What Is Passive Voice in English? Rules and Examples

Passive voice presents the subject as the person or thing affected by an action. The usual pattern is subject + a form of be + past participle: The meal was prepared by the chef. The corresponding active sentence is The chef prepared the meal. The event is the same; the way we organise the information changes.

Active voice and passive voice: what changes?

In a typical active clause, the subject does the action: The team won the championship. In the passive version, an object of the active clause becomes the subject: The championship was won by the team. The team can still be named in a by-phrase.

When is the passive useful?

• The agent is unknown: My car was stolen. You can report what happened without inventing a thief.
• The agent is unnecessary for the message: The package was delivered this morning. This can answer a question about the package's arrival without identifying the driver.
• You want to keep a person or thing as the topic: Maria was awarded first prize. This starts with Maria. The first prize was awarded to Maria starts with the prize; both describe the award.
• A procedure or rule is the topic: The solution was heated to 100°C. All applications must be submitted by Friday.

Keep the agent when it answers the reader's question. If someone asks who prepared the meal, The chef prepared it and It was prepared by the chef both answer. It was prepared does not. A passive can be useful in academic writing, but it does not make a statement more credible or objectively true. Follow the purpose of the task and any relevant style guidance.

How to form the passive in common tenses

Choose the auxiliary form for the time and meaning, then add the main verb's past participle. For example, write becomes written, break becomes broken, and prepare becomes prepared. A past participle does not by itself put the event in the past: will be written refers to the future.

Check agreement: use I am, he/she/it is and you/we/they are. In the past, use I/he/she/it was and you/we/they were. You takes are or were even when it refers to one person. For the present perfect, compare The report has been checked with The reports have been checked. The participle stays checked.

Questions and negatives

Put the first auxiliary before the subject for a yes/no question: Were the reports submitted? Has the project been completed? Put not after the first auxiliary for a negative: The reports were not submitted. The project has not been completed. These passive patterns do not add do or did. See the be verb chart and auxiliary verb reference if the forms are unfamiliar.

This chart covers common patterns, not every possible passive construction. In speech, you may also hear a get-passive: The parcel got damaged. It uses get plus a past participle. So “every passive must contain be” is too broad.

Common passive voice mistakes and identification checks

Check the auxiliary and the participle separately

• The reports was submitted yesterday becomes The reports were submitted yesterday: the plural subject needs were.
• The window was breaked by the storm becomes The window was broken by the storm: broken is the participle of break.
• The song was sing beautifully becomes The song was sung beautifully: use the participle sung.
• For a future prediction, The email is send tomorrow can become The email will be sent tomorrow. Other future constructions are possible when the context calls for them; tomorrow alone does not demand will.

Be, being or a participle alone is not enough

He is being polite contains being, but polite is an adjective: this is not a passive. They have finished the work contains a past participle, but it is active present perfect. Look at the complete verb phrase and its meaning.

Some participles can also act as adjectives. In She is very tired after the journey, tired describes her condition. The door was closed needs context: it can report the act of closing or describe the door's state. Compare the clear event The door was closed by the caretaker at eight with the state The door remained closed all afternoon. Adding an imagined by-phrase is a clue, not a complete grammar test. The linking verb guide explains complements that describe a subject.

Do not force every verb into a passive

Many verbs with objects allow a passive: The cat chased the mouse becomes The mouse was chased by the cat. But The train arrived has no object to move into subject position; The train was arrived is not standard English. Some verb meanings also resist a passive even with an object: normally say That jacket suits you, rather than You are suited by that jacket.

There are also passive patterns with prepositions: They have paid for the equipment becomes The equipment has been paid for. Keep for. The useful rule is to check the verb's pattern and intended meaning, rather than assume that every sentence can be mechanically reversed.

Eight passive voice exercises with explained answers

These questions retain the guide's sentence transformations and gap-fills, with clearer instructions and explanations. Write your answer before opening each key. For a longer connected activity, use the separate 12-question community repair-day pack, which also includes a printable learner view.

1–4. Keep the meaning in a passive sentence

1. Daily routine: The chef prepares the ingredients fresh every morning. Rewrite, beginning The ingredients... Keep the present simple and the information about the chef.

   Answer and explanation 1

   The ingredients are prepared fresh every morning by the chef. The plural subject ingredients needs are; prepared is the participle. The ingredients are prepared fresh by the chef every morning is also possible. The instruction asks you to retain the agent.

