The passive: present simple and present continuous

🔊 المعلّمة تقرأ لك

« Schools are regularly visited by inspectors. » Who does the action? The inspectors. Yet the sentence begins with the schools — because the schools are what the writer is talking about. That is the passive voice: the one who receives the action comes first. You already know the passive; this lesson makes sure you can use it in the present simple and the present continuous, to describe a process or what is going on. So how do you build a passive sentence — and when do you need by?

🎓في نهاية هذا الدرس ستكون قادرا على:

التعرّف على المبني للمجهول في الحاضر البسيط: ⁦am, is, are + past participle⁩
تكوين المبني للمجهول في الحاضر المستمرّ: ⁦am, is, are + being + past participle⁩
التحويل من المبني للمعلوم إلى المبني للمجهول وعكسه، مع ذكر الفاعل بـ ⁦by⁩ أو حذفه
وصف مراحل عملية بالمبني للمجهول، مثل مراحل كتابة موضوع إنشائيّ

🔑يفترض هذا الدرس أنّك تتقن:

الحاضر البسيط والحاضر المستمرّ
التصريف الثالث للأفعال المنتظمة والشاذّة ⁦(past participle)⁩
الفاعل والمفعول به في الجملة
أدوات الترتيب ⁦first, then, finally⁩

1. The present simple passive: am, is, are + past participle

في المبني للمعلوم يقوم الفاعل بالفعل، وفي المبني للمجهول يتلقّاه. يُبنى المجهول في الحاضر البسيط بـ ⁦am, is, are⁩ والتصريف الثالث للفعل، ويُذكر الفاعل عند الحاجة بـ ⁦by⁩.

In an active sentence, the subject does the action: « Parents closely watch standards at schools. » In a passive sentence, the subject receives the action: « Standards at schools are closely watched by parents. » The present simple passive is made of am, is, are + the past participle of the verb: is forged, are watched, are visited. The doer of the action — the agent — can be added with by: by parents, by inspectors. When the agent does not matter, it is simply left out.

Three passive sentences about schools in Britain

1. Standards at schools are closely watched by parents. 2. Schools are regularly visited by inspectors. 3. Children are required to be in full-time education between the ages of 5 and 16.

The passive, taken apart

Sentence	am, is, are + past participle	Agent
1	are watched	by parents
2	are visited	by inspectors
3	are required	none

Passive = be + past participle. The agent comes with by — only when it matters.

Task 1 — How do we know that the verbs of sentences 1 and 2 are in the passive voice? How can we turn them into the active voice?

كيف نعرف أنّ الفعلين في الجملتين الأولى والثانية مبنيّان للمجهول؟ وكيف نحوّلهما إلى المبني للمعلوم؟

Each verb is made of be (are) + a past participle (watched, visited), and the doer comes after by. To turn them into the active, the agent becomes the subject, the passive subject becomes the object, and be disappears: « Parents closely watch standards at schools. » « Inspectors regularly visit schools. »

Task 2 — Why is the passive used instead of the active? Is it always necessary to use by?

لماذا استُعمل المبني للمجهول بدل المعلوم؟ وهل ذكر ⁦by⁩ ضروريّ دائما؟

The text is about schools: the passive puts what we are talking about — standards, schools, children — in first place. By is not always necessary. It is kept when the agent is useful information: parents and inspectors are the ones who control the schools. In sentence 3 there is no agent at all: what matters is the rule itself — children must be in full-time education from 5 to 16.

2. The present continuous passive: am, is, are + being + past participle

حين يكون الفعل جاريا نستعمل المجهول في الحاضر المستمرّ: ⁦am, is, are + being⁩ والتصريف الثالث للفعل.

When the action is going on, the passive takes the present continuous: am, is, are + being + past participle. « Products of all sorts are being copied every day by counterfeiters. » In the active: « Counterfeiters are copying products of all sorts every day. » The passive is also a polite voice: it names the action without pointing at the people who do it. That is why it can make a message more tactful.

Two sentences about counterfeiting

1. A counterfeit is something that is forged, imitated. 2. Products of all sorts are being copied every day by counterfeiters.

Task 3 — Which voice and which tense in each sentence? Rewrite them starting: « A counterfeit is something that counterfeiters … » and « Counterfeiters … ». What changes in the structure?

ما صيغة الفعل وزمنه في كلّ جملة؟ أعد كتابتهما بالمبني للمعلوم، ثمّ بيّن ما تغيّر في البناء.

1. is forged — the present simple passive. Active: « A counterfeit is something that counterfeiters forge, imitate. »
2. are being copied — the present continuous passive. Active: « Counterfeiters are copying products of all sorts every day. »

In the passive, the object of the active verb becomes the subject, the verb becomes be (+ being in the continuous) + past participle, and the doer comes after by — or disappears.

