B1 · متوسط فصل 7

Focusing on Actions with the Passive Voice

5 مجموع قواعد
60 مثال‌ها
6 دقیقه
قواعد این فصل تمرین سریع

Chapter in 30 Seconds

Shift the focus from who did it to what happened.

  • Construct passive sentences using the verb 'to be' and past participles.
  • Describe ongoing processes and historical events where the action is the star.
  • Identify when to include the person performing the action using 'by'.
Master the art of objective reporting and professional descriptions.

چی یاد می‌گیری

Ever wonder how to talk about events or give credit for achievements without always focusing on who did it? This chapter unlocks the power of the passive voice, helping you share news and highlight actions with confidence. You'll soon be reporting like a pro!

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. 1
    By the end you will be able to transform active sentences into the basic passive form using 'be' + V3.
  2. 2
    By the end you will be able to describe daily routines and facts using the Present Simple Passive.
  3. 3
    By the end you will be able to narrate historical events or past actions using the Past Simple Passive.
  4. 4
    By the end you will be able to assign responsibility or credit in a passive sentence using the 'by' agent.
  5. 5
    By the end you will be able to use passive reporting structures to share news or common beliefs.

راهنمای فصل

مرور کلی

Welcome to
Focusing on Actions with the Passive Voice,
your guide to mastering a truly versatile aspect of B1 English grammar! Have you ever wanted to talk about an event or achievement without always having to say who was responsible? Perhaps you’ve read a news report and noticed how things are described in a very objective way.
That’s the magic of the passive voice. This chapter is designed to help you shift your focus from the doer to the action itself, giving you more flexibility and sophistication in your English.
By understanding how to use be with a past participle (V3), you'll unlock the ability to describe what happens to things (Present Simple Passive) and what happened to things (Past Simple Passive). We’ll also explore how to still give credit with by when the doer is important, and how professional English uses the passive voice for reporting news and rumors. This will significantly improve your ability to communicate clearly and confidently, allowing you to sound more natural and professional in various situations.
Get ready to enhance your English focusing on actions with the passive voice!

این گرامر چطور کار می‌کنه

At its heart, the passive voice is about changing the focus of a sentence. Instead of saying *who* did something (the active voice), you focus on *what* was done or *what* something happened to. The fundamental building block for all passive sentences is the auxiliary verb 'be' followed by the past participle (V3) of the main verb.
For example,
The car is repaired
or
The letter was written.
Let’s look at how this core structure adapts across different situations. For actions happening regularly or states of being, we use the Present Simple Passive. This is formed with am/is/are + V3.
If a problem with your car is fixed every year, you might say,
The engine is checked annually.
Here, the focus is on the engine and the regular action, not necessarily who checks it. When we talk about past actions where the doer is unknown, unimportant, or obvious, we use the Past Simple Passive. This uses was/were + V3.
For instance,
The ancient city was discovered in the desert
focuses on the city and the discovery, not who discovered it.
Sometimes, even in the passive voice, the doer *is* important. In these cases, you can give credit with by by adding 'by' followed by the agent at the end of the sentence.
The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci
still highlights the painting first, but acknowledges the artist.
This is particularly useful when the action is more significant than the actor, but the actor is still noteworthy. Finally, the passive voice is extremely common for reporting news and rumors. This allows for objectivity and formality, often when the source isn't clear or needs to be generalized.
Phrases like
It is believed that...
or
The new policy was announced yesterday
are perfect examples, focusing on the information itself rather than the speaker or announcer.

اشتباهات رایج

Learning the passive voice can sometimes lead to a few common errors. Let's make sure you avoid them!
  1. 1✗ Incorrect form of 'be' or forgetting it
* ✗ The book written last year.
* ✓ The book was written last year.
* *Explanation:* You must always include a form of the verb 'be' (am, is, are, was, were) in passive sentences.
  1. 1✗ Using the wrong past participle
* ✗ The report is wrote by my colleague.
* ✓ The report is written by my colleague.
* *Explanation:* Remember to use the correct past participle (V3) form of the verb, not the past simple form.
  1. 1✗ Confusing active and passive when using 'by'
* ✗ She was cooking the dinner by her.
* ✓ The dinner was cooked by her.
* *Explanation:* The agent with 'by' comes after the passive verb structure, indicating the person who performed the action. The original sentence was trying to force a passive structure onto an active meaning.

