Making the Passive Voice (Brian Rhodes)

The passive voice requires two parts:
Example:
My wallet was stolen last night. (we don’t know who stole the wallet)
When the agent is unimportant:
1) the verb to be in one of its tenses
2) the past participle of a verb
Examples:
I was told the good news about my grammar exam.
I am not being taken for a fool.
To change a verb voice from the active to the passive:
1) use the same verb tense:
Example:
Somebody stole my wallet. (simple past)... My wallet was stolen.
2) Make sure you know the past participle of the verb:
Example:
Somebody is seeking me at the moment for information leading to an arrest. At the moment, I am being sought for information leading to an arrest.
Decide whether the 'by phrase' is necessary or not to the meaning of the sentence:
Compare:
I was told by someone... I was told by my teacher. (First one doesn't require the 'by phrase' for the complete meaning)
Remember the reasons for using the passive:
1) You don't know who did the action.
2) You don't want to know or reveal who did the action.
3) Everyone knows who did the action; it's obvious who did it.
4) Common statements like announcements.
5) To better connect parts of a sentence or paragraph.