1. Grammar
  2. B1-B2 grammar
  3. Passives

Passives

Passives

Do you know how to use the passive voice to change the focus of a sentence? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see how the passive voice is used.

A lot of olive oil is produced in Italy.
This book was written by Angela Davis.
The suspect will be released tomorrow.
This product has not been tested on animals.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar test 1

Grammar B1-B2: Passives: 1

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

We use the passive voice to change the focus of the sentence.

My bike was stolen. (passive – focus on my bike)
Someone stole my bike. (active – focus on someone)

We often use the passive:

  • when we prefer not to mention who or what does the action (for example, it's not known, it's obvious or we don't want to say)
  • so that we can start a sentence with the most important or most logical information
  • in more formal or scientific writing.

How we make the passive

We make the passive using the verb be + past participle. We start the sentence with the object.

Avatar was directed by James Cameron.
↓ ↓ ↓
Object + be + past participle

It is not always necessary to add who or what did the action.

My flight is cancelled.
↓ ↓ ↓
Object + be + past participle

Only the form of be changes to make the tense. The past participle stays the same. Here are examples of the passive in its most common tenses.

Tense Example Structure
Present simple Alioli is made from oil, garlic and salt. is/are + past participle
Present continuous The hall is being painted this week. is/are being + past participle
Past simple John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. was/were + past participle
Past continuous The signs were being put up last week. was/were being + past participle
Present perfect Oranges have been grown here for centuries. has/have been + past participle
Past perfect When he got home, he found that his flat had been burgled. had been + past participle
Future simple The work will be finished next week. will be + past participle

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar test 2

Grammar B1-B2: Passives: 2

Try another grammar lesson

Language level

B1 Intermediate
Average: 4.2 (121 votes)
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Profile picture for user Jamil Harumi

Submitted by Jamil Harumi on Mon, 24/05/2021 - 14:34

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Hello, I would like to know if this PV example is correct: "the kids were taught by my favorite teacher."

Hello Jamil Harumi,

Yes, that is grammatically correct.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Mussorie on Tue, 04/05/2021 - 14:23

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I think both the below sentences are correct. Do they convey the same meaning? If not, correct me where I go wrong, and explain to me the details. 1.It is bad being robbed(in this case, is being robbed acting as a complement to bad.) 2. Being robbed is a bad experience.

Submitted by Kaisoo93 on Thu, 22/04/2021 - 10:45

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Dear Teacher, "The changes to the tax system proved impracticable as they were impossible to enforce." I wonder if "they were" refers to "the changes", is it correct to change "to enforce" to "to be enforced" (become "The changes to the tax system proved impracticable as they were impossible to be enforced.")? Thanks

Hello Kaisoo93,

Yes, I understand 'they' to mean 'the changes to the tax system'; I don't see any other possibility in this specific sentence.

It wouldn't be correct to say 'to be enforced' here. The basic structure of the clause is an extremely common one in English: subject + 'be' + adjective + infinitive. In this case: subject ('they') + 'be' ('were') + adjective ('impossible') + infinitive ('to enforce'). Very often, such sentences begin with 'it': 'It's impossible to know the future'.

As far as I can think, the infinitive is always active in such sentences.

Hope this makes sense.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Kirk, Thank you for the explanation. Are the following sentences correct? 1) These new discipline is difficult for the teachers to enforce. 2) The new discipline will be enforced by the teachers. 3) The teachers will enforce the new discipline. Thank you

Hello Kaisoo93,

Yes, except for 'These' in 1 (which should be 'The'), those sentences are all correct. Good work!

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Maahir on Mon, 12/04/2021 - 11:41

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Hi there, thanks for the helpful lessons you always share with us. In exercise1, there is a question saying " The fire service still ___ the fire". with those options 1- wasn't put out 2- is put out 3- haven't put out. as i found out in the answer sheet, the correct answer option 3. so my question is, can we use "have" with singular?. I mean here we are talking about fire service which i think it's a singular. I hope you understood my question.

Hi Maahir,

Yes, you can use a plural verb here. You can also use a singular verb, so 'hasn't put out' would also be correct.

We can see institutions and organisations as single entities (with a singular verb) or as collections of people (with a plural verb). It's really just about how the speakers sees things.

Examples of institutions like this are: the army, the navy, the air force, Parliament, the health service, sports teams, the government, the police, the European Union, the United Nations etc.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team