Anglais • Seconde

Forming the Passive Voice
Structure and Applications

Structures & Exercices
Passive: be + past participle
Active: Subject + Verb + Object → Passive: Object + be + past participle + by + subject
Règles fondamentales
Passive Structure
S + am/is/are + past participle (+by + agent)
Ex: The book was read by John
Active to Passive
Subject → Object, Object → Subject
Ex: John reads the book → The book is read by John
Past Participles
Regular: verb + -ed, Irregular: learned separately
Ex: write → written, do → done
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Définition : La voix passive met l'objet en sujet de la phrase.
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Règle : Passé composé avec "be" + participe passé.
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Utilisation : Quand l'action est plus importante que l'auteur.
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Application : Rapports scientifiques, instructions, formalités.
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Conseil : Toujours utiliser le participe passé (pas l'infinitif)
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Attention : Conserver le temps verbal dans la transformation
Astuce : L'agent peut être omis si non important
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Méthode : Mémoriser les verbes irréguliers (past participles)
Exercice 1
Transformez: "They build houses" → passive voice
Exercice 2
Transformez: "She writes letters" → passive voice
Exercice 3
Transformez: "The company hired new employees" → passive voice
Exercice 4
Transformez: "Someone broke the window" → passive voice
Exercice 5
Transformez: "We are reading a book" → passive voice
Exercice 6
Transformez: "The teacher corrected the exercises" → passive voice
Exercice 7
Transformez: "They will finish the project" → passive voice
Exercice 8
Transformez: "The police arrested the suspect" → passive voice
Exercice 9
Transformez: "The artist painted this picture" → passive voice
Exercice 10
Transformez: "Scientists discovered a new planet" → passive voice
Corrigé : Exercices 1 à 5
1 "They build houses" → passive
Définition :

Passive voice : Mettre l'objet "houses" en sujet de la phrase.

Méthode :
  1. Identifier le sujet ("they"), verbe ("build"), objet ("houses")
  2. Transformer: objet → sujet, sujet → agent (après "by")
  3. Appliquer la structure passive: be + past participle
  4. Conserver le temps: present simple → am/is/are + past participle
Étape 1 : Analyser la phrase active

"They build houses" → Sujet: "they", Verbe: "build", Objet: "houses"

Étape 2 : Transformer la structure

Objet "houses" devient sujet → "Houses are..."

Étape 3 : Choisir la forme de "be"

"Houses" est pluriel → utiliser "are"

Étape 4 : Former le past participle

"Build" → "built" (verbe irrégulier)

Étape 5 : Ajouter l'agent (optionnel)

"by them" (correspond à "they" mais au datif)

Réponse finale :

"Houses are built (by them)"

Règles appliquées :

Structure passive: S + am/is/are + past participle

Verbe irrégulier: build → built

Temps conservé: Present simple → are + past participle

2 "She writes letters" → passive
Définition :

Passive voice : Mettre l'objet "letters" en sujet de la phrase.

Étape 1 : Analyser la phrase active

"She writes letters" → Sujet: "she", Verbe: "writes", Objet: "letters"

Étape 2 : Transformer la structure

Objet "letters" devient sujet → "Letters are..."

Étape 3 : Choisir la forme de "be"

"Letters" est pluriel → utiliser "are"

Étape 4 : Former le past participle

"Write" → "written" (verbe irrégulier)

Étape 5 : Former la phrase passive

"Letters are written (by her)"

Réponse finale :

"Letters are written (by her)"

Règles appliquées :

Structure passive: S + am/is/are + past participle

Verbe irrégulier: write → written

Temps conservé: Present simple → are + past participle

3 "The company hired new employees" → passive
Définition :

Passive voice : Mettre l'objet "new employees" en sujet de la phrase.

Étape 1 : Analyser la phrase active

"The company hired new employees" → Sujet: "the company", Verbe: "hired", Objet: "new employees"

Étape 2 : Transformer la structure

Objet "new employees" devient sujet → "New employees were..."

Étape 3 : Choisir la forme de "be"

"New employees" est pluriel → utiliser "were"

Étape 4 : Former le past participle

"Hire" → "hired" (verbe régulier: hire + -ed)

Étape 5 : Former la phrase passive

"New employees were hired (by the company)"

Réponse finale :

"New employees were hired (by the company)"

Règles appliquées :

Structure passive: S + was/were + past participle

Verbe régulier: hire → hired

Temps conservé: Past simple → were + past participle

4 "Someone broke the window" → passive
Définition :

Passive voice : Mettre l'objet "the window" en sujet de la phrase.

Étape 1 : Analyser la phrase active

"Someone broke the window" → Sujet: "someone", Verbe: "broke", Objet: "the window"

Étape 2 : Transformer la structure

Objet "the window" devient sujet → "The window was..."

Étape 3 : Choisir la forme de "be"

"The window" est singulier → utiliser "was"

Étape 4 : Former le past participle

"Break" → "broken" (verbe irrégulier)

Étape 5 : Former la phrase passive

"The window was broken (by someone)"

Réponse finale :

"The window was broken (by someone)"

Règles appliquées :

Structure passive: S + was/were + past participle

Verbe irrégulier: break → broken

Temps conservé: Past simple → was + past participle

5 "We are reading a book" → passive
Définition :

Passive voice : Mettre l'objet "a book" en sujet de la phrase.

