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
Hello!
Could you please explain what type of passive is it:
"We were afraid of being seen together"
Thank you!
Hi Iryna_hn,
This is a passive -ing form (or passive gerund). The structure is being + past participle. It is needed here because it follows the preposition of. Here are a couple more examples.
Hope that helps.
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Hello support team
Can anyone explain a question on second grammer test:
Someone ___ my talk at the conference and recommended me as a speaker.
The answer was"saw" but i think it should be "had seen". Because verb of "see" happened before verb "recommend" and they both hapenned in past.
And secondly i want to ask why are we saying "I went home then I changed my clothes, then I leaved." Instead of using past perfect.
Thank you.
Hello Emirorhan,
For past actions which happen in sequence (i.e. not at the same time) we usually use two past simple forms. For example: I got up, I cleaned my teeth, I had a shower and I went to work.
This is true even if we change the order of description: Before I went to work I got up, cleaned my teeth and I had a shower.
So, when do we use the past perfect? We use it when an action not only happens before another action in the past, but when the two events are connected in some way. In other words, if an action triggers (causes) another action, or if one action has a direct influence on a later action then the past perfect is common. As you can see, the past perfect does fit in your sentence as the earlier action (seeing you) affected or caused the later action (recommending you). The past simple is also fine, however - it is up to the speaker how far they choose to link the two actions.
I think I've already answered the second question in my description of the past simple above. Note that the past form of 'leave' is 'left' - it's irregular.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Good morning everyone
I have doubts about passive regarding “impersonal passive structure and the normal passive structure” for example: _ he reads books.
1) the normal passive structure: Books are read.
2) the impersonal passive structure: it’s said that he reads books. OR he is said to read books.
The question is: can I make the sentences that have “object” with the two structures? OR there are sentences go with the normal structure, and sentences go with the impersonal?
Thank you in advance.
Hi khaledAl5,
Good question. Yes, you can transform a sentence that has an object into the two passive forms that you mentioned.
However, as the impersonal passive includes a phrase such as "It's said that ..." or "He is said to ...", it tends to be used when the speaker wants to report what other people say. Apart from "say", other reporting verbs can be used in this structure (e.g. "It's believed / claimed / suggested / reported that ..."). If the speaker is not reporting what other people say, the normal passive would be preferred.
If you are interested in this topic, we are currently preparing a new C1 grammar page on it and it should be published soon!
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Hello support team!
I hope you're doing well and feeling alright.
The following multiple-choice question was in my entrance exam, and I think it has two correct answers, making it technically incorrect.
I would be obliged if you would help me. Here it goes:
They are first taught the basic procedures for scuba diving, including safety and communication with fellow divers, ................... with the equipment before dipping their
toes into the water.
1) and familiarized ✅
2) who are familiarized
3) while they are familiarizing
4) then familiarize themselves✅
Hi Amir__760__,
I would choose answer 1 as the correct one.
Consider this sentence: They are taught the procedures and then familiarised with the equipment. Here, "then" is an adverb. But the sentence also needs to include the conjunction "and", which functions to join the two parts of the sentence. We need "and" because "then" is not a conjunction and it can't join the parts of the sentence in this way. Strictly speaking, therefore, it's incorrect to say They are taught the procedures, then familiarize themselves ... because a conjunction (e.g. "and") is missing. (I should add that it is, nonetheless, fairly common to use "then" in this way in actual speaking and writing.) It should instead be one of these options.
So, answer 4 can be considered incorrect - not because of "familiarize themselves", but because of the use of "then" as a conjunction.
I hope that helps to answer your question.
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Please explain to me the rules of passive for the following sentence :
His employers did not pay him well.
Hello Sarita,
You need to change the object 'him' into a subject ('he'). The active verb 'did not pay', which is a negative past simple verb, should be converted into a passive verb by putting 'be' into the negative past simple plus the past participle of 'pay'. Then use the adverb 'well' (with no change in form). Finally, the subject 'his employers' goes after 'by' to show the agent.
Why don't you write it out and we confirm if it's correct?
All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team