VOZ PASIVA como NUNCA en TODOS los tiempos y sus USOS en inglés

Key Concepts

Passive voice, active voice, verb "to be," past participle, memory techniques, English grammar, Spanish grammar, usage of passive voice in English, differences between English and Spanish passive voice, time tenses, progressive tenses, perfect tenses, perfect progressive tenses.

Passive Voice in English: Detailed Explanation

Introduction

The video addresses the challenges learners face with the passive voice in English. It promises to clarify its uses, tenses, and differences from the active voice, guaranteeing a comprehensive understanding. The speaker emphasizes that the video is detailed because a thorough explanation is necessary, particularly regarding the relationship between active and passive voice.

Active vs. Passive Voice

Active Voice: Subject performs the action (e.g., "John eats the apple").
Passive Voice: Subject receives the action (e.g., "The apple is eaten by John"). The speaker stresses that the passive voice is more significant in English than in Spanish.

Essential Components of Passive Voice

Verb "to be": Always required, conjugated according to the tense and person. The speaker provides a link to a video explaining the verb "to be" in detail.
Past Participle: The main verb is converted to its past participle form (e.g., "-ed" for regular verbs, irregular forms like "eaten," "written," "broken"). The speaker recommends memorizing irregular verb forms.

Active to Passive Voice Transformation: Examples and Tenses

The speaker uses the example "I teach memory techniques" to demonstrate the transformation across various tenses.

Present Simple:
- Active: "I teach memory techniques."
- Passive: "Memory techniques are taught by me."
Past Simple:
- Active: "I taught memory techniques."
- Passive: "Memory techniques were taught by me."
Used to:
- Active: "I used to teach memory techniques."
- Passive: "Memory techniques used to be taught by me."
Future Simple:
- Active: "I will teach memory techniques."
- Passive: "Memory techniques will be taught by me."
Going to:
- Active: "I am going to teach memory techniques."
- Passive: "Memory techniques are going to be taught by me."
Conditional:
- Active: "I would teach memory techniques."
- Passive: "Memory techniques would be taught by me."
Should:
- Active: "I should teach techniques."
- Passive: "Techniques should be taught."
Must:
- Active: "I must teach techniques."
- Passive: "Techniques must be taught."
Have to:
- Active: "I have to teach techniques."
- Passive: "Techniques have to be taught."
Can:
- Active: "I can teach techniques."
- Passive: "Techniques can be taught."

The speaker emphasizes that these transformations apply across all tenses, including progressive and perfect tenses.

Progressive (Continuous) Tenses

Present Progressive:
- Active: "I am teaching techniques."
- Passive: "Techniques are being taught by me."
Past Progressive:
- Active: "I was teaching techniques."
- Passive: "Techniques were being taught by them."
Going to (Progressive):
- Active: "I am going to be teaching techniques during my trip."
- Passive: "Techniques are going to be being taught by me."
Future Progressive:
- Active: "I will be teaching techniques during my trip."
- Passive: "Techniques will be being taught by me."
Conditional Progressive:
- Active: "I would be teaching."
- Passive: "Techniques would be being taught."
Must be (Progressive):
- Active: "I must be teaching."
- Passive: "Techniques must be being taught."
Have to be (Progressive):
- Active: "I have to be teaching."
- Passive: "Techniques have to be being taught."
Can be (Progressive):
- Active: "I can be teaching."
- Passive: "Techniques can be being taught."
May be (Progressive):
- Active: "I may be teaching."
- Passive: "Techniques may be being taught."

Perfect Tenses

Present Perfect:
- Active: "I have taught memory techniques for 15 years."
- Passive: "Memory techniques have been taught by me for 15 years."
Past Perfect:
- Active: "I had taught memory techniques before."
- Passive: "Techniques had been taught by me before."
Future Perfect:
- Active: "I will have taught techniques."
- Passive: "Techniques will have been taught by me."
Conditional Perfect:
- Active: "I would have taught techniques."
- Passive: "Techniques would have been taught by me."
Should Perfect:
- Active: "I should have taught techniques."
- Passive: "Techniques should have been taught by me."
Must Perfect:
- Active: "I must have taught techniques."
- Passive: "Techniques must have been taught."
May Perfect:
- Active: "I may have taught."
- Passive: "That may have been taught before by me."

Perfect Progressive Tenses

The speaker notes that the passive form of perfect progressive tenses is rarely used.

Future Perfect Progressive:
- Active: "I will have been teaching techniques since November 2023."
- Passive: "Techniques will have been being taught." (Very complex and rarely used)
Conditional Perfect Progressive:
- Active: "I would have been teaching techniques."
- Passive: "Techniques would have been being taught by me."
Should Perfect Progressive:
- Active: "I should have been teaching techniques."
- Passive: "Techniques should have been being taught by me."

Four Key Uses of the Passive Voice in English

When the agent (doer) of the action is unknown:
- Spanish: "Mataron a un hombre en la esquina" (They killed a man on the corner).
- English (Passive): "A man was killed in the corner."
- Example: "He was shot three times."
When the action is more important than the agent:
- Example: "I was asked a lot of stupid questions."
Impersonal constructions (similar to "se" in Spanish):
- Spanish: "Se habla español aquí" (Spanish is spoken here).
- English (Passive): "Spanish is spoken here."
- Example: "Furniture is sold there." (Note: "furniture" is uncountable in English)
- Examples with "se me dijo":
  - "Se me dijo que esperara" (I was told to wait) -> "I was told to wait."
  - "Se me advirtió que esperara" (I was warned to wait) -> "I was warned to wait."
  - "Se supone que debías esperar" (You were supposed to wait) -> "You were supposed to wait."
  - "Se les dijo que lo hicieran" (They were told to do it) -> "They were told to do it."
To avoid responsibility:
- Instead of "I made many mistakes," say "Many mistakes were made."
- Example: "Many mistakes were made. That's why our relationship didn't work."

Conclusion

The speaker reiterates the importance of understanding the passive voice in English, emphasizing its greater significance compared to Spanish. They encourage viewers to rewatch the video for clarity and to leave comments with examples of passive voice usage. The speaker also mentions an upcoming trip to South America and invites viewers to inquire about learning opportunities.