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What is a passive sentence?
Why do we use the passive?
How to make a passive?

What is a passive sentence?
Most of spoken English uses active speech. In active sentences the subject is the focus of the sentence. For example:
Active Voice, Passive Voice

There are two special forms for verbs called voice:

Active voice
Passive voice

The active voice is the "normal" voice. This is the voice that we use most of the time. You are probably already familiar with the active voice. In the active voice, the object receives the action of the verb:

active	subject	verb	object
		>
	Cats	eat	fish.

The passive voice is less usual. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb:

passive	subject	verb	object
	<
	Fish	are eaten	by cats.

The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb:

	subject	verb	object
active	Everybody	drinks	water.
passive	Water	is drunk	by everybody.

Now we'll look at the passive voice in more detail »

Passive Voice

The passive voice is less usual than the active voice. The active voice is the "normal" voice. But sometimes we need the passive voice. In this lesson we look at how to construct the passive voice, when to use it and how to conjugate it.

Construction of the Passive Voice

The structure of the passive voice is very simple:

subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past participle)

The main verb is always in its past participle form.

Look at these examples:

subject	auxiliary verb (to be)		main verb (past participle)
Water	is		drunk	by everyone.
100 people	are		__________	by this _____.
I	am		_____	in euro.
We	are	not	_____	in _____.
Are	they		_____	in _____?

Use of the Passive Voice

We use the passive when:

we want to make the active object more important
we do not know the active subject

	subject	verb	object
give importance to active object (President Kennedy)	President Kennedy	was killed	by Lee Harvey Oswald.
active subject unknown	My _____	has been _____.	?

Note that we always use by to introduce the passive object (Fish are eaten by cats).

Look at this sentence:

He was killed with a gun.

Normally we use by to introduce the passive object. But the gun is not the active subject. The gun did not kill him. He was killed by somebody with a gun. In the active voice, it would be: Somebody killed him with a gun. The gun is the instrument. Somebody is the "agent" or "doer".

Conjugation for the Passive Voice

We can form the passive in any tense. In fact, conjugation of verbs in the passive tense is rather easy, as the main verb is always in past participle form and the auxiliary verb is always be. To form the required tense, we conjugate the auxiliary verb. So, for example:

present simple: It is made
present continuous: It is being made
present perfect: It has been made

Here are some examples with most of the possible tenses:

infinitive		to be washed
simple	present	It is washed.
	past	It was washed.
	future	It will be washed.
	conditional	It would be washed.
continuous	present	It is being washed.
	past	It was being washed.
	future	It will be being washed.
	conditional	It would be being washed.
perfect simple	present	It has been washed.
	past	It had been washed.
	future	It will have been washed.
	conditional	It would have been washed.
perfect continuous	present	It has been being washed.
	past	It had been being washed.
	future	It will have been being washed.
	conditional	It would have been being washed.

Now check your understanding »

Active or Passive Quiz
1 I ate a piece of chocolate cake.
active
2 The librarian read the book to the students.
active
3 The _____ was _____.
passive
4 They are _____ on Fridays.
passive
5 The movie is being made in _____.
passive
6 I washed my car three weeks ago.
active
7 His hair was cut by a professional.
passive
8 I will introduce you to my boss this week.
active
9 It would have been fixed on the weekend.
passive
10 The _____ anthem is being sung by Jason this time.
passive

Active = 'The Egyptians built the Pyramids a long time ago.' In this sentence the Egyptians are the subject and the Pyramids are the object.
In passive sentences the object becomes the subject and focus of the sentence. For example:
Passive = 'The Pyramids were built by the Egyptians a long time ago.'
Why do we use the passive?
We use the passive when:

* We do not know who did the action = 'The window was broken.' (we don't know who broke it.)
* It is not important who did the action = 'Breakfast is served at 7am.' (it is not important who serves breakfast)
* It is very clear/ obvious who did the action = 'Corn is grown in this field.' (obviously, farmers grow the corn)
How to make a passive?
be (is,was) + past participle (been, drawn) makes the passive.

Use of Passive

Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.

Example: My bike was stolen.

