B2 Upper Intermediate Grammar

Passive Voice

B2 Upper Intermediate Grammar

Passive Voice

Passive Voice in English Grammar

🔄Passive Voice

🎯Explanation for ESL Students (B2 Level)

📝The Passive Voice is used when we want to focus on the action or the receiver of the action, rather than on who or what is doing the action.

💡In passive sentences, the object becomes the subject, and the focus shifts from the doer to what was done.

🔧Basic Structure:

Subject + be (correct form) + past participle (verb3)

🔹Active: Shakespeare wrote Hamlet. (focus on Shakespeare)
🔸Passive: Hamlet was written by Shakespeare. (focus on Hamlet)

⭐The verb "be" changes according to the tense, but the past participle stays the same!

1️⃣When Do We Use Passive Voice?

🌟We use the passive voice when:

❓We don't know who did the action:
"My bike was stolen." (We don't know who stole it)
🤷It's not important who did the action:
"The bridge was built in 1995." (Who built it doesn't matter)
👁️It's obvious who did the action:
"The thief was arrested." (Obviously by the police)
📰We want to sound more formal or scientific:
"The experiment was conducted carefully." (common in academic writing)
🎯We want to emphasize the action or result, not the doer:
"A new hospital is being built in our city." (The hospital is more important than who's building it)
🙊We want to avoid mentioning who is responsible (to be polite or diplomatic):
"A mistake was made." (Instead of "You made a mistake")

💬Adding the Agent (by + doer):

If we want to mention WHO did the action, we add by + the agent at the end:

"The book was written by J.K. Rowling."

"The message was sent by my teacher."

⚠️But remember: we only mention the agent when it's important or relevant!

2️⃣Passive Voice in All Tenses

📚The passive voice can be used in all tenses. The key is to change the form of "be" according to the tense, while keeping the past participle the same.

Tense	Active Voice	Passive Voice	Structure
Simple Present	They clean the room.	The room is cleaned.	am/is/are + past participle
Simple Past	They cleaned the room.	The room was cleaned.	was/were + past participle
Simple Future	They will clean the room.	The room will be cleaned.	will be + past participle
Present Continuous	They are cleaning the room.	The room is being cleaned.	am/is/are being + past participle
Past Continuous	They were cleaning the room.	The room was being cleaned.	was/were being + past participle
Present Perfect	They have cleaned the room.	The room has been cleaned.	have/has been + past participle
Past Perfect	They had cleaned the room.	The room had been cleaned.	had been + past participle
Future Perfect	They will have cleaned the room.	The room will have been cleaned.	will have been + past participle

⚠️Important Notes:

🚫We don't usually use passive voice with Present Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous, or Future Continuous (they sound very awkward!)
✅The most common passive tenses are: Simple Present, Simple Past, Present Perfect, and Future with "will"

3️⃣Detailed Examples by Tense

🔵Simple Present Passive

📌Structure: am/is/are + past participle

🏫"English is spoken in many countries." (People speak English in many countries)
🍕"Pizza is made with flour, cheese, and tomato sauce." (We make pizza with...)
📧"Emails are sent every day in our company." (We send emails every day)
🚗"Cars are produced in this factory." (This factory produces cars)

🔴Simple Past Passive

📌Structure: was/were + past participle

🏛️"The pyramids were built thousands of years ago." (People built the pyramids...)
🎨"This painting was created in 1889." (Someone created this painting...)
🔍"The treasure was found last year." (Someone found the treasure...)
✉️"The letter was delivered this morning." (Someone delivered the letter...)

🟢Simple Future Passive

📌Structure: will be + past participle

🏗️"A new school will be built next year." (They will build a new school...)
📱"The results will be announced tomorrow." (They will announce the results...)
🎁"The prizes will be given to the winners." (They will give the prizes...)
🔧"Your car will be repaired by Friday." (We will repair your car...)

🟡Present Continuous Passive

📌Structure: am/is/are being + past participle

🏠"The house is being painted right now." (Someone is painting the house...)
🍳"Dinner is being prepared in the kitchen." (Someone is preparing dinner...)
🚧"The road is being repaired this week." (They are repairing the road...)
📝"The report is being written at the moment." (Someone is writing the report...)

🟠Past Continuous Passive

📌Structure: was/were being + past participle

🔨"The building was being constructed when I visited." (They were constructing...)
🧹"The classroom was being cleaned when we arrived." (Someone was cleaning...)
🎬"The movie was being filmed in our city last month." (They were filming...)

