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)
Thanks for replying! Your explanation is helpful!
Another similar usage came up to me was that, why that we more often say “things have changed” but not “things are changed”?

Submitted by Via on Fri, 16/10/2020 - 23:56

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Hello, e.g, The work will be finished next week. Could I rewrite the sentence as: e.g, The work will have finished next week. My appreciations.
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Submitted by Kirk Moore on Sat, 17/10/2020 - 14:16

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Hello Via,

Yes, that is grammatically correct and the two sentences effectively mean the same thing. The first one is much more commonly used.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by emmanuelniyomugabo12 on Fri, 25/09/2020 - 20:59

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This is the course that I try to capture very well and I enjoy learning passive voice.

Submitted by abo omar on Sun, 06/09/2020 - 20:54

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Hello, I have a very simple question Can I say Nobody saw the cup And how to change into passive. Can I say " The cup wasn't seen by anybody. " or " The cup was seen by nobody "
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Submitted by Jonathan R on Mon, 07/09/2020 - 04:33

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Hi abo omar,

Yes! Nobody saw the cup is fine, and both of your passive sentences are fine too.

Best wishes,

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Kee_Fos on Fri, 28/08/2020 - 19:34

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Hello! Could you add lesson about impersonal passive too?

Submitted by Shreya on Fri, 28/08/2020 - 14:28

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Hello! I am not able to get this two sentences: 1) Flights to Sanya, the holiday hotspot in the South China Sea, has seen strong recovery helped by a new duty-free policy. This sentence should be in passive, they haven't mentioned who has seen it. Again it can't be "has been seen" as per passive rules. 2) All the children, gathered in that group, were ready to perform a traditional dance.(non-finite clause) Over here it should be readied.But again it sounds wrong. Kindly help.