Passive voice questions follow one recipe. This lesson shows the recipe and the traps.
This lesson covers the recipe, tenses, modals, questions and common traps.
- Recipe: Object first, be, participle.
- Simple tenses: Is, was, will be.
- Continuous: Is being.
- Modals: Modal plus be.
- Questions: By whom.
- Traps: Use the participle.
Active and Passive: The Basic Idea
What is the difference?
In the active voice, the subject does the action. The chef cooked the meal.
In the passive voice, the subject receives the action. The meal was cooked by the chef.
Why does the passive exist?
We use it when the doer is unknown or unimportant. My wallet was stolen.
We also use it when the action matters more than the person.
Can you turn active into passive?
Wrong: Ravi writes a letter.
Right: A letter is written by Ravi.
Wrong: The cat chased the mouse.
Right: The mouse was chased by the cat.
Why this works: The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive one.
Check
In the passive voice, the subject does the action.
The Three-Step Recipe
How do you change active to passive?
Step one: move the object to the front as the new subject.
Step two: use a form of be that matches the tense. Step three: add the past participle.
Can you see one converted?
Take: The teacher praised the student. The object is the student, so it moves to the front.
The tense is simple past, so use was. The student was praised by the teacher.
Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: active_1; Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: passive_2.
What happens to the doer?
The doer moves to the end after by. The song was sung by the choir.
You may drop it when it is unknown or obvious.
Example: Three steps on one sentence
Take: The chef cooked the meal. Step one: move the object, so The meal comes first.
Step two: add be in the same tense as cooked, which is was. Step three: add the past participle cooked and by the chef.
Why this works: you get The meal was cooked by the chef, and the tense stays in the past.
Check
The past participle is always used in the passive.
Simple Tenses
Simple present and simple past?
Simple present uses is, am or are. The meal is cooked by the chef.
Simple past uses was or were. The cake was baked by the cook.
Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: cook_1.
Simple future?
Simple future uses will be plus the past participle.
The meal will be cooked by the chef.
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Simple present | She writes a book. | A book is written by her. |
| Simple past | She wrote a book. | A book was written by her. |
| Simple future | She will write a book. | A book will be written by her. |
The form of be carries the tense.
Check
Simple past passive uses “was” or “were”.
Continuous and Perfect Tenses
Continuous tenses?
Present continuous uses is being. A bridge is being built by them.
Past continuous uses was being.
Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: build_1.
Perfect tenses?
Present perfect uses has been or have been. The work has been finished by her.
Past perfect uses had been.
Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: finish.
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present continuous | They are building a bridge. | A bridge is being built. |
| Present perfect | They have built a bridge. | A bridge has been built. |
| Past perfect | They had built a bridge. | A bridge had been built. |
Keep the tense, then add being or been plus the past participle.
Check
Present continuous passive uses “is being” or “are being”.
Modals in the Passive
How do modals change?
Keep the modal. Add be and the past participle.
You must submit the form becomes The form must be submitted.
Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: must_1; Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: submit.
Which modals are common?
Can, could, may, might, should and must all follow this pattern.
The form can be submitted online.
Can you fix the modal passive?
Wrong: The report can submitted today.
Right: The report can be submitted today.
Wrong: The rules should followed.
Right: The rules should be followed.
Why this works: After a modal, add be and then the past participle.
Check
“The form must submitted” is correct.
Questions and Commands
How do questions change?
Who-questions become by whom. Who wrote this poem? becomes By whom was this poem written?
Keep the question order after the change.
Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: whom; Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: poem.
How do commands change?
Commands use let. Close the door becomes Let the door be closed.
Passive commands are rare in daily speech.
Example: A who-question
Take: Who wrote this poem? Put the object first: This poem.
Add was written and then by whom. The passive is By whom was this poem written?
Why this works: who is the subject, so it becomes whom after by.
Check
A who-question becomes “by whom” in the passive.
Common Traps
What goes wrong?
Students forget the past participle. Say was stolen, not was stole.
They also pick the wrong tense for be.
Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: steal.
How do you spot the tense?
Find the tense of the original verb first.
Then match it: past becomes was, perfect becomes has been.
Can you keep the tense?
Wrong: The workers repaired the road. The road is repaired by the workers.
Right: The workers repaired the road. The road was repaired by the workers.
Wrong: She will sing a song. A song is sung by her.
Right: She will sing a song. A song will be sung by her.
Why this works: The tense of the passive must match the tense of the active verb.
Check
The tense of the passive must match the tense of the active verb.
A Simple Practice Plan
How do you build the habit?
Write five active sentences a day. Turn each into the passive.
Then turn each passive back to the active.
How do you review?
Do the quiz below. Re-read the rule for every miss.
Keep a table of tenses and their passive forms.
What should you remember on exam day?
Read the tense in the original sentence before touching anything.
Write the new subject, then be, then the participle, in that order.
Check
Switching back and forth builds fluency.
Exam Traps
Move the object to the front.
Match be to the tense.
Always add the past participle.
Keep the modal and add be.
Who-questions become by whom.
Check the tense twice.
MCQ on Active and Passive Voice
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Practice 16 MCQs on this topic
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