Passive verb forms — Explanation

Practice passive verb forms with B1 exercises and answers. Improve passive voice grammar with clear explanations and interactive English tests online.

Passive Verb Forms Exercises

When the action is the most important part of the sentence, passive verb forms are used. In English, especially in formal writing, news, and instructions, this happens a lot.

This B1-level guide will show you what passive voice is, when to use it, how to make it, and give you clear examples.

What does it mean to be passive?

In English, there are two kinds of sentences: active and passive.

Active voice

The subject does the action in the active voice.

Example:

• The company produces smartphones.
  (The company = the doer of the action)

Passive voice

The subject gets the action in the passive voice.

Example:

• Smartphones are produced by the company.
  (Smartphones = receive the action)

The company isn't the main focus; smartphones are.

How to Use Passive Voice

The passive voice is made with:

subject + be (correct tense) + past participle (V3)

Past participle examples:

• make → made
• build → built
• write → written
• send → sent

Passive Voice in Different Tenses

Present Simple Passive

Structure:
am / is / are + past participle

Examples:

• Coffee is grown in Brazil.
• Emails are sent every day.
• The office is cleaned regularly.

Use: for facts, routines, and things that are true in general.

Past Simple Passive

Structure:
was / were + past participle

Examples:

• The building was built in 2010.
• The message was sent yesterday.
• The problem was solved quickly.

Use: for finished actions in the past.

Present Continuous Passive

Structure:
am / is / are being + past participle

Examples:

• The road is being repaired now.
• The report is being prepared.

Use: for actions happening now.

Present Perfect Passive

Structure:
has / have been + past participle

Examples:

• The email has been received.
• The project has been completed.

Use: for things that have been done recently or that are still happening.

Future Passive (will)

Structure:
will be + past participle

Examples:

• The system will be updated tomorrow.
• The results will be announced soon.

Use: for future actions.

When Do We Use Passive Voice?

When the person who did it is unknown

Example:

• My car was stolen.
  (We don't know who stole it.)

When the person doing it doesn't matter

Example:

• English is spoken worldwide.
  (The important thing is English, not who speaks it.)

When the goal is the result

Example:

• The report was finished on time.

In writing that is formal and professional

Example:

• The data was analyzed carefully.
• The policy has been implemented.

This is very common in English for business and school.

Using "by" to Show Who Did It

Use by to say who did the action.

Example:

• The email was sent by the manager.
• This book was written by George Orwell.

But a lot of the time, the "by" part isn't needed.

Example:

• The email was sent. (correct and common)

Active vs Passive Comparison

Active:

• The team completed the project.

Passive:

• The project was completed (by the team).

Active focuses on the team.
Passive focuses on the project.