Look at these examples to see how the passive voice is used.
A lot of olive oil is produced in Italy.
This book was written by Angela Davis.
The suspect will be released tomorrow.
This product has not been tested on animals.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
We use the passive voice to change the focus of the sentence.
My bike was stolen. (passive – focus on my bike)
Someone stole my bike. (active – focus on someone)
We often use the passive:
- when we prefer not to mention who or what does the action (for example, it's not known, it's obvious or we don't want to say)
- so that we can start a sentence with the most important or most logical information
- in more formal or scientific writing.
How we make the passive
We make the passive using the verb be + past participle. We start the sentence with the object.
| Avatar | was | directed by James Cameron. |
| ↓ | ↓ | ↓ |
| Object | + be + | past participle |
It is not always necessary to add who or what did the action.
| My flight | is | cancelled. |
| ↓ | ↓ | ↓ |
| Object | + be + | past participle |
Only the form of be changes to make the tense. The past participle stays the same. Here are examples of the passive in its most common tenses.
| Tense | Example | Structure |
| Present simple | Alioli is made from oil, garlic and salt. | is/are + past participle |
| Present continuous | The hall is being painted this week. | is/are being + past participle |
| Past simple | John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. | was/were + past participle |
| Past continuous | The signs were being put up last week. | was/were being + past participle |
| Present perfect | Oranges have been grown here for centuries. | has/have been + past participle |
| Past perfect | When he got home, he found that his flat had been burgled. | had been + past participle |
| Future simple | The work will be finished next week. | will be + past participle |
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hi aattttuujj,
The passive in the past perfect is: had been + past participle. Good luck with your test :)
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Kaisoo93,
You can reformulate sentences such as these to have a subject and a finite verb form, but it is not always passive. Depending on the context, an active form may be required:
Your second example also likely requires an active form:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi danohara,
I've updated the table now. Thanks so much for letting us know about the correction :)
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello SonuKumar,
The second sentence is correct as you are describing an action which began in the past and continues to the present.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Fiona,
Both forms are possible, depending on the context, of course.
The present perfect (have changed) is used when we are talking about the present result of a past action or event.
The present simple passive (are changed) tells us about the current situation. Normally, it does not necessarily mean that there is something different about the present as compared to the past. However, the verb 'change' already contains this meaning, so we have a situation in which the lexical item (the word) carries meaning which is normally part of the verb form. Even so, the present perfect is more common, with change as much as with other verbs.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team