🟣Present Perfect Passive

📌Structure: have/has been + past participle

✅"The work has been finished." (Someone has finished the work)
🏆"The winners have been announced." (They have announced the winners)
📖"This book has been read by millions of people." (Millions of people have read...)
🎟️"All the tickets have been sold." (Someone has sold all the tickets)

🔵Past Perfect Passive

📌Structure: had been + past participle

🍰"The cake had been eaten before I arrived." (Someone had eaten the cake...)
📮"The package had been sent before I called." (They had sent the package...)
🔐"The door had been locked when we got there." (Someone had locked the door...)

4️⃣Passive Voice with Modal Verbs

🎯Modal verbs like can, could, should, must, may, might, would can also be used in the passive voice!

Modal + be + past participle

Modal	Active Voice	Passive Voice
can	They can solve the problem.	The problem can be solved.
could	They could see the mountains.	The mountains could be seen.
should	You should finish the homework.	The homework should be finished.
must	We must follow the rules.	The rules must be followed.
may	They may cancel the meeting.	The meeting may be cancelled.
might	They might discover a cure.	A cure might be discovered.
would	He would do the work.	The work would be done.

💡More Examples with Modals:

📋"The form must be completed by Friday." (You must complete the form...)
🔧"The computer can be repaired easily." (We can repair the computer...)
🎮"Video games shouldn't be played for too long." (You shouldn't play video games...)
🌍"English can be learned at any age." (People can learn English...)
📱"Your phone might be found in the lost and found." (Someone might find your phone...)
🏥"The patient should be examined by a doctor." (A doctor should examine the patient...)

🔑Perfect Modals in Passive:

For past modals (could have, should have, must have, etc.), we use:

Modal + have been + past participle

🎂"The cake should have been baked longer." (We should have baked the cake longer)
🚪"The door must have been locked." (Someone must have locked the door)
💌"The message could have been sent yesterday." (Someone could have sent the message...)

5️⃣How to Form Questions and Negatives

❓Questions in Passive Voice

🔄Move the auxiliary verb (be, have, will, modal) to the beginning:

❓"Is the room cleaned every day?" (Simple Present)
❓"Was the homework finished?" (Simple Past)
❓"Will the project be completed on time?" (Simple Future)
❓"Has the book been published yet?" (Present Perfect)
❓"Can the problem be solved?" (Modal)
❓"Is the house being built right now?" (Present Continuous)

💬Wh- Questions:

❓"When was the movie released?"
❓"Where will the concert be held?"
❓"How was the problem solved?"
❓"Why was the meeting cancelled?"

❌Negatives in Passive Voice

🔄Add "not" after the auxiliary verb (be, have, will, modal):

❌"The room is not cleaned every day." (Simple Present)
❌"The homework was not finished." (Simple Past)
❌"The project will not be completed on time." (Simple Future)
❌"The book has not been published yet." (Present Perfect)
❌"The problem cannot be solved easily." (Modal)
❌"The house is not being built right now." (Present Continuous)

💡Common Contractions:

isn't, aren't, wasn't, weren't
won't be, wouldn't be, can't be, shouldn't be
hasn't been, haven't been, hadn't been

6️⃣Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

⚠️Watch out for these common errors:

❌Mistake 1: Forgetting "be" in the passive structure
❌ WRONG: "The book written by a famous author."
✅ CORRECT: "The book was written by a famous author."
🔑Always use: be + past participle
❌Mistake 2: Using the wrong form of past participle
❌ WRONG: "The movie was saw by millions."
✅ CORRECT: "The movie was seen by millions."
🔑Use the past participle (verb3), not simple past: seen (not saw), done (not did), written (not wrote)
❌Mistake 3: Using passive when active is better
❌ AWKWARD: "A good time was had by everyone."
✅ BETTER: "Everyone had a good time."
🔑Don't overuse passive! Use it only when appropriate.
❌Mistake 4: Wrong word order with modals
❌ WRONG: "The homework should finished be."
❌ WRONG: "The homework should be finish."
✅ CORRECT: "The homework should be finished."
🔑Modal + be + past participle
❌Mistake 5: Using "by" unnecessarily
❌ UNNECESSARY: "The house was built by someone in 1950."
✅ BETTER: "The house was built in 1950."
🔑Only mention "by + agent" when the agent is important or specific!
❌Mistake 6: Wrong tense of "be"
❌ WRONG: "The letter is sent yesterday."
✅ CORRECT: "The letter was sent yesterday."
🔑Match the form of "be" to the tense you need!

