La voz pasiva
Funciones de la voz pasiva
La voz pasiva se utiliza para mostrar interés por la persona o cosa que es objeto de una acción, en lugar de la persona o cosa que realiza dicha acción. Dicho de otro modo, la persona o cosa más importante pasa a ser el sujeto de la oración.
Ejemplos
- The passive voice is used frequently. (= nos interesa la voz pasiva, no quién la usa.)
- The house was built in 1654. (= nos interesa la casa, no quién la construyó.)
- The road is being repaired. (= nos interesa la carretera, no quién la está arreglando.)
En ocasiones empleamos la voz pasiva porque desconocemos o no queremos mencionar quién realizó la acción.
Ejemplos
- 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!
La voz pasiva suele utilizarse en textos formales. Cambiar a la voz activa hará que lo que escribes resulte más claro y fácil de leer.
| Pasiva | Activa |
|---|---|
| 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. |
Si queremos decir quién o qué realiza la acción en una construcción en pasiva, empleamos la preposición "by". Cuando sabemos quién realizó la acción y el sujeto nos interesa, siempre es mejor optar por la voz activa.
| Pasiva | Activa |
|---|---|
| "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. |
Consulta más información sobre la voz pasiva y sus equivalentes en activa para todos los tiempos verbales del inglés.
Formación de la voz pasiva
En inglés, la voz pasiva está compuesta por dos elementos:
la forma apropiada del verbo "to be" + "past participle"
| Afirmativa | Negativa | Interrogativa | Interrogativa negativa |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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", voz pasiva
| Sujeto | + "to be" (conjugado) | + "past participle" | + resto de la oración |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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. |
| Inifinitivo | |||
| The house | must be | cleaned | before we arrive. |
La voz pasiva con infinitivos
El infinitivo en la voz pasiva se emplea detrás de los verbos modales y de la mayoría de los verbos que normalmente van seguidos de infinitivo.
Ejemplos
- 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.
La voz pasiva con el "gerund"
El "gerund" en la voz pasiva se utiliza después de las preposiciones y verbos que normalmente van seguidos de "gerund".
Ejemplos
- 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.
Uso de "to be born"
"To be born" es una formación pasiva y suele emplearse en pasado. Sin embargo, en algunos casos, el presente o el futuro resultan apropiados.
Ejemplos
- 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.
En ocasiones, la voz pasiva se forma utilizando los verbos "to get" o "to have" en lugar del verbo "to be". Estas particularidades se tratan en una página aparte, modos alternativos de formar la voz pasiva.