Passive Voice in English: Rules, Tenses & Practice

The passive voice in English is a choice about focus, not a more advanced version of every sentence. Compare The technician repaired the server with The server was repaired. The first sentence highlights the technician; the second highlights the server and leaves the technician unmentioned. This lesson gives you a reliable conversion method, then shows when the passive sounds natural and when active voice is clearer.

Active and passive: what changes?

An active sentence usually follows subject + verb + object:

The editor (subject) checked (verb) the references (object).

To make it passive, move the object to subject position, use be in the same tense, and keep the past participle:

The references were checked by the editor.

The tense lives in be. The past participle stays the same:

Active	Passive
The team checks the data.	The data is checked by the team.
The team checked the data.	The data was checked by the team.
The team has checked the data.	The data has been checked by the team.
The team will check the data.	The data will be checked by the team.

Use by + agent only when the person or thing doing the action helps the reader. “The bridge was designed by a famous engineer” adds useful information. “The bridge was inspected by someone” usually does not.

Passive voice tense chart

Tense	Passive structure	Example
Present simple	am/is/are + past participle	The rooms are cleaned every morning.
Present continuous	am/is/are being + past participle	The lift is being repaired now.
Past simple	was/were + past participle	The mural was painted in 1998.
Past continuous	was/were being + past participle	The road was being widened when we arrived.
Present perfect	has/have been + past participle	The files have been uploaded.
Past perfect	had been + past participle	The room had been booked before we called.
Future with will	will be + past participle	The decision will be announced on Friday.
Modal verb	modal + be + past participle	Visitors must be accompanied.

The most common error is to put the tense on the past participle. Write was built, not was build; has been chosen, not has chose.

When the passive is useful

Use the passive when the receiver is the logical topic:

• The vaccine was developed in record time. The development, not the scientists, is the topic.
• The winner will be announced at six. The organiser is not important or is already obvious.
• Three people were injured in the accident. The report focuses on the people affected.

It also helps formal and scientific writing keep the process in focus:

• The samples were stored at four degrees.
• The survey was completed by 640 participants.
• The results have been checked twice.

Do not force a passive into every formal sentence. Active voice is often shorter and clearer when the agent matters: The research team compared the two groups is more direct than The two groups were compared by the research team.

A four-step conversion method

Use this method with a sentence such as The school will publish the timetable next week.

1. Find the object: the timetable.
2. Move it to the front: The timetable …
3. Put be in the original tense. Will publish becomes will be.
4. Add the past participle: The timetable will be published next week. Add by the school only if the school matters.

With a negative, put not after the first auxiliary: The invoice was not paid. With a question, move the first auxiliary before the new subject: Was the invoice paid?

Questions, modals and two objects

Passive questions keep the tense in the first auxiliary:

• Active: Did the courier deliver the parcel?
• Passive: Was the parcel delivered by the courier?

After a modal, use modal + be + past participle:

• The form must be signed before Friday.
• The password should be changed regularly.
• The guests might be invited to the second session.

Some verbs have two objects, so either object can become the passive subject:

• Active: The trainer gave the learners feedback.
• Passive: The learners were given feedback.
• Passive: Feedback was given to the learners.

The first passive is often more natural when the person receiving something is the topic.

Passive infinitives, reporting and get

After need, want, expect and similar verbs, use to be + past participle:

• The form needs to be signed.
• The equipment is expected to be delivered by noon.

Academic and news writing often uses a reporting passive:

• It is believed that the painting is authentic.
• The painting is believed to be authentic.

In informal speech, get + past participle can describe a change or an event that affects someone: He got injured during training and The screen got cracked. It is not a replacement for every be passive, and it can sound too informal for a report.

Verbs that do not normally form a passive

A normal passive needs a direct object. You can repair The chef cooked the meal as The meal was cooked, but there is no direct object in The baby slept peacefully. Do not invent Peacefully was slept.

Some verbs can look similar but have different patterns:

• They arrived at the station. Arrive has no object, so it has no normal passive.
• They reached the station. The station was reached is grammatically possible, but active They reached the station is usually clearer.
• Someone stole my bike. My bike was stolen is a natural passive because bike is the object.

Six common mistakes to fix

Incorrect	Better sentence	Reason
The report was write yesterday.	The report was written yesterday.	Passive needs the past participle.
The results will announced tomorrow.	The results will be announced tomorrow.	Future passive needs will + be + participle.
The room is clean by staff every day.	The room is cleaned by staff every day.	Present simple passive uses is/are + participle.
The problem has solved.	The problem has been solved.	Present perfect passive needs has/have been.
The baby was slept by her mother.	The baby was put to sleep by her mother.	Sleep has no direct object in the original sentence.
It was repaired by someone.	It was repaired.	Remove an agent that adds no information.

