisah yang membahas tentang cara-cara alternatif untuk membentuk kalimat pasif.