2. Launch announcement: The company will launch the new product next month. Rewrite, beginning The new product... Keep will. The audience already knows which company is responsible, so you may omit it.

   Answer and explanation 2

   The new product will be launched next month. After will, use be plus the participle launched. Adding by the company is grammatical, but the context allows you to leave it out. Preserve next month.

3. Ready to use: Someone has already cleaned the conference room. Rewrite, beginning The conference room... Keep the present perfect and already; the cleaner's identity is not needed.

   Answer and explanation 3

   The conference room has already been cleaned. The singular subject takes has, followed by been cleaned. The conference room has been cleaned already is also possible. The original someone leaves the cleaner unspecified, so there is no need to add by someone.

4. A note about a novel: The author wrote this bestselling novel in just six weeks. Rewrite, beginning This bestselling novel... Keep the past simple and mention the author.

   Answer and explanation 4

   This bestselling novel was written by the author in just six weeks. Use singular was and the irregular participle written, not wrote. This bestselling novel was written in just six weeks by the author is also acceptable. In just six weeks describes the time taken, not an event six weeks ago.

5–8. Complete the passive verb phrase

5. Tomorrow's meeting: The committee will make its final decision tomorrow. Complete with a passive using will: The final decision ______ by the committee tomorrow. (make)

   Answer and explanation 5

   will be made. Keep the requested modal will, add be, then the participle made. Is going to be made could describe a plan in another version, but it does not retain the form requested here.

6. Work in progress: Workers are replacing the old bridge with a new one. They have not finished. Complete in the present continuous passive: Currently, the old bridge ______ with a new one. (replace)

   Answer and explanation 6

   is being replaced. Singular bridge takes is; being replaced shows the replacement work in progress. Has been replaced would present it as completed, which conflicts with the context. Here with a new one names the replacement, not the workers.

7. A finished sale: The box office sold every ticket last week. Complete in the past simple passive: All the tickets for the concert ______ last week. (sell)

   Answer and explanation 7

   were sold. The plural subject tickets takes were, followed by the participle sold. The prompt requests a completed past event, not a sale in progress.

8. A product description: The description explains this glass's general design purpose. Use the present simple passive: This type of glass ______ to withstand high temperatures. (design)

   Answer and explanation 8

   is designed. The subject is singular this type of glass, so use is plus designed. Was designed could tell the history of its development, but the task asks for a present-simple description. Neither sentence by itself tells you who designed it.

The eight answer explanations are omitted from this learner printout. Find them at thekingdomofenglish.com/articles/webhook/what-is-passive-voice-in-english.php#passive-guide-practice.

Choose your next step: if the auxiliary caused difficulty, revisit the form chart. If you omitted useful information, revisit the section on the agent. To choose active or passive forms in a connected situation, continue with the repair-day exercises and explanations. The mixed grammar practice provides a broader follow-up.

Frequently asked questions

Is passive voice bad writing?

No. A passive can keep attention on the person or thing being discussed, or leave an unknown or unnecessary agent unnamed. Choose the form that gives the reader the information they need. Neither passive grammar nor removing I or we makes a claim more accurate or objective.

Does passive voice always use be?

Be plus a past participle is the standard pattern taught here. English also has get-passives, especially in informal speech: The parcel got damaged. So the absence of be does not by itself prove that a clause is active.

Can the by zombies trick identify every passive?

No. Adding a by-phrase can suggest a possible agent, but it is only a clue. Passive clauses often omit the agent, and a word such as closed can describe a state or an action depending on context. Check the whole verb phrase, its meaning and a possible active version.

Can every active sentence become passive?

No. A simple clause such as The train arrived has no object to become a passive subject. Many verbs with objects allow a passive, but some verb meanings do not. Certain verb-plus-preposition patterns also allow it, as in The equipment has been paid for.

Grammar references and editorial scope

The form and meaning guidance was checked on 21 October 2026 against British Council: Passives and Cambridge English Grammar Today's passive forms, agents, other passive forms and typical errors. These references support the grammar guidance; the practice contexts and explanations on this page are editorial teaching material.

The Kingdom of English revised this guide with AI-assisted drafting and source checks. The practice is not a validated proficiency test or a claim of measured classroom outcomes. See our editorial approach and corrections information.