How to Form the Passive Voice in English
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Active vs passive: the basic shift
In an active sentence, the subject performs the action: The chef cooked the meal. In a passive sentence, the subject receives the action: The meal was cooked by the chef.
The formula
be + past participle
The verb "be" changes with the tense; the main verb stays in its past participle form (the third form: written, cooked, built).
Passive in different tenses
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | She writes the report. | The report is written by her. |
| Past Simple | She wrote the report. | The report was written by her. |
| Present Continuous | She is writing the report. | The report is being written by her. |
| Present Perfect | She has written the report. | The report has been written by her. |
| Future Simple | She will write the report. | The report will be written by her. |
When to use the passive
- The doer is unknown or unimportant: My phone was stolen. (we don't know who)
- The action matters more than the actor: The bridge was built in 1990.
- Formal or scientific writing: The samples were tested under controlled conditions.
When to avoid it
Overusing the passive makes writing feel vague and indirect. If the doer is known and relevant, the active voice is usually clearer and stronger: prefer The team finished the project over The project was finished by the team.
Practice exercise
Take five active sentences from something you wrote recently and rewrite them in the passive. Then decide which version actually reads better — that judgment matters more than memorizing the formula.