7️⃣Active vs. Passive: When to Choose

⚖️Use ACTIVE voice when:

👤The doer is important or interesting:
"Shakespeare wrote Hamlet." (We care WHO wrote it)
💬You want direct, clear, and natural communication:
"I made a mistake." (more honest and direct)
📖Writing stories or informal texts:
"She opened the door and saw a beautiful garden."

⚖️Use PASSIVE voice when:

🎯The action or result is more important than who did it:
"The Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889."
❓You don't know who did it:
"My phone was stolen."
📚Writing formal, scientific, or academic texts:
"The experiment was conducted under controlled conditions."
🙊You want to avoid blame or responsibility:
"Mistakes were made." (diplomatic)
📰Writing news reports:
"Three people were injured in the accident."

🔀Compare These Situations:

🎬Active (better): "Steven Spielberg directed that movie."
→ Use active when the director is important
🎬Passive (better): "That movie was directed in 1975."
→ Use passive when the year is more important than who directed it
🏆Active (better): "Brazil won the World Cup five times."
→ Use active when the subject (Brazil) is the focus
🏆Passive (better): "The World Cup is held every four years."
→ Use passive when who holds it is obvious (FIFA) and not important

8️⃣Special Cases and Advanced Uses

🔸Verbs with Two Objects

Some verbs can have two objects (a person and a thing). We can make TWO different passive sentences:

📝Active: "They gave John a prize."
→ Passive 1: "John was given a prize." (focus on John)
→ Passive 2: "A prize was given to John." (focus on the prize)
✉️Active: "She sent me a letter."
→ Passive 1: "I was sent a letter." (focus on me)
→ Passive 2: "A letter was sent to me." (focus on the letter)
🎁Active: "They offered her a job."
→ Passive 1: "She was offered a job." (more common)
→ Passive 2: "A job was offered to her."

💡Common verbs: give, send, offer, show, teach, tell, ask, pay, lend

🔹Passive with "Get"

In informal English, we sometimes use get + past participle instead of be + past participle:

💍"They got married last year." (= They were married)
🚗"My car got stolen." (= My car was stolen)
🤕"He got hurt playing soccer." (= He was hurt)
❄️"The water got frozen overnight." (= The water was frozen)

⚠️This is more informal and common in spoken English!

🔺Passive with Reporting Verbs

With verbs like say, believe, think, know, report, consider, we can use special passive structures:

💭Active: "People say that he is very rich."
→ Passive: "It is said that he is very rich."
→ Passive: "He is said to be very rich."
🤔Active: "People believe that the treasure is hidden here."
→ Passive: "It is believed that the treasure is hidden here."
→ Passive: "The treasure is believed to be hidden here."
📰Active: "They reported that the president arrived."
→ Passive: "It was reported that the president arrived."
→ Passive: "The president was reported to have arrived."

🇧🇷Special Challenges for Brazilian Students

🎯If you speak Portuguese, here are the most common mistakes Brazilian students make with passive voice, and how to avoid them!

1️⃣Challenge 1: Confusion with Word Order (Subject ↔ Object)

In Portuguese, passive sentences can keep similar word order or use "se" to indicate passivity (Vende-se casas = Houses for sale). In English, you must "flip" the object into the subject position.

❌ WRONG: "They sold many houses last year → Many houses sold last year."

✅ CORRECT: "Many houses were sold last year."

🔑The object "many houses" becomes the subject and moves to the front!

2️⃣Challenge 2: Omitting the Auxiliary "to be"

Portuguese sometimes expresses the passive without a clear auxiliary. Brazilians often forget be or confuse it with have.

❌ WRONG: "The car stolen yesterday."

❌ WRONG: "The car has stolen yesterday."

✅ CORRECT: "The car was stolen yesterday."

🔑ALWAYS use be (not have) + past participle for passive voice!

3️⃣Challenge 3: Problems with Verb Agreement (be + past participle)

Portuguese verbs don't require the same auxiliary + participle combination. Students mix tenses or forget the participle form.

❌ WRONG: "The house was build last year."

❌ WRONG: "The house was building last year."

✅ CORRECT: "The house was built last year."

🔑Use the past participle (verb3): built, written, done, seen, taken, etc.

4️⃣Challenge 4: Choosing Between Active and Passive Voice

In Portuguese, the passive is less frequent in spoken language and more common in formal writing. Brazilians often overuse the active in English.

