The passive voice: how news is written (La voz pasiva)

Read a news headline and you will see it everywhere: «The bridge **was built** in 2010», «Millions of trees **are planted** every year». This is the **passive voice**, and it puts the *action* and its result first, not the person who did it.

How to form it

The passive is **be + past participle**. The verb *to be* carries the tense:

Present: «Coffee **is grown** in southern Mexico.» Past: «The pyramids **were built** thousands of years ago.» Future: «A new school **will be opened** next year.»

The *doer* becomes optional. If you mention it, use *by*: «The book was written **by** a Mexican author.»

When the passive is the better choice

Use it when:

The doer is **unknown**: «My bike **was stolen**.» *(by someone, we don't know who)* The doer is **unimportant**: «English **is spoken** all over the world.» You want to sound **formal or neutral**: reports, science, news.

Active vs. passive, same facts

Active: «The company makes the phones.» → focus on *the company*. Passive: «The phones **are made** by the company.» → focus on *the phones*.

Both are correct; you choose which information comes first. In academic and news English the passive is common because it foregrounds the events.

Your turn

Think about a process you know — how chocolate is made, how a law is passed, how a post reaches your feed. Write four sentences about it in the passive: «… is made …», «… are grown …», «… was sent …». Notice how the *thing* becomes the star of the sentence.