When people are learning English grammar, they often feel confused by the passive voice. Let’s keep it simple:
Why do we use the passive voice?
- To sound serious/formal
- To focus on the object instead of the subject
- If we don’t know the subject of the sentence
How do we make passive sentences?
Use object + be + past participle + (by subject).
For example:
| Object | “Be” | Past participle | (by subject) |
| The bike | was | stolen | by somebody |
To change the tense, change “be”. Everything else stays the same.
| Tense | Object | “Be” | stolen | (by subject) |
| Past simple | His bike | was | stolen | (by somebody) |
| Present continuous | His bike | is being | stolen | (by somebody) |
| Present perfect | His bike | has been | stolen | (by somebody) |
Compare active and passive sentences
Video lesson on passive sentences
Passives in English
Exercises:
Change these active sentences into passive sentences.
Answers:
- The ball was caught by the dog.
- The bricks were broken by the man.
- The car was pushed by the children.
- The baby was thrown by the man.
- The man was licked by the dog.
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