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The Passive Voice in English
How the English passive works: be + past participle, when to use it, how to add the agent with by, the tenses, common mistakes, and a quick exercise.
In an active sentence, the subject does the action: The chef cooked the meal. In the passive, the focus flips to the thing the action happens to: The meal was cooked. We use it when the doer is unknown, obvious, or simply less important than the action itself. The basic pattern is always be + past participle. The form of be changes with the tense; the past participle stays the same.
The form: be + past participle
Change be to match the tense; the past participle stays the same.
present continuous: The bridge is being repaired. · past continuous: The road was being repaired.
present perfect: The report has been sent. · future: It will be done tomorrow.
modal: This can be fixed.
When to use it
The doer is unknown or unimportant.
In formal, scientific, technical, or news writing, where the process or result matters more than the person.
Adding the doer with "by"
If the doer (the agent) matters, add it with by. Often you can leave it out.
Common mistakes
Forgetting "be". The standard passive needs a form of be.
✓The letter was sent yesterday.
You may also hear get + past participle in informal English: My bike got stolen. This guide focuses on the standard be-passive.
Making an intransitive verb passive. Verbs with no object (happen, arrive, die) can't be passive.
✓The accident happened.
Using the wrong participle. "The book was wrote" → The book was written. Irregular participles matter here.
Using "by" for an instrument. Use by for the person or agent, but with for the tool or instrument.
✓The window was broken with a stone. (instrument)
✓The window was broken by a boy. (agent)
Quick exercise
Make each sentence passive.
- Someone cleans the office every day. → The office …
- They will announce the results tomorrow. → The results …
- Picasso painted this picture. → This picture …
- They have cancelled the meeting. → The meeting …
- People speak English all over the world. → English …
Answer key
- The office is cleaned every day.
- The results will be announced tomorrow.
- This picture was painted by Picasso.
- The meeting has been cancelled.
- English is spoken all over the world.
Practice this in Recursio
The passive is a stable pattern — be + past participle — but be changes with the tense, so it clicks when you build it in real sentences. Recursio's AI Coach drills the transformation in real sentences and the Daily Mixed Review keeps it coming back until "was built" and "is made" feel automatic.
Practice grammar in Recursio → · Free to start, on iOS and Android.