Passive: simple and continuous tenses
be + past participle across present/past simple and continuous.
The passive voice is formed with the correct form of the verb be followed by the past participle of the main verb. In the present simple passive (am/is/are + past participle) the focus shifts from the doer to the receiver of an action: 'Milk is delivered every morning.' The past simple passive (was/were + past participle) describes a completed action where the receiver is emphasised: 'The bridge was built in 1902.' The present continuous passive (am/is/are + being + past participle) describes an action happening right now in passive form: 'The road is being repaired at the moment.' The past continuous passive (was/were + being + past participle) describes an action that was in progress at a specific past time: 'The report was being typed when the lights went out.' Subject–verb agreement is essential: singular subjects take is/was, plural subjects take are/were. The agent (the doer) is introduced with by and included only when it adds useful information; it is omitted when the agent is unknown, obvious, or unimportant. For example: 'The new library is being built by a local company' keeps the agent because it is informative, while 'The windows were broken' omits it because the agent is unknown.
Key terms
| Tense | Structure | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present simple passive | am / is / are + past participle | Habits, routines, general facts | Letters are sent every day. |
| Past simple passive | was / were + past participle | Completed past actions | The bridge was built in 1902. |
| Present continuous passive | am / is / are + being + past participle | Action in progress right now | The road is being repaired at the moment. |
| Past continuous passive | was / were + being + past participle | Action in progress at a specific past moment | The report was being typed when the lights went out. |
Signal words: 'every day / always / usually' → present simple; 'yesterday / in 1985 / last year' → past simple; 'now / right now / at the moment' → present continuous; 'when … / at that time / all morning' → past continuous.
| Active sentence | Step | Passive result |
|---|---|---|
| They clean the office every day. | Present simple → am/is/are + past participle | The office is cleaned every day. |
| Someone stole my wallet. | Past simple → was/were + past participle | My wallet was stolen. |
| Workers are painting the walls. | Present continuous → am/is/are + being + past participle | The walls are being painted. |
| The police were questioning the suspect. | Past continuous → was/were + being + past participle | The suspect was being questioned by the police. |
Move the object of the active sentence to subject position. The original subject becomes 'by + agent' (omit if vague or unknown).
| Situation | Keep or omit? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Agent is unknown | Omit | The window was broken. (We don't know who.) |
| Agent is obvious / unimportant | Omit | The rubbish is collected. ('By someone' adds nothing.) |
| Agent is specific and informative | Keep | Romeo and Juliet was written by Shakespeare. |
| Agent adds context or contrast | Keep | The new library is being built by a local company. |
- 1Active sentence: Technicians were repairing the server all morning.
- 2Step 1 — Identify the tense: 'Were repairing' is past continuous active.
- 3Step 2 — Choose the correct passive structure: Past continuous passive = was/were + being + past participle.
- 4Step 3 — Move the object to subject position: 'The server' (the object) becomes the new subject.
- 5Step 4 — Check subject–verb agreement: 'The server' is singular → use 'was', not 'were'.
- 6Step 5 — Decide on the by-agent: 'By technicians' is reasonably informative; include it if context requires it.
- 7Result: The server was being repaired (by technicians) all morning.
Do NOT use the -ing form after 'being' in the passive. The passive always needs a past participle. WRONG: 'The report is being writing.' CORRECT: 'The report is being written.' Remember: be + being + past participle, never be + being + -ing.
Check subject–verb agreement every time. Singular subjects (the theatre, the server, my wallet) need 'is' or 'was'; plural subjects (the letters, the books, the candidates) need 'are' or 'were'. WRONG: 'The books was returned.' CORRECT: 'The books were returned.'
The passive voice requires the auxiliary verb 'be'. Never omit it. WRONG: 'The office cleaned every day.' CORRECT: 'The office is cleaned every day.' A bare past participle without 'be' is not passive — it looks like active past simple (and often makes no sense with the subject).
Phrasal verbs keep their particle in the passive — the particle stays directly after the verb. 'Call off' → 'was called off by the manager' (not 'was called by off'). 'Listen to' → 'was listened to'. 'Refer to' → 'is referred to'.
Rules
- 1Present simple passive: am/is/are + past participle (e.g. 'Letters are sent every day.').
- 2Past simple passive: was/were + past participle (e.g. 'The cake was eaten by the children.').
- 3Present continuous passive: am/is/are + being + past participle (e.g. 'The car is being washed now.').
- 4Past continuous passive: was/were + being + past participle (e.g. 'The film was being watched when he arrived.').
- 5Include the by-agent only when it gives useful information; omit it when the agent is unknown, obvious, or unimportant.
Practice
15 easy · 15 medium · 15 hard
10 random questions per test