Rewrite this businessman's memo in the passive voice to make it more tactful. Start each sentence with the thing that receives the action.

Memo Many Internet users are infringing our copyright. They are uploading and downloading our music hits. They are putting these copyright thefts in pirate sites in order to swap them with other Internet users. We must remind them that swapping music illegally is causing us a great deal of financial loss.

Task 4 — a tactful memo

المذكّرة نفسها بالمبني للمجهول: الفعل مذكور، والأشخاص لا يُتّهمون مباشرة.

Memo Our copyright is being infringed by many Internet users. Our music hits are being uploaded and downloaded. These copyright thefts are being put in pirate sites in order to be swapped with other Internet users. They must be reminded that swapping music illegally is causing us a great deal of financial loss. The first three sentences are in the present continuous passive, because the actions are going on. In the last one, after the modal must, the passive is be + past participle.

3. Describing a process

المبني للمجهول هو صيغة وصف العمليات: المهمّ هو المراحل لا من يقوم بها. وأدوات الترتيب تحدّد المراحل.

The passive is the natural voice to describe a process: what matters is each step, not who does it. The present simple passive tells the steps, and sequencers — first, then, next, after that, finally — mark the stages.

Turn the sentences with the items in bold into the passive, to get a coherent description of the process of writing a composition. Start the sentences with the items in bold.

Educationists regard writing as a process. They require students to examine closely the teacher's instructions so as to understand the sort of composition s/he expects them to produce. Students brainstorm the topic for ten to fifteen minutes in order to generate ideas. They jot down these ideas in the form of diagrams such as network trees and spidermaps. Once they finish the brainstorming, they select the most relevant ideas. Students organise the selected ideas in a plan. They write a first draft composition to flesh out the plan. As soon as they do this, they revise the draft to correct errors in spelling and grammar. They also review it in order to see whether it is coherent or not. Educationists advise students not to hand their compositions to the teacher before they correct all mistakes.

Task 5 — the process in the passive

العملية نفسها بالمبني للمجهول: كلّ جملة تبدأ بما يتلقّى الفعل.

Writing is regarded as a process. Students are required to examine closely the teacher's instructions so as to understand the sort of composition they are expected to produce. The topic is brainstormed for ten to fifteen minutes in order to generate ideas. These ideas are jotted down in the form of diagrams such as network trees and spidermaps. Once the brainstorming is finished, the most relevant ideas are selected. The selected ideas are organised in a plan. A first draft composition is written to flesh out the plan. As soon as this is done, the draft is revised to correct errors in spelling and grammar. It is also reviewed in order to see whether it is coherent or not. Students are advised not to hand their compositions to the teacher before all mistakes are corrected.

Task 6 — Insert the sequencers first, then, next, after that, finally to mark the stages of the process.

أدخل أدوات الترتيب ⁦first, then, next, after that, finally⁩ لتحديد مراحل العملية.

First, the topic is brainstormed for ten to fifteen minutes, and these ideas are jotted down in network trees and spidermaps. Then, the most relevant ideas are selected. Next, the selected ideas are organised in a plan. After that, a first draft composition is written to flesh out the plan. Finally, the draft is revised and reviewed, and all mistakes are corrected before the composition is handed to the teacher.

Do this alone, in writing. Describe in four or five passive sentences a process you know well — for example, how mint tea is prepared at home. Use first, then, next, finally. Then check each verb: am, is, are + past participle?

صف وحدك في أربع جمل أو خمس، بالمبني للمجهول، عملية تعرفها جيّدا، مستعملا أدوات الترتيب.

A model answer

First, the water is boiled. Then, green tea and fresh mint are put in the teapot, and the boiling water is poured on them. Next, sugar is added. Finally, the tea is poured into small glasses and served. No agent is needed: what matters is each step, not the person who does it.

In the exam, the passive is tested by rewriting — an active sentence to turn into the passive, or the reverse — and it is the voice of the writing task when you describe a process. Have three things ready: ① the present simple passive: am, is, are + past participle; ② the present continuous passive: am, is, are + being + past participle; ③ by + agent only when the doer is important. The frequent mistake is to forget being in the continuous: « our music hits are uploaded » states a fact; « our music hits are being uploaded » tells what is going on.

What I keep — In the passive, the subject receives the action. Present simple: am, is, are + past participle (Schools are visited by inspectors). Present continuous: am, is, are + being + past participle (Products are being copied every day). The agent comes with by only when it matters. The passive puts the topic first, makes a message more tactful, and is the voice of a process: first, then, next, finally.

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