Les phrases écrites avec la voix active sont bien plus simples a comprendre que les phrases passives. Transformer la voix passive en voix active est régulier, mais il faut s’entraîner avant que ça ne devienne automatique. Dans le tableau ci-dessous, notez que le temps du verbe to be à la voix passive est le même que le temps du verbe principal à la voix active. Pour utiliser la voix active, bien sur, il faudra rendre l'acteur explicite.
To Keep, voix active et passive
| Temps | Voix active | Voix passive | Phrase active | Équivalent passif |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Présent simple | keep | is kept | I keep the butter in the fridge. | The butter is kept in the fridge. |
| Présent progressif | is keeping | is being kept | John is keeping my house tidy. | My house is being kept tidy. |
| Passé simple | kept | was kept | Mary kept her schedule meticulously. | Mary's schedule was kept meticulously. |
| Passé progressif | was keeping | was being kept | The theater was keeping a seat for you. | A seat was being kept for you. |
| Présent parfait | have kept | have been kept | I have kept all your old letters. | All your old letters have been kept. |
| Passé parfait | had kept | had been kept | He had kept up his training regimen for a month. | His training regimen had been kept up for a month. |
| Futur simple | will keep | will be kept | Mark will keep the ficus. | The ficus will be kept. |
| Conditionnel Présent | would keep | would be kept | If you told me, I would keep your secret. | If you told me, your secret would be kept. |
| Conditionnel Passé | would have kept | would have been kept | I would have kept your bicycle here if you had left it with me. | Your bicycle would have been kept here if you had left it with me. |
| Présent Infinitif | to keep | to be kept | She wants to keep the book. | The book wants to be kept. |
| Parfait Infinitif | to have kept | to have been kept | Judy was happy to have kept the puppy. | The puppy was happy to have been kept. |
| Participe présent & gérondif | keeping | being kept | I have a feeling that you may be keeping a secret. | I have a feeling that a secret may be being kept. |
| Participe parfait | having kept | having been kept | Having kept the bird in a cage for so long, Jade wasn't sure it could survive in the wild. | The bird, having been kept in a cage for so long, might not survive in the wild. |