How the task looks
You get five sentences. You must choose all correctly formulated passive constructions — usually two, three or four.
Choose the correctly formulated Passive constructions.
Two things are checked at the same time:
- Is the sentence passive at all? A correct active sentence (The children were singing in the hall) is not a passive construction, so it is not chosen.
- Is the passive formed correctly? The letter has sent — the form is broken (has been sent), so it is not chosen either.
Choose a sentence only if both answers are “yes”.
Symbols used below
S = subject; V1 = base form (write); V2 = past simple (wrote); V3 = past participle (written); V-ing = -ing form (writing).
What the passive means
In an active sentence the subject does the action: Workers built the bridge.
In a passive sentence the subject receives the action: The bridge was built (by workers).
We use the passive when the doer is unknown, unimportant or obvious, or when we want to focus on the result: My phone has been stolen. English is spoken here. The museum was opened in 1921.
How to build it
Passive = be (in the needed tense) + V3
- Be shows the tense and agrees with the subject: is / are / was / were / has been / will be…
- V3 (past participle) never changes: built, written, taken, made, sent, found.
- The doer, if needed, comes with by: by the team. The tool comes with with: opened with a key.
Passive in all tenses
| Tense | Active | Passive | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | V1 / V1-s | am / is / are + V3 | The rooms are cleaned every day. |
| Present Continuous | am / is / are + V-ing | am / is / are being + V3 | The bridge is being painted. |
| Present Perfect | have / has + V3 | have / has been + V3 | The letters have been sent. |
| Past Simple | V2 | was / were + V3 | The door was repaired. |
| Past Continuous | was / were + V-ing | was / were being + V3 | The road was being widened. |
| Past Perfect | had + V3 | had been + V3 | The tickets had been sold out. |
| Future Simple | will + V1 | will be + V3 | The results will be announced tomorrow. |
| Future Perfect | will have + V3 | will have been + V3 | The bridge will have been finished by May. |
| be going to | am/is/are going to + V1 | am/is/are going to be + V3 | The house is going to be sold. |
| Modal | can / must / should + V1 | modal + be + V3 | These forms must be signed today. |
| Perfect modal | may / must / should have + V3 | modal + have been + V3 | The letter may have been lost. |
| Infinitive | to + V1 | to be + V3 | I want to be told the truth. |
| -ing form | V-ing | being + V3 | She hates being interrupted. |
Being = continuous (or -ing form). Been = perfect. Do not mix them up: ✗ has being sent, ✗ is been sent.
Irregular V3: learn them well
The passive is wrong if V3 is wrong. The most common irregular forms:
| V1 | V3 | V1 | V3 | V1 | V3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| build | built | give | given | see | seen |
| buy | bought | grow | grown | sell | sold |
| bring | brought | hide | hidden | send | sent |
| catch | caught | hold | held | shoot | shot |
| choose | chosen | keep | kept | show | shown |
| do | done | know | known | speak | spoken |
| draw | drawn | lay | laid | spend | spent |
| drive | driven | leave | left | steal | stolen |
| eat | eaten | lose | lost | take | taken |
| find | found | make | made | teach | taught |
| forget | forgotten | pay | paid | tell | told |
| forbid | forbidden | put | put | throw | thrown |
| freeze | frozen | ride | ridden | wake | woken |
| get | got / gotten | ring | rung | write | written |
✗ was builded, ✗ was wrote, ✗ has been took → ✓ was built, was written, has been taken.
Questions and negatives in the passive
Move the first part of be (or the modal / have / will) before the subject. Never add do / did:
| Statement | Question | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| It was opened in 1990. | Was it opened in 1990? | It wasn’t opened… |
| They have been painted. | Have they been painted? | They haven’t been painted. |
| It will be announced. | Will it be announced? | It won’t be announced. |
| It can be done. | Can it be done? | It can’t be done. |
| It is made of glass. | Is it made of glass? | It isn’t made of glass. |
✗ When did the stadium was built? → ✓ When was the stadium built?
✗ Have the walls painted yet? → ✓ Have the walls been painted yet? (without been it is an active question that does not make sense — walls cannot paint)
Verbs that cannot be passive
A verb can be passive only if it has an object in the active. These verbs have no object and cannot be passive:
happen, occur, appear, disappear, arrive, come, go, die, fall, sleep, exist, rise, seem, become, remain
✗ The accident was happened at night. → ✓ The accident happened at night.
✗ He was died in 1900. → ✓ He died in 1900.