Étape 1 : Analyser la phrase active

"We are reading a book" → Sujet: "we", Verbe: "are reading", Objet: "a book"

Étape 2 : Transformer la structure

Objet "a book" devient sujet → "A book is being..."

Étape 3 : Choisir la forme de "be"

"A book" est singulier → utiliser "is"

Étape 4 : Former la structure passive continue

"Is being read" (présent continuous passive)

Étape 5 : Former le past participle

"Read" → "read" (verbe irrégulier: read-read-read)

Réponse finale :

"A book is being read (by us)"

Règles appliquées :

Present continuous passive: is/are + being + past participle

Verbe irrégulier: read → read (participe passé identique)

Temps conservé: Present continuous → is being + past participle

Corrigé : Exercices 6 à 10
6 "The teacher corrected the exercises" → passive
Définition :

Passive voice : Mettre l'objet "the exercises" en sujet de la phrase.

Étape 1 : Analyser la phrase active

"The teacher corrected the exercises" → Sujet: "the teacher", Verbe: "corrected", Objet: "the exercises"

Étape 2 : Transformer la structure

Objet "the exercises" devient sujet → "The exercises were..."

Étape 3 : Choisir la forme de "be"

"The exercises" est pluriel → utiliser "were"

Étape 4 : Former le past participle

"Correct" → "corrected" (verbe régulier: correct + -ed)

Étape 5 : Former la phrase passive

"The exercises were corrected (by the teacher)"

Réponse finale :

"The exercises were corrected (by the teacher)"

Règles appliquées :

Structure passive: S + was/were + past participle

Verbe régulier: correct → corrected

Temps conservé: Past simple → were + past participle

7 "They will finish the project" → passive
Définition :

Passive voice : Mettre l'objet "the project" en sujet de la phrase.

Étape 1 : Analyser la phrase active

"They will finish the project" → Sujet: "they", Verbe: "will finish", Objet: "the project"

Étape 2 : Transformer la structure

Objet "the project" devient sujet → "The project will be..."

Étape 3 : Choisir la forme de "be"

"Will be" pour le futur

Étape 4 : Former le past participle

"Finish" → "finished" (verbe régulier: finish + -ed)

Étape 5 : Former la phrase passive

"The project will be finished (by them)"

Réponse finale :

"The project will be finished (by them)"

Règles appliquées :

Future passive: will + be + past participle

Verbe régulier: finish → finished

Temps conservé: Future simple → will be + past participle

8 "The police arrested the suspect" → passive
Définition :

Passive voice : Mettre l'objet "the suspect" en sujet de la phrase.

Étape 1 : Analyser la phrase active

"The police arrested the suspect" → Sujet: "the police", Verbe: "arrested", Objet: "the suspect"

Étape 2 : Transformer la structure

Objet "the suspect" devient sujet → "The suspect was..."

Étape 3 : Choisir la forme de "be"

"The suspect" est singulier → utiliser "was"

Étape 4 : Former le past participle

"Arrest" → "arrested" (verbe régulier: arrest + -ed)

Étape 5 : Former la phrase passive

"The suspect was arrested (by the police)"

Réponse finale :

"The suspect was arrested (by the police)"

Règles appliquées :

Structure passive: S + was/were + past participle

Verbe régulier: arrest → arrested

Temps conservé: Past simple → was + past participle

9 "The artist painted this picture" → passive
Définition :

Passive voice : Mettre l'objet "this picture" en sujet de la phrase.

Étape 1 : Analyser la phrase active

"The artist painted this picture" → Sujet: "the artist", Verbe: "painted", Objet: "this picture"

Étape 2 : Transformer la structure

Objet "this picture" devient sujet → "This picture was..."

Étape 3 : Choisir la forme de "be"

"This picture" est singulier → utiliser "was"

Étape 4 : Former le past participle

"Paint" → "painted" (verbe régulier: paint + -ed)

Étape 5 : Former la phrase passive

"This picture was painted (by the artist)"

Réponse finale :

"This picture was painted (by the artist)"

Règles appliquées :

Structure passive: S + was/were + past participle

Verbe régulier: paint → painted

Temps conservé: Past simple → was + past participle

10 "Scientists discovered a new planet" → passive
Définition :

Passive voice : Mettre l'objet "a new planet" en sujet de la phrase.

Étape 1 : Analyser la phrase active

"Scientists discovered a new planet" → Sujet: "scientists", Verbe: "discovered", Objet: "a new planet"

Étape 2 : Transformer la structure

Objet "a new planet" devient sujet → "A new planet was..."

Étape 3 : Choisir la forme de "be"

"A new planet" est singulier → utiliser "was"

Étape 4 : Former le past participle

"Discover" → "discovered" (verbe régulier: discover + -ed)

Étape 5 : Former la phrase passive

"A new planet was discovered (by scientists)"

Réponse finale :

"A new planet was discovered (by scientists)"

Règles appliquées :

Structure passive: S + was/were + past participle

Verbe régulier: discover → discovered

Temps conservé: Past simple → was + past participle

Forming the passive Passive Voice