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Using the passive voice in present, past, future and perfect tenses.
The passive voice is formed with a form of be followed by the past participle, and the form of be changes according to tense.
For example, The report is written, The report was written, and The report will be written.
The Present Simple passive is formed with am, is, or are followed by the past participle.
For example, The rooms are cleaned every day.
The Present Continuous passive is formed with am, is, or are + being + past participle.
For example, The road is being repaired.
The Present Perfect passive is formed with has or have + been + past participle.
For example, The work has been completed.
The Present Perfect Continuous passive is grammatically possible but uncommon and often avoided in favor of a more natural alternative.
A sentence such as The road has been being repaired is possible but awkward; The road has been under repair is often more natural.
The Past Simple passive is formed with was or were followed by the past participle.
For example, The building was completed in 1990.
The Past Continuous passive is formed with was or were + being + past participle.
For example, The bridge was being repaired when we arrived.
The Past Perfect passive is formed with had + been + past participle.
For example, The documents had been sent before the meeting.
The Past Perfect Continuous passive is theoretically possible but very uncommon and usually replaced by a clearer construction.
Had been being repaired is grammatically complex and is normally avoided when a simpler expression is available.
The Future Simple passive is formed with will + be + past participle.
For example, The results will be announced tomorrow.
The Future Continuous passive is theoretically possible but uncommon in ordinary English.
Will be being repaired is grammatically possible, but The road will be under repair is often more natural.
The Future Perfect passive is formed with will + have + been + past participle.
For example, The project will have been completed by Friday.
The Future Perfect Continuous passive is extremely uncommon and generally avoided in favor of simpler constructions.
Will have been being repaired is grammatically complex and is normally replaced by a more natural expression.
Modal verbs are followed by be + past participle in passive constructions.
For example, The report must be completed today and The problem can be solved.
Modal perfect passive constructions use modal + have + been + past participle.
For example, The mistake should have been corrected earlier.
Be going to can be used with the passive as going to be + past participle.
For example, The building is going to be demolished.
The passive infinitive is formed with to be + past participle.
For example, The report needs to be completed.
The passive gerund is formed with being + past participle.
For example, He dislikes being criticized.
The perfect passive infinitive is formed with to have been + past participle.
For example, She is believed to have been offered the job.
The perfect passive gerund is formed with having been + past participle.
For example, He apologized for having been treated unfairly.
Verbs that can take two objects can often form passive constructions with either object becoming the subject.
For example, I was given a book and A book was given to me.
Some verbs followed by prepositions can form passive constructions while retaining the preposition.
For example, The problem was dealt with immediately.
Passive reporting structures use verbs such as believe, say, expect, and report in constructions with subjects and infinitives.
For example, He is believed to be abroad and The company is expected to announce the results soon.
Get can sometimes replace be in informal passive constructions, especially when the subject experiences a change or event.
For example, He got injured in the accident and She got promoted last year.
The passive tense should reflect the same time relationship and aspect that the active construction would express.
For example, They repair the road becomes The road is repaired, while They repaired the road becomes The road was repaired.
When changing an active sentence to passive, the object of the active sentence usually becomes the passive subject, while the tense is retained through the appropriate form of be.
For example, They built the bridge becomes The bridge was built.
The agent can be introduced with by when identifying who or what performs the action.
For example, The book was written by George Orwell.
The agent is often omitted when it is unknown, obvious, irrelevant, or less important than the action or result.
For example, The window was broken does not specify who broke it.
Negative passive sentences place not after the auxiliary verb or first auxiliary.
For example, The report was not completed and The documents have not been signed.
Passive questions place the auxiliary before the subject while retaining the passive structure.
For example, Was the report completed? and Has the package been delivered?
Some passive constructions are followed by infinitive complements that describe the reported or expected action.
For example, The company is expected to increase prices.
Some past participle forms can describe a resulting state rather than a passive event.
For example, The door is closed may describe its state rather than the action of someone closing it.
The passive is often preferred when the action, process, result, or affected entity is more important than the agent.
For example, The results were published yesterday focuses on the results rather than the people who published them.
Use the correct form of be, retain the intended tense and aspect, and use the past participle rather than the base or past simple form.
Common mistakes include omitting be, using the wrong auxiliary tense, using an incorrect participle, and confusing passive meaning with a simple adjective.