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Unit 09
Passive Voice
be + past participle
Active vs Passive
In an active sentence, the subject does the action. In a passive sentence, the subject receives the action. We use the passive when we want to focus on what happened rather than who did it.
| Active (focus on doer) | Passive (focus on action/result) |
|---|---|
| The chef cooked the meal. | The meal was cooked by the chef. |
| They speak English here. | English is spoken here. |
| Someone stole my phone. | My phone was stolen. |
The Formula
Subject + be (correct tense) + past participle (+ by + agent)
The verb be carries the tense. The past participle never changes.
Passive Forms Across Tenses
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | They clean the rooms. | The rooms are cleaned every day. |
| Past Simple | She wrote the report. | The report was written by her. |
| Present Continuous | They are building a road. | A road is being built. |
| Past Continuous | They were repairing the bridge. | The bridge was being repaired. |
| Present Perfect | They have announced the results. | The results have been announced. |
| Past Perfect | They had finished the work. | The work had been finished. |
| Future Simple | They will open the shop. | The shop will be opened. |
| Going To | They are going to build a park. | A park is going to be built. |
| Modal | You must do it. | It must be done. |
When to Use the Passive
| Use | Explanation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown doer | We don't know who did it | My car was stolen last night. |
| Unimportant doer | Who did it doesn't matter | The windows are cleaned every week. |
| Formal / academic style | Objective, impersonal tone | The samples were tested in the lab. |
| Avoiding responsibility | Diplomatic — not blaming anyone | A mistake was made. |
| Focus on result | Emphasises what was done, not who did it | The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889. |
By + Agent
Use by + agent only when it is important to say who performed the action.
- The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci. ← agent is important (famous artist)
- My wallet was stolen. ← no agent (we don't know who)
- The road is being repaired. ← no agent (it's obvious — road workers)
- English is spoken all over the world. ← no agent (too general)
Modals in the Passive
| Modal | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| can | They can fix the car. | The car can be fixed. |
| must | You must complete the form. | The form must be completed. |
| should | Someone should help him. | He should be helped. |
| may / might | They may cancel the meeting. | The meeting may be cancelled. |
Negatives & Questions in the Passive
| Tense | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | It isn't made in China. | Is it made in China? |
| Past Simple | The letter wasn't sent. | When was the letter sent? |
| Present Perfect | It hasn't been fixed yet. | Has it been fixed? |
| Future | It won't be finished today. | Will it be finished today? |
Verbs with Two Objects
Verbs like give, send, show, tell, offer, teach have two objects. Either can become the subject — the person as subject is more common:
| Active | Passive (person first — common) | Passive (thing first) |
|---|---|---|
| They gave me a prize. | I was given a prize. | A prize was given to me. |
| They offered her the job. | She was offered the job. | The job was offered to her. |
Annotated Examples
Subject
Verb
Auxiliary
Object
Adjective
Adverb
Preposition
Hover over any word to see its role.
subjectThe reportverbwas writtenprepositionbyobjectthe manager.
↳ Past Simple passive — agent included (important).
subjectA new hospitalverbis being builtprepositionin the city.
↳ Present Continuous passive — no agent (obvious).
subjectThe resultsverbwill be announcedadverbtomorrow.
↳ Future Simple passive — focus on the result.
Common Mistakes
The car repaired yesterday.
→
The car was repaired yesterday.
The passive always needs the verb "be": was repaired.
The homework is doing by me.
→
The homework is done by me.
Use the past participle, not -ing: is done.
It is built by last year.
→
It was built last year.
Use past tense "was built" for a past completed action.
People is invited to the party.
→
People are invited to the party.
"People" is plural → are invited.
The door was open by him.
→
The door was opened by him.
Past participle of "open" = opened.
To me was given a gift.
→
I was given a gift.
Make the person the subject.
Was the email sended?
→
Was the email sent?
Past participle of send = sent.