Study materials
One active sentence, and two passive versions of it. Both are correct.
They offered Anna a new contract.
Anna was offered a new contract.
The text will go on about Anna.
A new contract was offered to Anna.
The text will go on about the contract.
The subject is whatever you will talk about next. The article explains the passive of verbs with two objects and the passive of phrasal verbs.
Verbs with two objects
An object is what the action is aimed at. The verbs give, send, offer, show, tell, lend, pay and hand have two objects: to whom and what. Their passive can be built in two ways.
They gave Anna a prize.
An active sentence with two objects.
Anna was given a prize.
The person is the subject. This is the most common.
A prize was given to Anna.
The thing is the subject, and to appears before the person.
When the thing becomes the subject, to goes before the person, and with buy, make and cook it is for: A cake was made for Granny.
The verbs explain, describe, suggest, say and announce do not make the person the subject of a passive. People say The rules were explained to me, not I was explained the rules.
Phrasal verbs in the passive
A phrasal verb is a verb with a particle or preposition: put off, call off, look after, look for, deal with, laugh at, rely on. In the passive the particle stays right after the third form.
The meeting was put off until Monday.
The children are well looked after.
This complaint has never been dealt with.
He hates being laughed at.
In Ukrainian the preposition disappears in such sentences, so it is easy to lose it in English too. Without it the sentence becomes wrong or changes meaning: The children are well looked means something other than looked after.
Expressions with take, like take care of or take advantage of, keep all their words: The cat was taken care of by the neighbours.
Common mistakes
The first mistake is a lost particle of a phrasal verb.
This problem must be dealt immediately. → This problem must be dealt with immediately.
The particle stays with the verb.
The second mistake is a missing to before the person when a thing becomes the subject.
The keys were given the new tenant. → The keys were given to the new tenant.
To is needed before the person.
The third mistake is a person as the subject after explain.
I was explained the rules. → The rules were explained to me.
Explain does not make the person the subject of the passive.
The first mistake shows after the third form. If the active sentence had deal with or look after, the particle must stand here too. The second and third show at the start of the sentence. If the subject is a thing, to stands before the person. If the subject is a person, check the verb, because explain, describe and suggest are not used that way.