❌ NOT PASSIVE: "They arrested the thief yesterday." (correct but active)

✅ PASSIVE: "The thief was arrested yesterday."

🔑When the exercise asks for passive, remember to flip the sentence and use be + past participle!

5️⃣Challenge 5: Confusion with "by" Agent or Omission

In Portuguese, the agent (por alguém) is often omitted. Brazilians either always include by (even when unnecessary) or omit it when needed.

❌ INCOMPLETE: "The song was written." (without saying who, even if context requires it)

❌ REDUNDANT: "The thief was caught by the police yesterday by them."

✅ CORRECT: "The song was written by Adele." (when the agent is important)

✅ CORRECT: "The thief was caught yesterday." (when agent is obvious or unimportant)

🔑Only use "by + agent" when it's important, specific, or relevant!

6️⃣Challenge 6: Using Passive with Intransitive Verbs

Portuguese sometimes allows "passive-like" structures with se. Brazilians mistakenly try to make intransitive verbs passive.

❌ WRONG: "Was happened an accident."

❌ WRONG: "An accident was happened."

✅ CORRECT: "An accident happened." (no passive possible)

🔑Intransitive verbs (happen, arrive, die, exist, etc.) CANNOT be passive because they don't have objects!

Other verbs that cannot be passive: occur, appear, disappear, fall, rise, sleep, work (intransitive)

7️⃣Challenge 7: Tense Confusion in Passive Forms

Combining be with the correct tense is tricky.

❌ WRONG: "The report is written yesterday."

❌ WRONG: "The report will written tomorrow."

✅ CORRECT: "The report was written yesterday." (past tense)

✅ CORRECT: "The report will be written tomorrow." (future tense)

🔑Match the form of "be" to the time: is/am/are (present), was/were (past), will be (future), etc.

8️⃣Challenge 8: Overuse of "Get" Passive

Portuguese doesn't have an equivalent to the English get passive (He got fired). Learners sometimes overgeneralize and use it in formal contexts where be is correct.

❌ TOO INFORMAL: "The project got completed last year." (in academic writing)

✅ CORRECT (FORMAL): "The project was completed last year."

✅ CORRECT (INFORMAL): "I got invited to the party!" (spoken English)

🔑Use get + past participle only in informal/spoken English. Use be + past participle in formal writing!

9️⃣Challenge 9: Literal Translation from Portuguese

Portuguese passive with "se" often becomes a direct mistranslation.

❌ WRONG: "It sells houses here." (from Vende-se casas aqui)

❌ WRONG: "Speaks English." (from Fala-se inglês)

✅ CORRECT: "Houses are sold here."

✅ CORRECT: "English is spoken here."

🔑Don't translate "se" literally! Use the proper passive structure: subject + be + past participle

🔟Challenge 10: Difficulty in Switching Active ↔ Passive

When asked to transform sentences, many Brazilians struggle to maintain tense, agreement, and meaning.

❌ WRONG: "People will build a new bridge → A new bridge will built."

❌ WRONG: "People will build a new bridge → A new bridge will building."

✅ CORRECT: "People will build a new bridge → A new bridge will be built."

🔑Follow these steps:

1. Find the object → make it the subject

2. Identify the tense → use the correct form of "be"

3. Change the main verb → use past participle

4. Add "by + agent" if needed

🎯Quick Summary for Brazilian Students:

✅Always use be + past participle (not just the participle alone)
✅Flip the sentence: object becomes subject
✅Match "be" to the correct tense
✅Don't translate "se" literally from Portuguese
✅Only use "by + agent" when it's important
✅Intransitive verbs cannot be passive
✅Use "be" (not "get") in formal writing
✅Remember: Portuguese uses passive less often in spoken language, but English uses it more in formal contexts

🔟Key Tips to Remember

🎯Basic Formula: be (correct form) + past participle
🔄The verb "be" changes according to the tense, but the past participle stays the same
📋Use passive when: the action/result is more important than the doer, you don't know who did it, or you want to be formal
🚫Don't overuse passive! Active voice is often clearer and more natural
👤Adding the agent: Use "by + agent" only when the agent is important or relevant
🔧With modals: Modal + be + past participle
📝Questions: Move the auxiliary verb to the front
❌Negatives: Add "not" after the auxiliary verb
📚Most common passive tenses: Simple Present, Simple Past, Present Perfect, and Future with "will"

🎓Remember: The passive voice is a powerful tool for shifting focus from the doer to the action or receiver. Use it wisely to make your English more sophisticated and appropriate for different contexts!