مکالمات واقعی

Here’s how the passive voice sounds in everyday chats:

A

A

Hey, what happened to the old building on Elm Street?
B

B

Oh, it was demolished last month. A new apartment complex is being built there now.
A

A

Did you hear about the new art exhibit?
B

B

Yes, I did! I heard a lot of the sculptures were created by local artists. It is said to be very impressive.
A

A

This report looks great. Who put it together?
B

B

Actually, the data was collected by the whole team, and then the final presentation was designed by Sarah.

سؤالات رایج

Q

Why is English focusing on actions with the passive voice important for B1 learners?

It's crucial for understanding news, formal reports, and sounding more sophisticated. It allows you to describe situations where the action or result is more important than who did it, which is very common in English.

Q

When should I definitely use by in a passive sentence?

Use by when the agent (the person or thing doing the action) is important or interesting to know, but you still want to keep the focus on the action or the recipient of the action. If the agent is unknown, unimportant, or obvious, you can omit by.

Q

Can the passive voice be used in questions?

Absolutely! Just like active sentences, passive sentences can be turned into questions. For example:

Was the car repaired?
or
Is the message understood?

Q

How can I practice using the passive voice effectively?

Try describing processes (e.g.,

How coffee is made
), summarizing news articles, or rewriting active sentences you find into passive ones. Listening to news broadcasts also helps you hear it naturally.

بافت فرهنگی

In English, the passive voice is more prevalent in formal, academic, scientific, and journalistic writing. It helps maintain objectivity and can make reports sound more authoritative by depersonalizing statements. For instance,
Mistakes were made
sounds more formal and less accusatory than You made mistakes. In informal, everyday conversations, the active voice is generally preferred, as it’s more direct and personal.
Overusing the passive voice in casual talk can sometimes make you sound overly formal or even evasive, so it's all about choosing the right tool for the right situation!

مثال‌های کلیدی (8)

1

The email **is sent** every Monday morning.

ایمیل هر دوشنبه صبح ارسال می‌شود.

حالت مجهول: ساختار اصلی (be + V3)
2

The old castle **was built** in the 12th century.

قلعه قدیمی در قرن دوازدهم ساخته شد.

حالت مجهول: ساختار اصلی (be + V3)
3

The coffee is brewed fresh every morning.

Der Kaffee wird jeden Morgen frisch gebrüht.

حالت مجهول در انگلیسی: چه اتفاقی برای چیزها می‌افتد (مجهول حال ساده)
4

Books are read in the library.

Bücher werden in der Bibliothek gelesen.

حالت مجهول در انگلیسی: چه اتفاقی برای چیزها می‌افتد (مجهول حال ساده)
5

The email `was sent` an hour ago.

ایمیل یک ساعت پیش ارسال شد.

ماضی ساده مجهول: چه اتفاقی برای آن افتاد؟
6

My bike `was stolen` from outside the cafe.

دوچرخه‌ام از جلوی کافه دزدیده شد.

ماضی ساده مجهول: چه اتفاقی برای آن افتاد؟
7

The viral video was shared by millions of users.

ویدیوی وایرال توسط میلیون‌ها کاربر به اشتراک گذاشته شد.

حالت مجهول: اعتباربخشی با 'توسط'
8

This email was sent by a bot.

این ایمیل توسط یک ربات ارسال شد.

حالت مجهول: اعتباربخشی با 'توسط'

نکات و ترفندها (4)

💡

چطور جمله‌ی مجهول رو تشخیص بدیم؟

ببین یه فرم از فعل to be (مثل is, was, are, were, been, being) حتماً اومده باشه و بلافاصله بعدش فعل به صورت اسم مفعول (V3) باشه. اگه این دو تا رو ندیدی، احتمالاً مجهول نیست. به همین راحتی!
The car is washed.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: حالت مجهول: ساختار اصلی (be + V3)
🎯

The Zombie Test

If you can add 'by zombies' after the verb and the sentence still makes sense, it's passive! (e.g., 'The house is cleaned... by zombies').
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: حالت مجهول در انگلیسی: چه اتفاقی برای چیزها می‌افتد (مجهول حال ساده)
💡

