Passives
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
𝟏- 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞:
-𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 pancakes from whole grains and eggs.
--> Pancakes 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 from whole grains and eggs.
(to be in simple present "are" + past participle of the verbe "made")
𝟐-𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞:
-𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚 the glass.
--> The glass 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚗.
(to be in simple past "was" + past participle of the verbe " broken")
𝟑-𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬:
- 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 on cleaning the public garden these days.
--> The public garden 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐝 these days.
(to be in simple past "is being" + past participle of the verbe "cleaned")
𝟒-𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁:
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 the fire within three days before it 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 the village.
-->The fire 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 by the firefighters within three days before it reached the village.
(to be in past continuous "had been" + past participle of the verbe "put out")
𝟱-𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀:
When the neighbor arrived, Sam 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 roses in the garden.
--> When the neighbor arrived, roses 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝚜𝚘𝚠𝚗 in the garden.
(to be in past continuous"were being" + past participle of the verbs "sown")
𝟔-𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁:
𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜 who 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐝 smuggled goods in some public shops.
-->Smuggled goods 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘥 in some public shops by traders.
(to be in present perfect "have been" + past participle of the verbs "sold")
𝟕-𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞:
-𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 the motorway within a few months.
--> The motorway 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥 within a few months.
(to be in future simple "will be" + past participle of the verbs "completed")
Both of my answers are right. But I don't understand why this sentence ''My phone ___ last week, so I didn't get your message until today. '' uses Past continuous tense?
Hello Isabella9901,
The speaker is talking about something that was in progress at a particular time in the past: when you sent your message my phone was being repaired.
The simple form would suggest that the repair and the message were at the same moment; the continuous tells us that one action happened during a longer one.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
There were tow action one long(phone was fixed) and short(reserving the massage) during a period of time.
Active-My mother slapped last week.
Passive1 I was slapped by my mother last week.
Passive2 I was slapped last week by mother.
Which of the above passive form is correct? Basically, I want to know whether it is a rule that (by+subject) has to be written at the end of the sentence or it can be written in the middle of the sentence.
Hello BRkr2003,
Both sentences are correct. The word order is flexible but the first example with the by-clause directly after the verb phrase is more common.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Dear teacher could you explane how to know what type of tense I need to put in any sentence. Why addicted to it ? How do i know if in that sentence i should put past simple of past perfect and and so on
Thank you
Hello sabina.93,
Which form of the verb we use depends on many factors. What are you trying to describe (reality)? What do you want to say (intention)? What was said before and what will be said after (context)? How do you want to sound (presentation)? What do you want to emphasise or de-emphasise (focus)?
As you can see, there is no simple answer to your question. My advice is to work systematically through the various sections on the site focusing on pages and material suited to your level.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team