The passive

In most sentences, the subject carries out an action and the See also:
object receives it, or the result of it. In passive sentences, Present simple 1 Present continuous 4
Infinitives and participles 51
this is reversed: the subject receives the action.

THE PRESENT SIMPLE PASSIVE

Passive sentences take emphasis away from the agent (the person or thing doing the
action), and put it on the action itself, or the person or thing receiving the action.
In the present simple passive, the present simple verb becomes a past participle.

The focus is on “many people.”

The subject of the active sentence is “many people.”

The focus is on “this book,” which is “Study” changes to “is studied.”

the subject of the passive sentence.

FURTHER EXAMPLES The speaker doesn’t mention the agent

because the verb obviously refers to the police.
The passive is used when the
agent is obvious, unknown,
or unimportant. It is also
useful when describing a The agent is not mentioned because
process where the result of the process is more important.
the action is important.

“Be” and the subject swap places to form questions.

HOW TO FORM
All passives use a form of “be” with a past participle. The agent (the thing doing the action)
can be introduced with “by,” but the sentence would still make sense without it.

SUBJECT “AM / IS / ARE” PAST PARTICIPLE

“BY”

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 THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS PASSIVE
The present continuous passive
is used to refer to ongoing actions.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS

PRESENT CONTINUOUS PASSIVE

FURTHER EXAMPLES

HOW TO FORM

SUBJECT “AM / IS / ARE” “BEING” PAST PARTICIPLE REST OF SENTENCE

The thing that Present simple The past participle describes

receives the action. of “be.” what happens to the subject.

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 The passive in the past
English uses the passive voice in the past to stress the See also:
effect of an action that happened in the past, rather Past simple 7 Past continuous 10
Present perfect 11 Past perfect 13
than the cause of that action.

THE PAST SIMPLE PASSIVE

The past simple passive is used when referring to a single completed
action in the past, focusing on the effect rather than the cause.

PAST SIMPLE

PAST SIMPLE PASSIVE

FURTHER EXAMPLES

HOW TO FORM
SUBJECT “WAS / WERE” PAST PARTICIPLE REST OF SENTENCE

The thing that “Was” is for singular subjects, The main verb is a
receives the action. and “were” is for plural subjects. past participle.

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 THE PAST CONTINUOUS PASSIVE
The past continuous can also be used in the passive
voice. It is used to refer to ongoing actions in the past.

PAST CONTINUOUS

PAST CONTINUOUS PASSIVE

FURTHER EXAMPLES

HOW TO FORM
SUBJECT “WAS / WERE” “BEING” PAST PARTICIPLE "BY" + AGENT

The thing that “Was” is for singular subjects, The main verb is expressed
receives the action. and “were” is for plural subjects. as a past participle.

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 THE PRESENT PERFECT PASSIVE
The present perfect passive is used to talk about events in
the past that still have an effect on the present moment.
PRESENT PERFECT

PRESENT PERFECT PASSIVE

FURTHER EXAMPLES

The subject and verb swap

places to form questions.

HOW TO FORM
SUBJECT “HAS / HAVE” “BEEN” PAST PARTICIPLE

The thing that “Been” stays the same no The main verb is expressed
receives the action. matter what the subject is. as a past participle.

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 THE PAST PERFECT PASSIVE
The past perfect passive is used to refer to events
that happened before another event in the past.

PAST PERFECT PASSIVE

PAST PERFECT

FURTHER EXAMPLES

HOW TO FORM
SUBJECT "HAD BEEN" PAST PARTICIPLE

The thing that “Had been” stays the The main verb is expressed
receives the action. same with any subject. as a past participle.

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 The passive in the future
English uses the passive voice in the future to stress See also:
the effect of an action that will happen in the Future with "will" 18 Future perfect 21
Infinitives and participles 51
future, rather than the cause of that action.

THE FUTURE SIMPLE PASSIVE

The future simple passive is usually formed with "will" rather than "going to."

FUTURE SIMPLE

FUTURE SIMPLE PASSIVE

It is not known or important who will catch the thief.

FURTHER EXAMPLES

HOW TO FORM
SUBJECT “WILL BE” PAST PARTICIPLE REST OF SENTENCE

The thing that “Will be” doesn’t change The main verb is a
receives the action. with any subject. past participle.

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 THE FUTURE PERFECT PASSIVE
The future perfect passive is used to talk about events
that will be finished at some point in the future.
FUTURE PERFECT

FUTURE PERFECT PASSIVE

FURTHER EXAMPLES

HOW TO FORM
SUBJECT “WILL HAVE BEEN” PAST PARTICIPLE

The thing that “Will have been” stays the The main verb is
receives the action. same with any subject. a past participle.

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 The passive with modals
Modal verbs in English can be used in passive forms. See also:
As with other passive constructions, the emphasis Present perfect simple 11 Passive 24
Modal verbs 56
changes to the object that receives the action.

MODALS IN THE PRESENT PASSIVE

Modals in passive forms don’t change. The sentence starts with
the modal, then the verb “be” plus the past participle.

PRESENT WITH MODAL

PRESENT PASSIVE WITH MODAL

FURTHER EXAMPLES

HOW TO FORM
SUBJECT MODAL VERB “BE” PAST PARTICIPLE REST OF SENTENCE

The thing that Other modal verbs “Be” stays the same no matter The main verb is a past
receives the action. can go here. what the subject is. participle form.

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 MODALS IN THE PERFECT PASSIVE
Modals in perfect tenses can become passive
by replacing “have” with “have been.”

PERFECT WITH MODAL

PERFECT PASSIVE WITH MODAL

FURTHER EXAMPLES

HOW TO FORM
SUBJECT MODAL VERB “HAVE BEEN” PAST PARTICIPLE REST OF SENTENCE

The thing that Other modal verbs “Have been” stays the same The main verb is a past
receives the action. can go here. with any subject. participle form.

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 Other passive constructions
Many idioms in English use passive forms. Some idioms See also:
use standard rules for passive forms, while others are Passive voice 45 Reporting verbs 24
Defining relative clauses 81
slightly different.

REPORTING WITH PASSIVES

Some passive constructions are used to distance
the writer or speaker from the facts. They are
often used in academic writing or news reports.

“IT” + PASSIVE REPORTING VERB “THAT” CLAUSE

SUBJECT + PASSIVE
REPORTING VERB INFINITIVE CLAUSE

“THERE” + PASSIVE
REPORTING VERB “TO BE / TO HAVE BEEN”

FURTHER EXAMPLES

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 USING “GET” IN PASSIVE CONSTRUCTIONS
“Get” can sometimes replace “be” in passive sentences.
This form is more informal than the passive with “be.”

PRESENT SIMPLE PASSIVE

PAST SIMPLE PASSIVE

FURTHER EXAMPLES

HOW TO FORM

SUBJECT “GET / GOT” PAST PARTICIPLE REST OF SENTENCE

The thing that A form of “get” is The past participle describes

receives the action. used instead of “be.” what happens to the subject.

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