Present perfect tense is the fourth most popular use in English (6%). In informal communication, the present perfect is often replaced by a simple past.
Passive voice is most often found in fiction and special literature (approximately 20% in passive). In spoken English, 97.5% of the verbs are in active voice.
Time
Using Present Perfect Passive implies a description of an action completed by someone to date, and the object over which the action was performed is in the spotlight.
The present perfect tense indicates the completion of the action at the present moment. In other words, we use time when in the present we talk about the existence of some experience from the past (more often than the recent, but sometimes even distant past) or about an event that is associated with the present.
For example, when we want to recommend our friend to a vacant place in the organization in which we work, we can say: "Anna has worked in finance for 10 years. She is a good match for the job).
The present perfect is formed using the auxiliary verb (have / has) and the third form of the main verb.
Pledge
Active voice implies that the object that is subject to the proposal is directly related to the action, i.e. is the subject of the action: did / did / does, etc.
The passive voice is used in cases where we say that an action has been taken on an object (a subject in a sentence). Thanks to the passive voice, it is possible to make such proposals in which it is generally not known who made / is / will do the action.
| Active | Passive |
| I painted the house | House destroyed |
| I have painted the house | This house has been destroyed |
"I" - the subject, "I" performed an action - painted the house. A “house” is a subject, but not a house that destroyed itself, it was destroyed by someone else, and there is nothing in the sentence about it.
Passive in the present perfect
Present Perfect Passive Voice is used in the same cases as an active voice: in relation to recent actions, experience or ongoing actions and situations (while emphasizing the action itself, and not its duration).
Passive voice allows you to arbitrarily place emphasis in the message: to shift the focus of attention to the noun, which is the result of the action, from the one who performs the action.
Most often, a passive voice serves to transmit information about an object or phenomenon that occurred once in the past, we do not know the culprits of what happened, but we see the result. For example, we know that the house is painted with fresh paint, we see it. But we do not know who painted it, we do not know when this happened. Therefore, you should use Present Perfect in Passive Voice.
He talks about some achievements, development or discoveries of other people, when he emphasizes that right now the object exists. For example, Google produces 65 thousand results for the exact query "The car has been developed by" (The car was developed ...).
The passive voice is also used when the perpetrator (s) has already been named or known in advance. In order not to repeat, the emphasis is transferred to the object, and the subject is omitted, because Thanks to Passive, the subject may remain anonymous.
If there is any doubt whether it is worth using Present Perfect, you can try adding the words “already”, “by this moment”, “yet”, “just” to the wording of the sentence in Russian. In cases where the proposal is meaningful and does not acquire additional connotations, in the English version it is better to convey it through the passive voice of the present completed.
Examples of Passive suggestions in Present Perfect with the addition of "already":
Your package has been delivered (I just found out that your package was delivered) | Your package has already been delivered. | Your package has been delivered |
Cakes are ready (I saw that the cakes are ready) | The cakes are ready | The cupcakes have been cooked |
How to use
Just add been to form a passive in Present Perfect. Rule: subject + be in the present perfect (has / have been) + the third form of the main verb.
In a letter, has often abbreviated to 's: The party has been canceled (Party canceled) = The party's been canceled.
In interrogative sentences, has / have moves to the first place, after which comes the subject, been, the main verb in the third form and the remaining members of the sentence: Has the party been canceled? (Have you canceled the party?).
In negative sentences after has / have they put the particle not: The party has not been canceled yet (The party has not been canceled yet).
Present Perfect examples in Passive and Active Voice:
| Active | Passive |
| I wrote an essay | Essay written by me |
| I have written an essay | The essay has been written by me |
| The child woke up | The baby woke up |
| The baby has woken up | The baby has been woken up |
| Did you call someone to the party? | Anyone invited to the party? |
| Have you invited anybody on the party? | Anybody has been invited on the party? |
| I fixed my bike | My bike is fixed by me |
| I have repaired my bike | My bike has been repaired by me |
| I just painted the gate | The gates were painted |
| I have just painted the gate | This gate has just been painted |
| I opened the window | Window opened |
| I have opened the window | This window has been opened |
Summary
Passive in Present Perfect is useful in cases where we see the result of an action but don’t know its authors, or the object on which the impact is important is important to us, and not the one who made the impact.
For example, we can say that William has canceled the party, but why should we talk about it if the fact of cancellation is important? In addition, the interlocutor may not even know William, but have an invitation to a party from us. Therefore, we use a passive voice and talk only about the party (The party has been canceled).
The same considerations apply to news articles. In most cases, readers care about the object of the article, the new phone or the new law, rather than their creators. Therefore, the main emphasis in this case is put on the invention of the object, and not on the inventors, using Passive in Present Perfect.