Pasiva y causativa

La pasiva: be en el tiempo que toque + participio

• present simple

  is/are + participio.

  • The museum is visited by thousands of tourists every year.
• present continuous

  is/are being + participio.

  • The bridge is being repaired at the moment.
• past simple

  was/were + participio.

  • This house was built in 1850.
• present perfect y past perfect

  has/have been y had been + participio.

  • The meeting has been cancelled.
  • By the time we arrived, all the tickets had been sold.
• con modales y futuro

  Modal + be + participio.

  • The results will be published next week.
  • This form must be signed by both parents.
• infinitivo y -ing

  to be + participio, being + participio.

  • She expects to be promoted soon.
  • I hate being told what to do.

Estructuras especiales

• it is said / believed / thought that…

  Opinión general, sin decir de quién.

  • It is believed that the painting was stolen in 1990.
• sujeto + is said / believed to + infinitivo

  Lo mismo, empezando por la persona o la cosa. Si lo que se cree es anterior, to have + participio.

  • He is said to be very rich.
  • The painting is believed to have been stolen in 1990.
• verbos con dos objetos

  La persona puede ser el sujeto de la pasiva.

  • She was given a prize for her research.
• have / get + objeto + participio

  Causativa: otra persona lo hace por ti. También para algo malo que te ocurre.

  • I had my hair cut yesterday.
  • We need to get the boiler repaired before winter.
  • She had her bag stolen on the train.
• get + persona + to / have + persona + infinitivo sin to

  Conseguir o encargar que alguien haga algo.

  • I got my brother to help me with the move.

Cómo resolverlo

Para pasar una frase a pasiva, busca primero el objeto de la activa: será el nuevo sujeto. Después pon be en el mismo tiempo que tenía el verbo y añade el participio. Por último, decide si hace falta decir quién lo hizo con by.

Dónde aparece en el examen

• Parte 2: faltan been, being, by, was o is. Si ves un participio y el sujeto no hace la acción, falta una forma de be.
• Parte 4: de activa a pasiva, People say he is… → He is said to be…, y A mechanic repaired my car → I had my car repaired.

Trampas típicas

• El tiempo lo marca be; el verbo principal va siempre en participio.
• Solo tienen pasiva los verbos con objeto: happen, arrive, die o disappear no la tienen.
• Pon by + quien lo hace solo si importa saberlo.
• En la causativa, el objeto va antes del participio: I had my car repaired. I had repaired my car es past perfect y significa que lo arreglaste tú.