slug: passive-voice title: Passive Voice group: structures order: 1 summary: Shift the focus from the doer of an action to the receiver of the action. formula: S + be + V-ed/V3 (+ by O)
When to use it
English has two voices: active (the subject does the action) and passive (the subject receives the action). Use the passive when the doer is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from context, or when you want to emphasise what happened rather than who did it.
The report was written by the manager.
The passive appears in all tenses. The tense is carried entirely by the form of be — the past participle itself never changes.
Form
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present simple | The chef cooks the meal. | The meal is cooked. |
| Past simple | Someone stole the car. | The car was stolen. |
| Present perfect | They have fixed the road. | The road has been fixed. |
| Future simple | We will deliver the package. | The package will be delivered. |
| Modal | You must sign the form. | The form must be signed. |
The agent (doer) can be re-introduced with by + noun phrase. Leave it out when the agent is obvious or irrelevant: "The bridge was built in 1998" — who built it is not the point.
Examples
- English is spoken in more than 50 countries.
- The keys were found on the table this morning.
- The final decision has not been made yet.
Common mistakes
- Keeping the wrong subject: "The book was written him" → The book was written by him.
- Forgetting
be: "The window broken" → The window was broken. - Using the wrong participle form: "The letter is wrote" → The letter is written.