Passive Voice  and Causative Form

How do I form the passive voice?
The passive voice is formed with the auxiliary verb be  in any tense (except present perfect continuous, past perfect continuous, and future continuous) followed by the  past participle of the main verb.
 
The neighborhood kids built a tree house - Active
The house was built (by the kids) - Passive
The kids were painting  the house - Active
The house was being painted (by the kids) - Passive

How do I choose between the active and the passive voice?
It depends on the focus of the sentence, which is determined by the context and the speaker’s intention. If the action itself is more important than its doer, we tend to use the passive voice.
Cars are manufactured on a large scale in the US.
Note that the passive voice is more impersonal and, therefore, sometimes more formal. If the focus is on the doer of the action, prefer to use the active voice.
My mother made the cake.
However, it’s possible to introduce the doer of the action in the passive voice with the preposition by:

This house was built by my brothers. That's why I wouldn't like to sell it.

How do I form the passive voice in different verb tenses?

Consider the following examples:

They make shoes.

  • Check the tense of the main verb in the active sentence (simple present)
  • Use the auxiliary be in the same tense (are)
  • Then, put the main verb in the past participle (made)
  • Use the object of the active sentence as the subject (shoes)

Note that the agreement has to be changed sometimes.

 

The teachers have finished the report. (Plural)
The report has been finished. (Singular) 

Is it possible to show who did the action in the passive voice?
When you want to mention who did the action in the passive voice, use a by phrase.

This house was built by my father.
In small towns many people are employed by a single company.

What is the difference between the passive voice with get and the causative form?
There are structures with the verb to get that can express a passive meaning. We can use it, for example, when talking about something that happens unexpectedly or accidentally. The structure is: get + past participle.

He got caught  by the police.
I didn’t get invited  to the party ( by the host ).

The causative is used to say that the subject either asked or paid someone else to do the action for him or her. The structure is: get + something + past participle.

You should get your hair cut.
I will get my car fixed.
They got him thrown out of the nightclub.
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