دنبال "Was/Were" بگرد

همیشه حواست باشه قبل از فعل اصلی، حتماً was یا were باشه. اگه نباشه، یعنی داری جمله رو به صورت معلوم میگی، یا یه اشتباه گرامری کردی!
The door was opened.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: ماضی ساده مجهول: چه اتفاقی برای آن افتاد؟
⚠️

فرق بین By و With

فاعل (اون کسی که کارو انجام میده) رو با ابزار قاطی نکن. 'The cake was cut by Jim' یعنی جیم این کارو کرده. ولی 'The cake was cut with a knife' یعنی با چاقو بریده شده.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: حالت مجهول: اعتباربخشی با 'توسط'

واژگان کلیدی (6)

manufactured made in a factory discovered found for the first time announced made known publicly organized planned and coordinated published printed for sale believed thought to be true

Real-World Preview

palette

The Art Gallery Tour

Review Summary

  • Subject + to be + Past Participle (V3)
  • am/is/are + V3
  • was/were + V3
  • ... + by + person
  • It is + said/thought/reported + that...

اشتباهات رایج

Many learners forget the verb 'to be'. You always need a form of 'be' (is, are, was, were) to make a passive sentence.

Wrong: The movie watched by me yesterday.
صحیح: The movie was watched by me yesterday.

You must use the Past Participle (V3), not the Past Simple (V2). 'Wrote' is V2; 'written' is V3.

Wrong: The song was wrote by her.
صحیح: The song was written by her.

In English, we use 'by' to indicate the person who performed the action, not 'from' or 'of'.

Wrong: The book was written from Mark Twain.
صحیح: The book was written by Mark Twain.

قواعد این فصل (5)

1

حالت مجهول: ساختار اصلی (be + V3)

B1
یاد گرفتن ساختار be + V3 بهت کمک می‌کنه تا تمرکز جمله رو عوض کنی و خیلی مؤثرتر حرف بزنی. این سه تا «قدرت» بهت میده: «تغییر تمرکز»، «حذف فاعل» و «ارتباط مؤثر».
The email **is sent** every Monday morning.
12 مثال‌ها
2

حالت مجهول در انگلیسی: چه اتفاقی برای چیزها می‌افتد (مجهول حال ساده)

B1
Shift focus to the action's recipient with the Present Simple Passive for clarity and formality.
The coffee is brewed fresh every morning.
12 مثال‌ها
3

ماضی ساده مجهول: چه اتفاقی برای آن افتاد؟

B1
Past Simple Passive بهت کمک می‌کنه روی «کاری که روی فاعل انجام شد» تمرکز کنی. یه جورایی اهمیت outcome یا «نتیجه» کارو بیشتر نشون میده.
The email `was sent` an hour ago.
12 مثال‌ها
4

حالت مجهول: اعتباربخشی با 'توسط'

B1
وقتی میخوای تو یه جمله مجهول بگی کی کارو انجام داده ولی مرکز توجه نتیجه کار باشه، از by و بعدش فاعل استفاده کن. این سه تا مفهومو یادت باشه: «فاعل», «نتیجه», «شناساندن».
The new bridge was designed by a famous architect.
12 مثال‌ها
5

چه زمانی از ساختار مجهول استفاده کنیم (گزارش اخبار و شایعات)

B1
برای اینکه موقع گزارش اخبار حرفه‌ای و «بی‌طرف» به نظر بیای، از این ساختار مجهول استفاده کن. تمرکزت هم روی خود «خبر» می‌مونه.
`It is said that the new coffee shop has amazing l...
12 مثال‌ها

Next Steps

You've unlocked a major level of English fluency! Using the passive voice makes your writing sound sophisticated and objective. Keep practicing!

Read a short news article and highlight every passive sentence.

Describe how your favorite food is made using the Present Simple Passive.

Continue to: چطور مثل یه نیتیو، حرفه‌ای و روون انگلیسی صحبت کنیم؟

تمرین سریع (10)

کدوم جمله صحیحه؟

جمله از نظر گرامری صحیح رو انتخاب کن:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: He is thought to be living in Paris.
ساختار شخصی نیاز به 'is thought to be' داره.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: چه زمانی از ساختار مجهول استفاده کنیم (گزارش اخبار و شایعات)

Find the mistake in this sentence.

