Passive Voice
The passive voice is used to highlight an action being done to a subject, rather than a subject doing an action.
It focuses on the receiver of the action, instead of who or what is doing the action.
All forms of the passive voice are made with the verb “to be” and the past participle.
Common uses:
- When the performer of the action is unknown or obvious
- The car was stolen last night. (We don’t know who stole it.)
- The thief has been arrested. (It’s obvious that the police arrested the thief.)
- When the focus is on the action or the receiver of the action
- The window is broken, so the air conditioning is escaping. (The focus is on the broken window. Who or what broke the window is not important.)
- The lost dog was found. (the important information is that the dog was found, not who found it.)
- In formal or scientific writing
- The experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis.
- A new method for water purification is being developed.
Tense | Form | Example Sentence |
Present Simple | is/am/are + past participle | The book is read by many students. |
Past Simple | was/were + past participle | The cake was baked by my mom. |
Present Continuous | is/am/are being + past participle | The house is being renovated by a construction crew. |
Past Continuous | was/were being + past participle | The movie was being watched by a large audience. |
Present Perfect | has/have been + past participle | The project has been completed by the team. |
Past Perfect | had been + past participle | The documents had been signed by the CEO. |
Future Simple | will be + past participle | The package will be delivered tomorrow. |
Future Perfect | will have been + past participle | The assignment will have been submitted by the deadline. |