ساختار passive voice بسیار ساده می باشد:
Subject +Auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past participle)
در ساختار فوق منظور از auxiliary verb همان helping verb می باشد.
یاد آوری : هنگامی که فعل be در غالب فعل کمکی به کار می رود (می دانید که فعل be فعل اصلی نیز می باشد) دو هدف داریم:
- کمک به فعل اصلی برای نشان دادن تداوم و پیوستگی عمل (make continuous tense)
- کمک به فعل اصلی برای نشان دادن تاثیر پذیری آن (make the passive)
چند مثال:
| main verb (past participle) | auxiliary verb (to be) | subject | |
| .by everyone | drunk | is | Water |
| .by this company | employed | are | 100people |
| .in euro | paid | am | I |
| .in dollars | not paid | are | We |
| ? in yen | paid | they | Are |
چه موقع از passive voice استفاده کنیم:
هنگامی که می خواهیم active object یا همان subject را مهم جلوه دهیم. هنگامی که passive object را نمی شناسیم.
مثال:
| object | verb | subject | |
| by Lee Harvey Oswald | was killed | President Kennedy | در اینجا میخواهیم active object یا President Kennedy را مهم نشان دهیم. |
| ? | has been stolen | My wallet | ما passive object را نمی شناسیم. |
نکته: همانطور که گفتیم معمولا برای معرفی passive object یا شی مفعول از لغت by استفاده می کنیم. به جمله زیر توجه کنید:
He was killed with a gun.
چرا در این جمله از by استفاده نکردیم؟
به این دلیل که در اینجا gun نقش Passive object یا همان Active subject را ایفا نمی کند، چرا که این تفنگ نبوده که او را کشته بلکه تفنگ توسط شخص دیگری به کاربرده شده است. در اصل می شود:
He was killed by somebody with a gun.
صرف Passive voice :
| to be washed | infinitive | |
| .It is washed | present | simple |
| .It was washed | past | |
| .It will be washed | future | |
| .It would be washed | conditional | |
| .It is being washed | present | continuous |
| .It was being washed | past | |
| .It will be being washed | future | |
| .It would be being washed | conditional | |
| It has been washed | present | perfect simple |
| .It had been washed | past | |
| .It will have been washed | future | |
| .It would have been washed | conditional | |
| .It has been being washed | present | perfect continuous |
| .It had been being washed | past | |
| .It will have been being washed | future | |
| .It would have been being washed | conditional | |
