G4:  Verbs VI - Passive Voice: use of "by..."

by Tom Rohrbach

Multiple Choice Quiz

Do you know how to use "by..." in passive voice sentences?

QUESTION:  Should I use "by..." in my passive sentence or not?

ANSWER:  only if it's important, and only if it's specific.

We don't use "by..." with passive if it's general (like "by someone" or "by a company")

or if it's obvious (like "the car was driven by a driver").

We usually put the "by..." phrase at the end of the sentence. Sometimes,

we can put something after it, like a time or a place.  For example:

"The song was written by Bob Dylan in ten minutes in the back of a taxi."