Active / Passive Verb Forms

Sentences can be active or passive. Therefore, tenses also have "active forms" and "passive forms." You must learn to recognize the difference to successfully speak English.

Active Form

In active sentences, the thing doing the action is the subject of the sentence and the thing receiving the action is the object. Most sentences are active.

[Thing doing action] + [verb] + [thing receiving action]

Examples:

Passive Form

In passive sentences, the thing receiving the action is the subject of the sentence and the thing doing the action is optionally included near the end of the sentence. You can use the passive form if you think that the thing receiving the action is more important or should be emphasized. You can also use the passive form if you do not know who is doing the action or if you do not want to mention who is doing the action.

[Thing receiving action] + [be] + [past participle of verb] + [by] + [thing doing action]

Examples:

Active / Passive Overview

Active

Passive

Simple Present

Once a week, Tomcleansthe house.

Once a week, the houseis cleanedby Tom.

Present Continuous

Right now, Sarahis writingthe letter.

Right now, the letteris being writtenby Sarah.

Simple Past

Samrepairedthe car.

The carwas repairedby Sam.

Past Continuous

The salesmanwas helpingthe customer when the thief came into the store.

The customerwas being helpedby the salesman when the thief came into the store.

Present Perfect

Many touristshave visitedthat castle.

That castlehas been visitedby many tourists.

Present Perfect Continuous

Recently, Johnhas been doingthe work.

Recently, the workhas been being doneby John.

Past Perfect

Georgehad repairedmany cars before he received his mechanic's license.

Many carshad been repairedby George before he received his mechanic's license.

Past Perfect Continuous

Chef Joneshad been preparingthe restaurant's fantastic dinners for two years before he moved to Paris.

The restaurant's fantastic dinnershad been being preparedby Chef Jones for two years before he moved to Paris.

Simple Futurewill

Someonewill finishthe work by 5:00 PM.

The workwill be finishedby 5:00 PM.

Simple Futurebe going to

Sallyis going to makea beautiful dinner tonight.

A beautiful dinneris going to be madeby Sally tonight.

Future Continuouswill

At 8:00 PM tonight, Johnwill be washingthe dishes.

At 8:00 PM tonight, the disheswill be being washedby John.

Future Continuousbe going to

At 8:00 PM tonight, Johnis going to be washingthe dishes.

At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishesare going to be being washedby John.

Future Perfectwill

Theywill have completedthe project before the deadline.

The projectwill have been completedbefore the deadline.

Future Perfectbe going to

Theyare going to have completedthe project before the deadline.

The projectis going to have been completedbefore the deadline.

Future Perfect Continuouswill

The famous artistwill have been paintingthe mural for over six months by the time it is finished.

The muralwill have been being paintedby the famous artist for over six months by the time it is finished.

Future Perfect Continuousbe going to

The famous artistis going to have been paintingthe mural for over six months by the time it is finished.

The muralis going to have been being paintedby the famous artist for over six months by the time it is finished.

Used to

Jerryused to paythe bills.

The billsused to be paidby Jerry.

Would Always

My motherwould always makethe pies.

The pieswould always be madeby my mother.

Future in the PastWould

I knew Johnwould finishthe work by 5:00 PM.

I knew the workwould be finishedby 5:00 PM.

Future in the PastWas Going to

I thought Sallywas going to makea beautiful dinner tonight.

I thought a beautiful dinnerwas going to be madeby Sally tonight.

Passive Voice

The passive voice is less usual than the active voice. The active voice is the "normal" voice. But sometimes we need the passive voice. In this lesson we look at how to construct the passive voice, when to use it and how to conjugate it.

Construction of the Passive Voice

The structure of thepassive voiceis very simple:

subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past participle)

The main verb isalwaysin its past participle form.

Look at these examples:

subject

auxiliary verb

(to be)

main verb

(past participle)

Water

is

drunk

by everyone.

100 people

are

employed

by this company.

I

am

paid

in euro.

We

are

not

paid

in dollars.

Are

they

paid

in yen?

Use of the Passive Voice

We use the passive when:

we want to make theactive objectmore important

we do not know theactive subject

subject

verb

object

give importance to active object (President Kennedy)

President Kennedy

was killed

by Lee Harvey Oswald.

active subject unknown

My wallet

has been stolen.

?

Note that we always usebyto introduce thepassive object(Fish are eatenby cats).

Look at this sentence:

He was killedwitha gun.

Normally we usebyto introduce the passive object. But the gun is not the active subject. The gun did not kill him. He was killedbysomebodywitha gun. In the active voice, it would be: Somebody killed himwitha gun. The gun is the instrument. Somebody is the "agent" or "doer".

Conjugation for the Passive Voice

We can form the passive in any tense. In fact, conjugation of verbs in the passive tense is rather easy, as the main verb is always in past participle form and the auxiliary verb is alwaysbe. To form the required tense, we conjugate the auxiliary verb. So, for example:

present simple: Itismade

present continuous: Itis beingmade

present perfect: Ithas beenmade

Here are some examples with most of the possible tenses:

infinitive

to bewashed

simple

present

Itiswashed.

past

Itwaswashed.

future

Itwill bewashed.

conditional

Itwould bewashed.

continuous

present

Itis beingwashed.

past

Itwas beingwashed.

future

Itwill be beingwashed.

conditional

Itwould be beingwashed.

perfect simple

present

Ithas beenwashed.

past

Ithad beenwashed.

future

Itwill have beenwashed.

conditional

Itwould have beenwashed.

perfect continuous

present

Ithas been beingwashed.

past

Ithad been beingwashed.

future

Itwill have been beingwashed.

conditional

Itwould have been beingwashed.

Active and passive voice exercise

1. The problem . to the children. (explained / was explained)

2. Those pyramids . around 400 AD. (built / were built)

3. All the trouble .. by your mother. (has caused / was caused)

4. The visitors . (were shown / have shown) a collection of old manuscripts.

5. I . him ten thousand pounds last year. (lend / lent / was lent)

6. She of spiders. (frightened / is frightened)

7. That picture . by my grandmother. (painted / was painted)

8. I .. by his attitude. (shocked / have shocked / was shocked)

9. Excuse the mess. The house (is painting / is being painted / has painted)

10. I knew why I . (had chosen / had been chosen)

Answers

1. The problemwas explainedto the children.

2. Those pyramidswere builtaround 400 AD.

3. All the troublewas causedby your mother.

4. The visitorswere showna collection of old manuscripts.

5. Ilenthim ten thousand pounds last year.

6. Sheis frightenedof spiders.

7. That picturewas paintedby my grandmother.

8. Iwas shockedby his attitude.

9. Excuse the mess. The houseis being painted.

10. I knew why Ihad been chosen.