Passive Voice
  Passive Voice The passive vs the active voice: The Active Voice The Passive Voice Most countries in Latin America speak Spanish. Spanish is spoken in most countries in latin America. Use of the passive voice: Passive voice is used when the  focus is on the action . It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action. Example:  "A letter was written." The focus, here, is on the fact that a letter was written. We don't know, however, who wrote it. Sometimes a statement in passive is more  polite  than active voice, as the following example shows: Example:  A vase was broken. Focus, here, is on the fact that a vase was broken, but we don't blame anyone. Compare this to: "You broke the vase." Form of the passive voice: Subject + the appropriate form of  to be  + Past Participle NOTE: The appropriate form of  to be  = To be is put in the the tense of the active voice main verb. When rewriting active sentences in ...