Passive Voice

Form

The passive is be + the past participle, and it puts the thing affected at the front of the sentence (The window was broken).

The participle itself never changes; the tense is carried by the words in front of it: is taken, was taken, has been taken, had been taken, is being taken, will be taken. After a modal, use the modal + be + participle (All forms must be signed), and after have to, use have to be + participle (It has to be done today). Name the doer only when it adds something, in a by-phrase at the end (The painting was stolen by a former employee).

When to Use It

1. 1

   The doer is unknown

   My bike was stolen last night.

2. 2

   The doer doesn't matter, which is why rules and instructions use the passive

   Phones must be turned off during the exam.

3. 3

   The thing affected is what your sentence is really about

   The bridge was rebuilt in 1995.

4. 4

   Reports and scientific writing, where the method matters more than the researcher

   The samples were kept at 37 degrees Celsius for 48 hours.

5. 5

   Reporting what people say without naming them, with it is said that or be believed to

   The factory is said to be closing next year.

6. 6

   A service somebody else performs for you, with have or get + object + participle

   I had my car repaired yesterday.

Common Mistakes

• Leaving out be: write The report was approved, not The report approved — without be, the sentence says the report did the approving.
• The base form in place of the participle: write The bridge was built in 1995, not The bridge was build in 1995 — after be, the passive takes the third form, never the base form.
• An extra to after a modal: write All forms must be submitted, not All forms must to be submitted — a modal takes be with no to.
• A passive for a verb with no object: write The accident happened on Friday, not The accident was happened on Friday — verbs like happen, arrive and die have no passive.
• Born without be: write She was born in Chicago, not She born in Chicago — born needs a form of be in front of it.