◎What you'll master
- Build the passive with be (in the right tense) + past participle.
- Form the passive across tenses — is made, was built, has been sold, will be done, is being repaired.
- Decide when and why to choose the passive over the active.
- Add by + agent only when the doer actually matters.
- Transform active ↔ passive, and avoid the passive with intransitive verbs.
1The core idea: be + past participle
In the active voice the subject does the action. In the passive voice the subject receives it. To make the passive, use the verb be in the correct tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb.
Two things to get right
(1) put be in the same tense the active verb had, and (2) use a true past participle — not the past simple. Regular verbs look the same (build → built? no — work → worked / worked), but many common verbs differ: write → wrote → written, break → broke → broken.
2The passive across every tense
The main verb stays a fixed past participle; only be changes to carry the tense and any modal.
| Tense / form | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present simple | They make cars here. | Cars are made here. |
| Past simple | They built it in 1890. | It was built in 1890. |
| Present perfect | They have sold the flat. | The flat has been sold. |
| Future (will) | They will do it tomorrow. | It will be done tomorrow. |
| Modal (must) | You must finish the form. | The form must be finished. |
| Present continuous | They are repairing the road. | The road is being repaired. |
| Past continuous | They were building it. | It was being built. |
3When and why we use the passive
Choose the passive when the receiver of the action matters more than the doer. Typical reasons:
The agent is unknown, unimportant, or obvious
Formal, scientific, and process writing
In reports, science, and descriptions of a process, the passive keeps the tone objective and puts the focus on what happens rather than who does it.
4by + agent — only when the doer matters
Add by + agent when the doer carries real information — usually because it is surprising, famous, or the whole point of the sentence. Otherwise, leave it out.
5Transforming active ↔ passive
Three moves turn an active sentence into a passive one: the object becomes the subject; the verb becomes be + past participle (in the same tense); the old subject moves to by + agent (or disappears).
| Step | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| 1. object → subject | The chef cooked the meal. | The meal … |
| 2. verb → be + participle | cooked (past) | … was cooked … |
| 3. subject → by + agent | The chef … | … by the chef. |
6The get-passive, and not overusing it
In informal English, get often replaces be, especially for sudden or unwanted events: got broken, got hurt, got fired. Keep it out of formal writing.
Don't overuse it — and never with intransitive verbs
A string of passives sounds heavy and vague; prefer the active when the doer is clear. And a verb with no object — arrive, happen, sleep, come, exist, rise — has no passive at all.
Rice ______ in many warm countries.
This song ______ by millions of people.
All the tickets ______ sold in an hour.
The results ______ announced tomorrow.
The road ______ repaired at the moment, so take the other route.
When we arrived, the walls ______ painted.
Which sentence is correct?______
The ancient temple, which ______ over two thousand years ago, still draws crowds.
✎Fix the Error
Each sentence has one mistake in the underlined word. Type the correction and check.
1.The house was build in 1990.
2.The accident was happened on the motorway yesterday.
3.The letter is write by Ana every week.
4.This book was wrote by a famous author.
5.My bike was stole outside the station.