In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.

Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:

Example: A mistake was made.

In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have made a mistake.).

Form of Passive

Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs)

Example: A letter was written.

When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:

the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)

Examples of Passive

Tense Subject Verb Object

Simple Present Active: Rita writes a letter.

Passive: A letter is written by Rita.

Simple Past Active: Rita wrote a letter.

Passive: A letter was written by Rita.

Present Perfect Active: Rita has written a letter.

Passive: A letter has been written by Rita.

Future I Active: Rita will write a letter.

Passive: A letter will be written by Rita.

- Active: Rita can write a letter.

Passive: A letter can be written by Rita.

Examples of Passive

Tense Subject Verb Object

Present Progressive Active: Rita is writing a letter.

Passive: A letter is being written by Rita.

Past Progressive Active: Rita was writing a letter.

Passive: A letter was being written by Rita.

Past Perfect Active: Rita had written a letter.

Passive: A letter had been written by Rita.

Future II Active: Rita will have written a letter.

Passive: A letter will have been written by Rita.

Conditional I Active: Rita would write a letter.

Passive: A letter would be written by Rita.

Conditional II Active: Rita would have written a letter.

Passive: A letter would have been written by Rita.

Passive Sentences with Two Objects
Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.

Subject Verb Object 1 Object 2

Active: Rita wrote a letter to me.

Passive: A letter was written to me by Rita.

Passive: I was written a letter by Rita.

.
As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. That’s why it is usually dropped.

Personal and Impersonal Passive

Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. So every verb that needs an object (transitive verb) can form a personal passive.

Example: They build houses. – Houses are built.

Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive sentence (as there is no object that can become the subject of the passive sentence). If you want to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you need an impersonal construction – therefore this passive is called Impersonal Passive.

Example: he says – it is said

Impersonal Passive is not as common in English as in some other languages (e.g. German, Latin). In English, Impersonal Passive is only possible with verbs of perception (e. g. say, think, know).

Example: They say that women live longer than men. – It is said that women live longer than men.

Although Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.

Example: They say that women live longer than men. – Women are said to live longer than men.

The subject of the subordinate clause (women) goes to the beginning of the sentence; the verb of perception is put into passive voice. The rest of the sentence is added using an infinitive construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary verbs and that are dropped).

Sometimes the term Personal Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect object of an active sentence is to become the subject of the passive sentence.

Active and Passive Voice

Sentences can be written or spoken in the active or passive voice. In the active voice, the subject of the sentence acts upon something or someone. In the passive voice, the subject is acted upon.

For example:

Active Voice: The twister left a path of destruction.

Passive Voice: A path of destruction was left by the twister.

Writers should usually use the active voice rather than the passive. It’s considered to be a more powerful and straightforward form of expression. The active voice also uses less words to convey the same message.

The following sentences are written in the passive voice. Rewrite them in the active voice.

