Part 1 — The passive voice
Forming the passive
- Active
- Subject + verb + object: ‘The government introduced the policy.’
- Passive
- Object + be + past participle (+ by + subject): ‘The policy was introduced (by the government).’
- Tense changes
- Present: ‘is introduced’. Past: ‘was introduced’. Present perfect: ‘has been introduced’. Future: ‘will be introduced’. Modal: ‘should be introduced’.
When the passive is the right tool
Active — wrong tone for academic register
People speak Spanish in over twenty countries. You should adopt new policies. They built the bridge in 1932.
Passive — fits the register
Spanish is spoken in over twenty countries. New policies should be adopted. The bridge was built in 1932.
Part 2 — Reported speech
The tense-shift table
- Direct: present simple → reported: past simple
- “I work in finance.” → ‘She said she worked in finance.’
- Direct: present continuous → reported: past continuous
- “I’m studying.” → ‘He said he was studying.’
- Direct: past simple → reported: past perfect
- “I went home early.” → ‘She said she had gone home early.’
- Direct: will → reported: would
- “I’ll be there.” → ‘He said he would be there.’
- Direct: can → reported: could
- “I can help.” → ‘She said she could help.’
- Direct: must → reported: had to
- “I must leave.” → ‘He said he had to leave.’
Reported questions — drop the question word order
Wrong
She asked me where do I live. He asked when did I arrive.
Right
She asked me where I lived. He asked when I had arrived.
In reported questions, you switch back to statement word order (subject + verb), and apply the same tense-shift.
Pick the correct form
- 1
Convert the active sentence to the passive: “Researchers have discovered a new species.”
Pick one. You'll see why straight away.
- 2
Convert to reported speech: She said: “I will call you tomorrow.”
Pick one. You'll see why straight away.