✗ The sun was risen. → ✓ The sun rose.
Some verbs with an object are still not used in the passive in a state meaning: have (= own), belong to, consist of, resemble, lack, fit, suit.
✗ A car is had by my brother. ✗ Your father is resembled by you.
Be born is always passive: ✓ She was born in 2008. ✗ She born in 2008.
Two objects, prepositions and pronouns
Verbs with two objects (give, send, show, offer, tell, teach, pay, promise) can have two passives:
They gave Ann a prize. → Ann was given a prize. / A prize was given to Ann.
Verbs with prepositions keep the preposition after V3:
Somebody looked after the child. → The child was looked after.
People laughed at him. → He was laughed at.
They spoke about the problem. → The problem was spoken about.
Pronouns change their form: active object them / me / him becomes passive subject they / I / he; after by use the object form: by them, by me, by her.
✗ Him was invited. → ✓ He was invited.
Special passive structures
| Structure | Example | Note |
|---|---|---|
| It is said / believed / known + that | It is said that the castle is haunted. | impersonal passive |
| S + is said / believed + to + V1 | The castle is said to be haunted. | present meaning |
| S + is said / believed + to have + V3 | He is believed to have left the country. | earlier action |
| be made to + V1 | We were made to wait for hours. | passive of make somebody do |
| be seen / heard to + V1 | He was seen to leave the bank. | passive of see somebody do |
| be allowed to + V1 | Students are not allowed to use phones. | passive of allow |
| have / get + object + V3 | I had my car repaired. | causative: someone else did it |
| get + V3 | He got injured in the match. | informal passive |
| need + V-ing = need to be + V3 | The window needs cleaning / needs to be cleaned. | ✗ needs being cleaned |
Participle (reduced) passive constructions
A V3 phrase can replace a passive clause. It is also a passive construction, and it is correct if it describes a noun that receives the action:
- The ring found in the garden belonged to my grandmother. (= the ring which was found…)
- Built in 1965, the stadium was rebuilt last year. (= It was built…)
- All the dishes served here are cooked fresh.
- Written in simple English, the book is easy to read.
But a sentence must still have a finite verb. These are not complete sentences:
✗ The patients being checked by the doctor at that moment. → ✓ The patients were being checked …
✗ Potatoes brought to Europe in the 16th century. → ✓ Potatoes were brought … (without were it looks as if the potatoes brought something)
Made of, made from, made by, made in
| Phrase | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| made of | the material can still be seen | The table is made of oak. |
| made from | the material has changed | Paper is made from wood. |
| made by | the person / company that made it | The cake was made by my mother. |
| made in | the country / place | This phone was made in Korea. |
The most common mistakes
| ✗ Wrong | ✓ Correct | What is wrong |
|---|---|---|
| The letter has sent. | The letter has been sent. | been missing |
| The house built in 1900. | The house was built in 1900. | be missing |
| The report will have written by Friday. | The report will have been written by Friday. | been missing |
| The parcel had delivered before noon. | The parcel had been delivered before noon. | been missing |
| The road is been repaired. | The road is being repaired. | being / been mixed |
| The book was wrote in 1990. | The book was written in 1990. | wrong V3 |
| The accident was happened. | The accident happened. | happen has no passive |
| When did it was built? | When was it built? | no did in a passive question |
| The children was taken home. | The children were taken home. | agreement |
| The child was looked. | The child was looked after. | preposition lost |
| He was made wait. | He was made to wait. | to returns in the passive |
Worked example
- The new library will be opened next month. — ✓ will be + V3; a correct passive. Choose.
- The children were playing in the garden all day. — correct, but it is active (Past Continuous). Do not choose.
- This song has been sung by many famous singers. — ✓ has been + V3 (sing – sang – sung). Choose.
- The match was cancelled because of the rain. — ✓ was + V3. Choose.
- The windows have cleaned this morning. — ✗ been is missing: have been cleaned. Do not choose.
Answer: 1, 3, 4.
Final checklist
- Is the sentence passive at all (subject receives the action, be + V3 or a V3 phrase)? Active sentences are not chosen.
- Is the form of be in the right tense — including being for continuous and been for perfect?
- Does be agree with the subject (was / were, is / are, has / have)?
- Is V3 correct, especially irregular verbs?
- Can this verb be passive (has an object; not happen, die, arrive)?
- Is the needed preposition kept (looked after, laughed at)?
- Is there a finite verb, so the sentence is complete?
- In a question — is the auxiliary before the subject, without do / did?