Practice quiz

For each question, check two things: which noun should be the focus, and where the tense belongs.

Active or passive?

Question 1 of 10

The museum ___ in 1890.

A.builtB.was builtC.has builtD.was building

Printable worksheet

Complete the questions before opening the key. Use Print lesson near the top for a classroom copy; the answer explanations remain available in the printed version.

1. The museum ___ in 1890.
   A. built · B. was built · C. has built · D. was building
2. The results ___ on the website tomorrow.
   A. will publish · B. will be published · C. are publishing · D. published
3. Someone has repaired the lift. Choose the passive.
   A. The lift has repaired. · B. The lift has been repaired. · C. The lift was repairing. · D. The lift is repaired someone.
4. The road ___ when we arrived.
   A. was being resurfaced · B. was resurfacing · C. has resurfaced · D. resurfaced by
5. Which sentence does not need by + agent?
   A. The window was broken by the storm. · B. The report was written by Sara. · C. The tickets were sold by the box office. · D. The lights were switched off by someone.
6. They gave the winner a medal. Which passive is correct?
   A. The winner was given a medal. · B. The winner gave a medal. · C. A medal gave the winner. · D. The winner was giving a medal.
7. Which sentence uses a passive infinitive correctly?
   A. The files need to be checked. · B. The files need to checked. · C. The files need be checking. · D. The files need to have check.
8. The new rules ___ by all staff from Monday.
   A. must follow · B. must be followed · C. must have follow · D. must be following
9. Choose the natural active sentence for “The mistake was noticed by the tutor.”
   A. The tutor noticed the mistake. · B. The tutor was noticed the mistake. · C. The mistake noticed the tutor. · D. The tutor has noticing the mistake.
10. Which verb normally cannot form a useful passive here?
    A. The chef cooked the meal. · B. The team solved the problem. · C. The baby slept peacefully. · D. The editor changed the title.

Show answers and explanations

1. was built — The date gives a finished past event. Use past simple passive: was built.
2. will be published — Future passive is will + be + past participle: will be published.
3. The lift has been repaired. — Present perfect passive is has/have + been + past participle: has been repaired.
4. was being resurfaced — The work was in progress at a past moment, so use past continuous passive: was being resurfaced.
5. The lights were switched off by someone. — Someone is vague and adds no useful information. The passive already lets you omit an unknown or unimportant agent.
6. The winner was given a medal. — With give, the indirect object can become the passive subject: The winner was given a medal.
7. The files need to be checked. — A passive infinitive is to be + past participle: to be checked.
8. must be followed — After a modal, passive form is modal + be + past participle: must be followed.
9. The tutor noticed the mistake. — Move the by-agent to subject position and use the same tense: The tutor noticed the mistake.
10. The baby slept peacefully. — Sleep has no direct object in this sentence, so it cannot be turned into a normal passive.

A 20-minute classroom activity

Goal: learners choose voice for a reason and keep the original tense during transformation.

1. Notice, 4 minutes. Show a short event report with three active and three passive sentences. Learners underline the topic of each sentence and circle the agent.
2. Transform, 7 minutes. Pairs convert four active sentences into passive ones, then decide which by phrases should be removed.
3. Edit, 5 minutes. Give each pair two common mistakes from the table. They correct the sentence and explain whether the error is the auxiliary, participle, object or agent.
4. Write, 4 minutes. Learners write a four-sentence process description, such as how a school event is organised. Require two passive sentences and one active sentence where the agent matters.

For homework, ask learners to find three passive sentences in a news article or textbook. They should label the tense and explain why the writer foregrounded the receiver.

Key takeaways

• Passive voice = a form of be + past participle; the tense sits in be.
• Move the active object to the subject position, then decide whether by + agent adds useful information.
• Use passive when the receiver, result or process matters more than the doer.
• After a modal, use modal + be + past participle.
• Verbs without a direct object, such as sleep and arrive, do not normally form a passive.

Review English tenses to choose the correct form of be, then practise irregular participles with the irregular verbs list. For a different tense decision, try present perfect vs past simple.

Grammar references

The lesson, examples and exercises are original. For further reference, compare British Council: passives and British Council: active and passive voice.