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# passive

adjective (passive; adverb: passively; noun: passivity); noun (the passive, grammar)

«passive» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Passive means letting things happen to you without acting, reacting or taking part: «a passive audience». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/passive/#m1)
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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/passive/#m2)
3. Passive smoking means breathing in smoke from other people's cigarettes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/passive/#m3)
4. (science) Passive means working without extra power or effort, like a «passive house» that stays warm with no heaters. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/passive/#m4)

### 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/passive/#x1)
- Rewrite the sentence in the passive voice. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/passive/#x2)
- In science reports we write «The water was heated». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/passive/#x3)
- Don't just be passive — join in the discussion! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/passive/#x4)
- Passive smoking can harm children's lungs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/passive/#x5)
- She gave a passive-aggressive smile and said «Fine». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/passive/#x6)
- Watching TV is passive; building a model is active. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/passive/#x7)

### 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/P/passive/#x1)
- 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 →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/P/passive/#x2)

### 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.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «passive» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/passive/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«passive» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/passive.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «passive» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/P/passive/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«passive» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/passive.html) on Mova free.