Find and fix the mistake:

The books is written by a famous author.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: is
'Books' is plural, so it should be 'are written'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: حالت مجهول در انگلیسی: چه اتفاقی برای چیزها می‌افتد (مجهول حال ساده)

اشتباه جمله رو پیدا کن و درستش کن.

Find and fix the mistake:

The books was read by many students.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: The books were read by many students.
Books جمعه، پس باید به جای was از were استفاده کنیم.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: ماضی ساده مجهول: چه اتفاقی برای آن افتاد؟

جای خالی رو با حرف اضافه و فاعل درست پر کن.

The Harry Potter series was written ___ J.K. Rowling.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: by
برای معرفی کسی که کارو انجام داده (فاعل)، از 'by' استفاده می‌کنیم.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: حالت مجهول: اعتباربخشی با 'توسط'

شکل صحیح فعل "to be" را برای تکمیل جمله مجهول انتخاب کن.

The new library ___ opened next month.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: will be
چون عمل «ماه آینده» اتفاق می‌افته، به فرم مجهول آینده ساده نیاز داریم که will be به اضافه V3 هست.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: حالت مجهول: ساختار اصلی (be + V3)

Complete the sentence with the correct form of the Present Simple Passive.

The mail ___ (deliver) every morning at 9 AM.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: is delivered
'The mail' is singular, so we use 'is' + the past participle 'delivered'.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: حالت مجهول در انگلیسی: چه اتفاقی برای چیزها می‌افتد (مجهول حال ساده)

کدوم جمله از نظر گرامری درسته؟

Choose the best sentence:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: The window was broken by a boy.
'By' برای شخص (پسر) استفاده میشه. برای ابزار (سنگ)، باید از 'with' استفاده کنیم.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: حالت مجهول: اعتباربخشی با 'توسط'

اشتباه جمله را پیدا و اصلاح کن.

Find and fix the mistake:

The concert cancelled because of the rain.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: The concert was cancelled because of the rain.
فعل be از جمله اصلی جا افتاده. چون 'cancelled' به یه رویداد گذشته اشاره داره، 'was' شکل صحیح گذشته ساده 'to be' هست.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: حالت مجهول: ساختار اصلی (be + V3)

اشتباه رو پیدا کن و درستش کن.

Find and fix the mistake:

The player is believed have cheated in the game.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: The player is believed to have cheated.
برای یه عمل در گذشته توی ساختار شخصی، از 'to have + اسم مفعول' استفاده می‌کنیم.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: چه زمانی از ساختار مجهول استفاده کنیم (گزارش اخبار و شایعات)

جای خالی رو با ساختار صحیح پر کن.

It ___ that the movie is based on a true story.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: is said
برای گزارش مجهول غیرشخصی از 'It is said that' استفاده می‌کنیم.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: چه زمانی از ساختار مجهول استفاده کنیم (گزارش اخبار و شایعات)

Score: /10

سوالات رایج (6)

پایه و اساس ساختار مجهول یه شکل از فعل to be (مثل is, was, are) هست که بعدش اسم مفعول (V3) فعل اصلی میاد. مثلاً:
The book is read.
ما از مجهول استفاده می‌کنیم وقتی که کسی یا چیزی که کار رو انجام میده (فاعل) معلوم نیست، مهم نیست، یا وقتی می‌خوایم روی خود عمل یا گیرنده‌ی عمل تأکید کنیم. مثلاً:
The window was broken.
You can, but you shouldn't. Only use by if the person doing the action adds important information. 'The book is written by Steve' is good. 'The room is cleaned by a cleaner' is redundant.
Use is made of when you can still see the original material (e.g., 'The chair is made of wood'). Use is made from when the material has changed (e.g., 'Paper is made from wood').
ایده اصلی اینه که روی عملی که تو گذشته اتفاق افتاده و «چیزی که روی فاعل انجام شده» تمرکز کنی، نه اینکه چه کسی اون کارو انجام داده. مثلاً
The car was repaired
روی ماشین و تعمیر شدنش تاکید داره، نه مکانیک.
با ترکیب گذشته ساده فعل to be (was برای فاعل مفرد، were برای فاعل جمع) با شکل سوم فعل اصلی (V3). مثلاً
The report was written
یا
The gifts were given
.
فصل قبلی
Advanced Verb Patterns and Meaning Changes
فصل بعدی
چطور مثل یه نیتیو، حرفه‌ای و روون انگلیسی صحبت کنیم؟
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