Passive voice avanzada (varios tiempos)
La voz pasiva no es solo Present Simple. En B2 debes controlarla en varios tiempos (continuous, perfect, futuro, modales…) para sonar natural y más formal cuando el resultado es más importante que quién hizo la acción.
1) Mapa rápido: ¿qué es la pasiva?
Transformación básica:
ACTIVE: Subject + verb + object
→ PASSIVE: Object becomes subject + be (tiempo) + V3 (+ by + agent)
Ejemplo:
They built the bridge in 2010.
→ The bridge was built in 2010 (by them).
“¿Quién hace la acción?” → activo. “¿Qué le pasa al objeto?” → pasivo.
2) Recordatorio básico (Present / Past Simple)
Repaso rápido de lo que ya viste antes:
| Tiempo | Activo | Pasivo | Patrón |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | People use smartphones every day. | Smartphones are used every day. | am/is/are + V3 |
| Past Simple | The company launched a new product. | A new product was launched (by the company). | was/were + V3 |
Desde aquí, extendemos la misma lógica a tiempos continuos, perfectos, futuro y modales.
3) Formas de la pasiva en varios tiempos
La clave es: “be” toma el tiempo, el verbo principal va en V3.
| Tiempo | Activo | Pasivo | Patrón |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present Continuous | They are repairing the road. | The road is being repaired. | am/is/are + being + V3 |
| Past Continuous | They were interviewing him. | He was being interviewed. | was/were + being + V3 |
| Present Perfect | They have cancelled the flight. | The flight has been cancelled. | have/has + been + V3 |
| Past Perfect | They had finished the work. | The work had been finished. | had + been + V3 |
| Future (will) | They will announce the results. | The results will be announced tomorrow. | will + be + V3 |
| Be going to | They are going to close the store. | The store is going to be closed. | am/is/are going to + be + V3 |
| Modals | They must finish the report. | The report must be finished today. | modal + be + V3 |
| Modals perfectos | They might have lost the documents. | The documents might have been lost. | modal + have + been + V3 |
Fórmula mágica: toma el tiempo del verbo activo → ponlo en be → añade el verbo principal en V3.
4) Cuándo usar pasiva (y cuándo NO)
Usa la voz pasiva cuando:
- El resultado es más importante que la persona que hace la acción.
- El agente es desconocido o obvio.
- Quieres un estilo más formal / objetivo (informes, noticias, textos académicos).
Ejemplos
Resultado importante
Several mistakes were found in the report.
(Lo importante son los errores, no quién los encontró.)
Agente desconocido
My car was stolen last night.
(No sabemos quién.)
Estilo formal
The new policy has been approved by the board.
(Estilo de empresa / informe.)
¿Cuándo no?
- En conversación informal, sobre todo cuando el sujeto es importante: My friend helped me (mejor que I was helped by my friend).
- Cuando produce frases muy largas y pesadas.
5) By + agent y omisión del agente
by + agente se usa solo cuando realmente importa quién hizo la acción.
| Tipo | Ejemplo | Uso |
|---|---|---|
| Con “by” | The book was written by George Orwell. The painting was created by Frida Kahlo. | El autor es información clave. |
| Sin “by” | The meeting has been cancelled. All tickets were sold out. | El agente es obvio o no importa. |
En textos formales, la pasiva sin by da un tono más impersonal y objetivo.
6) Errores comunes con pasiva avanzada
| Incorrecto | Correcto | Por qué |
|---|---|---|
| *The report was wrote yesterday.* | The report was written yesterday. | En pasiva usamos V3: written, no wrote. |
| *The road is repaired now.* (queriendo decir “la están reparando ahora”) | The road is being repaired now. | Acción en progreso → is being + V3. |
| *The work has finished.* (sin sujeto claro) | The work has been finished. | En pasiva con Present Perfect → has been + V3. |
| *The results will announced tomorrow.* | The results will be announced tomorrow. | Con will → will be + V3, no solo will + V3. |
| *A new law were introduced last year.* | A new law was introduced last year. | Concordancia: law = singular → was, no were. |
7) Mini-práctica
- Convierte a voz pasiva (mantén el tiempo):
a) People speak English all over the world.
b) They are building a new hospital in my town.
c) Someone has stolen my bike.
d) They will announce the winner tomorrow.
e) They might have cancelled the class. - Completa con la forma correcta de be o have been + V3:
a) The project __________ (finish) last week.
b) A new shopping centre __________ (build) near the station.
c) Many mistakes __________ (find) in the report.
d) The road __________ (repair) at the moment, so it’s closed.
e) Several letters __________ (send) already. - Elige la opción correcta (pasiva):
a) The decision (was made / made) yesterday.
b) The cake (is being decorated / is decorated now) at the moment right now.
c) The results (have been published / have published) on the website.
d) The movie (will be released / will released) next month. - Reescribe usando pasiva y, si es natural, omite el agente:
a) The police arrested three people.
b) They have postponed the meeting until Friday.
c) Someone is cleaning the classroom.
d) People use this app all the time.
e) The company will send the documents tomorrow. - (Producción guiada) Escribe 4–5 frases tipo “noticia corta” usando pasiva en tiempos distintos:
• 1 con Present Simple passive (hechos generales).
• 1 con Present Continuous passive (algo en progreso).
• 1 con Present Perfect passive (resultado reciente).
• 1 con Future (will) passive (anuncio/plan).
• Opcional: 1 con modal + be / have been.
Respuestas ejemplo (orientativas):
1) a) English is spoken all over the world.
b) A new hospital is being built in my town.
c) My bike has been stolen.
d) The winner will be announced tomorrow.
e) The class might have been cancelled.
2) a) was finished
b) is being built
c) were found / have been found (según el contexto)
d) is being repaired
e) have been sent
3) a) was made
b) is being decorated (porque es “at the moment right now”)
c) have been published
d) will be released
4) a) Three people were arrested (by the police).
b) The meeting has been postponed until Friday.
c) The classroom is being cleaned.
d) This app is used all the time.
e) The documents will be sent tomorrow (by the company).
5) Respuesta libre; revisa que uses be en el tiempo correcto + V3.
8) Próximo paso
Continúa con Causative: have/get something done, donde verás cómo expresar que alguien hace algo por ti (servicios, arreglos, etc.) usando estructuras como I had my hair cut o We got the car repaired.