passive

Everyday

1. Passive means letting things happen to you without acting, reacting or taking part: «a passive audience». tree →
2. (grammar) The passive, or passive voice, is a way of making a sentence where the thing that something is done to comes first: «The window was broken by Sam», instead of the active «Sam broke the window». tree →
3. Passive smoking means breathing in smoke from other people's cigarettes. tree →
4. (science) Passive means working without extra power or effort, like a «passive house» that stays warm with no heaters. tree →

In the lessons

In English lessons (SATs grammar), pupils learn to change active sentences into passive ones; the passive uses «be» + past participle (was eaten, is made, were found) and is common in science reports: «The water was heated». It hides or lowers the doer: «Mistakes were made». In PSHE, being passive is the opposite of standing up for yourself (being assertive). Phrases: «passive voice», «passive smoking», «passive-aggressive» (being unkind in a hidden way).

Examples

• «The cake was eaten by the dog» is in the passive. tree →
• Rewrite the sentence in the passive voice. tree →
• In science reports we write «The water was heated». tree →
• Don't just be passive — join in the discussion! tree →
• Passive smoking can harm children's lungs. tree →
• She gave a passive-aggressive smile and said «Fine». tree →
• Watching TV is passive; building a model is active. tree →

Note

Opposite: «active». The passive is made with a form of «be» + past participle: «is cleaned», «was taken», «will be sent»; the doer can be added with «by». Trap: a sentence in the past tense is not automatically passive: «He ate the cake» is active, «The cake was eaten» is passive.

In Jewish tradition

Interpretation: In the Sefer Yetzirah the Mother letters divide into active and passive forces. Fire and water, for example, are opposites. In the primary lessons: In English lessons (SATs grammar), pupils learn to change active sentences into passive ones; the passive uses «be» + past participle (was eaten, is made, were found) and is common in science reports: «The water was heated». It hides or lowers the doer: «Mistakes were made». In PSHE, being passive is the opposite of standing up for yourself (being assertive). Phrases: «passive voice», «passive smoking», «passive-aggressive» (being unkind in a hidden way).

Examples

• The first is clearly the root שָׁכַב shakhav ‘to lie, lie down’, but שכובה looks like a passive participle, shekhuvah, while shakhav is normally an intransitive verb not amenable to being made passive. (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation) tree →
• The Three Mothers, Aleph, Mem and Shin, are a great Mystery, very admirable and most recondite, and sealed as with six rings; and from them proceed Air, Fire, and Water, which divide into active and passive forces. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →

Note

Opposite: «active». The passive is made with a form of «be» + past participle: «is cleaned», «was taken», «will be sent»; the doer can be added with «by». Trap: a sentence in the past tense is not automatically passive: «He ate the cake» is active, «The cake was eaten» is passive.