THE PASSIVE

In scientific text, we often want to create a sense of detachment from the object of our study and give an impersonal, objective account of a procedure. In cases like these, we often use the passive.

TO FORM THE PASSIVE

active verb
¯
part of the verb "to be" which agrees with the subject + past participle (= 3rd part of verb)

active passive

we use the passive ¾® the passive is used

tense	active	passive
simple present	we heat the water	the water is heated
present continuous	we are heating the water	the water is being heated
simple past	we heated the water	the water was heated
past continuous	we were heating the water	the water was being heated
present perfect	we have heated the water	the water has been heated
past perfect	we had heated the water	the water had been heated
future	we will heat the water	the water will be heated

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LINK: GUIDE TO GRAMMAR AND WRITING : THE PASSIVE VOICE
(pages by Charles Darling at Capital Community College which include information and an exercise)

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