1. James was chosen by Kathy to be her assistant.

2. This awful mess was made by your friends!

3. Everyone in need is helped by Michael.

4. You will be made well by this medicine!

5. Many inventions were created by Edison.

6. The article was written by my friend.

7. Many fine sites are hosted by Software Workshop.

8. Claudia was enraged by Richard’s sarcastic comments.

Active / Passive Overview

	Active	Passive
Simple Present	Once a week, Tom cleans the house.	Once a week, the house is cleaned by Tom.
Present Continuous	Right now, Sarah is writing the letter.	Right now, the letter is being written by Sarah.
Simple Past	Sam repaired the car.	The car was repaired by Sam.
Past Continuous	The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the store.	The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the store.
Present Perfect	Many tourists have visited that castle.	That castle has been visited by many tourists.
Present Perfect Continuous	Recently, John has been doing the work.	Recently, the work has been being done by John.
Past Perfect	George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license.	Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's license.
Past Perfect Continuous	Chef Jones had been preparing the restaurant's fantastic dinners for two years before he moved to Paris.	The restaurant's fantastic dinners had been being prepared by Chef Jones for two years before he moved to Paris.
Simple Future will	Someone will finish the work by 5:00 PM.	The work will be finished by 5:00 PM.
Simple Future be going to	Sally is going to make a beautiful dinner tonight.	A beautiful dinner is going to be made by Sally tonight.
Future Continuous will	At 8:00 PM tonight, John will be washing the dishes.	At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes will be being washed by John.
Future Continuous be going to	At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going to be washing the dishes.	At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes are going to be being washed by John.
Future Perfect will	They will have completed the project before the deadline.	The project will have been completed before the deadline.
Future Perfect be going to	They are going to have completed the project before the deadline.	The project is going to have been completed before the deadline.
Future Perfect Continuous will	The famous artist will have been painting the mural for over six months by the time it is finished.	The mural will have been being painted by the famous artist for over six months by the time it is finished.
Future Perfect Continuous be going to	The famous artist is going to have been painting the mural for over six months by the time it is finished.	The mural is going to have been being painted by the famous artist for over six months by the time it is finished.
Used to	Jerry used to pay the bills.	The bills used to be paid by Jerry.
Would Always	My mother would always make the pies.	The pies would always be made by my mother.
Future in the Past Would	I knew John would finish the work by 5:00 PM.	I knew the work would be finished by 5:00 PM.
Future in the Past Was Going to	I thought Sally was going to make a beautiful dinner tonight.	I thought a beautiful dinner was going to be made by Sally tonight.

Some examples of active and passive sentences:

ACTIVE: They speak English.
PASSIVE: English is spoken.

ACTIVE: They spoke English.
PASSIVE: English was spoken.

ACTIVE: They will speak English.
PASSIVE: English will be spoken.

ACTIVE: They are going to speak English.
PASSIVE: English is going to be spoken.

ACTIVE: They are speaking English.
PASSIVE: English is being spoken.

ACTIVE: They were speaking English.
PASSIVE: English was being spoken.

ACTIVE: They have spoken English.
PASSIVE: English has been spoken.

ACTIVE: They had spoken English.
PASSIVE: English had been spoken.

ACTIVE: They will have spoken English.
PASSIVE: English will have been spoken.

5. Perfect progressive verb forms are generally used in active voice only. That is, these are good English sentences:

ACTIVE: They have been speaking English.
ACTIVE: They had been speaking English.
ACTIVE: They will have been speaking English.

But sentences like these are rarely used:

PASSIVE: English has been being spoken.
PASSIVE: English had been being spoken.
PASSIVE: English will have been being spoken.

PASSIVE VOICE

How to Form the Passive

The passive voice in English is composed of two elements : the appropriate form of the verb 'to be' + the past participle of the verb in question:

Subject	verb 'to be'	past participle
The house	was	built ...

Example

to clean

Subject	verb 'to be'	past participle
Simple present:
The house	is	cleaned every day.

Present continuous:
The house	is being	cleaned at the moment.

Simple past:
The house	was	cleaned yesterday.

Past continuous:
The house	was being	cleaned last week.

Present perfect:
The house	has been	cleaned since you left.

Past perfect:
The house	had been	cleaned before their arrival.

Future:
The house	will be	cleaned next week.

Future continuous:
The house	will be being	cleaned tomorrow.

Present conditional:
The house	would be	cleaned if they had visitors.

Past conditional:
The house	would have been	cleaned if it had been dirty.

NOTE: 'to be born' is a passive form and is most commonly used in the past tense:

I was born in 1976. When were you born?
BUT: Around 100 babies are born in this hospital every week.

Infinitive form: infinitive of 'to be' + past participle: (to) be cleaned

This form is used after modal verbs and other verbs normally followed by an infinitive, e.g.

You have to be tested on your English grammar
John might be promoted next year.
She wants to be invited to the party.

Gerund or -ing form: being + past participle: being cleaned

This form is used after prepositions and verbs normally followed by a gerund

Examples

Most film stars hate being interviewed.
I remember being taught to drive.
The children are excited about being taken to the zoo.

NOTE: Sometimes the passive is formed using the verb to get instead of the verb to be:

He got arrested for dangerous driving.
They're getting married later this year.
I'm not sure how the window got broken.