Passive Voice (Basic)
Form the passive with be (is/are/was/were/will be/has been…) + past participle, moving the object of the active sentence into subject position — use it when the action or result matters more than who performed it, or when the agent is unknown, obvious, or unimportant.
Formula
Examples
Usage
- •Shifting focus from the action to the object or result
- •When the agent is unknown or unimportant
- •More formal or objective tone in writing
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Try 5 cards free — no signup →When do we use the passive voice?
Use the passive to shift focus from who did something to the action or the result itself: "The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci" puts the painting, not the painter, at the center. It's also the natural choice when the agent is unknown ("My wallet was stolen") or unimportant to the point being made ("English is spoken in over 50 countries").
Academic writing, news reports, and instructions rely on the passive for a more objective, impersonal tone — it describes what happens without naming who is responsible for it.
How do you form the passive in different tenses?
The passive isn't limited to one tense — it follows the tense of the equivalent active sentence, changing only the form of "be": present (is/are done), past (was/were done), future (will be done), present perfect (has/have been done), and present continuous (is/are being done).
B1 learners often know only the present and past passive forms; recognizing that the same pattern extends to every tense (just swap the form of "be") removes most of the guesswork.
Do I need to include "by + agent"?
No — "by + agent" is optional and should be dropped whenever the agent is unknown, obvious from context, or simply not the point: "My wallet was stolen" doesn't need "by someone." Omitting it isn't sloppy; it's the natural, correct form.
Include "by + agent" only when naming who did it adds real information, as in "The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci," where the agent is the whole point of the sentence.
Comparison Table
| Form | Tense | Passive form | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present simple | is / are + past participle | The report is checked every week. | |
| Past simple | was / were + past participle | The report was checked yesterday. | |
| Future (will) | will be + past participle | The report will be checked tomorrow. | |
| Present perfect | has / have been + past participle | The report has been checked already. | |
| Present continuous | is / are being + past participle | The report is being checked right now. |
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Conjugation Table
| Pronoun | Positive | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present simple | is written | isn't written (is not) | Is it written? |
| Past simple | was written | wasn't written (was not) | Was it written? |
| Future (will) | will be written | won't be written (will not) | Will it be written? |
| Present perfect | has been written | hasn't been written (has not) | Has it been written? |
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More Examples
The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci.
Historical fact with known agent
My wallet was stolen.
Unknown agent — passive preferred
English is spoken in over 50 countries.
General truth, agent unimportant
The report will be finished by Friday.
Future passive
Common Mistakes
- ✗❌ "The car repaired by John" → ✓ "The car was repaired by John" (need to be + past participle)
- ✗❌ "English is spoke worldwide" → ✓ "English is spoken worldwide" (past participle, not past simple)
- ✗❌ "The letter was written by he" → ✓ "The letter was written by him" (object pronoun after "by")
Tips
- ✓The agent (by + person) is optional — omit it when unknown or obvious.
- ✓Common in academic/formal writing to create an impersonal tone.
Advanced Notes
The passive is far more common in written and formal English than in conversation — academic papers, news reports, and instructions rely on it to sound objective. A key learner blind spot: omitting "by + agent" when the agent is contextually obvious or unknown is not sloppy — it's correct and natural. The passive can be formed in almost any tense (is done, was done, will be done, has been done, is being done); B1 learners often know only present/past forms. Compare passive ("The window was broken") with causative have ("I had the window fixed") — different structure, different situation.
FAQ
How do you form the passive voice?
Take the object of an active sentence and make it the subject, then use a form of "be" that matches the tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb: "John wrote the letter" (active) becomes "The letter was written by John" (passive, past simple). The same pattern works in any tense by changing only the "be" form.
Do you always need "by + agent" in passive sentences?
No. "By + agent" is optional and is usually left out when the agent is unknown ("My wallet was stolen"), obvious ("He was arrested" — clearly by the police), or simply beside the point ("English is spoken worldwide"). Include it only when naming the doer adds useful information.
Why is "English is spoke worldwide" wrong?
The passive needs the past participle, not the past simple form, after "be": "spoken," not "spoke." The correct sentence is "English is spoken worldwide."
Passive voice vs causative have — what's the difference?
The passive describes something that happened to the subject, often with an unclear or unimportant agent: "The window was broken." Causative have describes the subject arranging for someone else to do something for them: "I had the window fixed" (I arranged for a repair). The structures look similar but describe different situations — one is a plain event, the other is a service you organized.
Which pronoun form goes after "by" in a passive sentence?
An object pronoun: "The letter was written by him," not "by he." The same rule as after any preposition — by me, by her, by them, by us.
Practice
- 1.The letter (write) by John.
- 2.English (speak) in over 50 countries.
- 3.My wallet (steal) last night.
- 4.The report (finish) by Friday.
- 5.The documents (prepare) right now.
Compare With
Other B1 Topics
Present Perfect
Used for past actions that still matter or connect to now
Present Perfect Continuous
Used for ongoing actions that started in the past and still continue
Modal Verbs
Expresses ability, obligation, permission, or possibility
Used To
Used for past habits or states that no longer exist
Future Continuous
Used for actions in progress at a specific future moment
Question Tags
Used for confirming information or seeking agreement at the end of a statement
Linking Words: However, Although, Despite, In Spite Of
Used for connecting contrasting ideas using concession and contrast markers
Relative Clauses (Defining)
Clauses that identify exactly which person, thing, or place you mean.
So and Such
Use so before adjectives/adverbs and such before nouns to emphasize degree, often followed by a that-clause showing the result.
Order of Adjectives
The fixed order adjectives usually follow before a noun: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose.
Future Time Clauses
Use present simple, not will, after when/as soon as/before/after/until/once even when the meaning is future.
Subject and Object Questions
Who broke it? vs Who did you see? — question word as subject or object.