Passive: perfect, future and modal
has been / will be / must be + past participle.
English passive voice extends well beyond present and past simple. In the present perfect passive (has/have been + past participle), the auxiliary 'been' is obligatory and indicates that something was done at an unspecified time before now — 'The report has been finished.' In the past perfect passive (had been + past participle), we show that an action was already completed before another past event — 'The letter had been sent before she arrived.' For the future passive, we use 'will be + past participle' to describe something that will happen to a subject — 'The results will be announced tomorrow.' Modal passives follow the pattern modal + be + past participle for present/future meaning ('The door must be locked every night') and modal + have been + past participle for past meaning ('The keys might have been left inside'). The most common learner errors are dropping 'been' in the perfect passive ('has finished' instead of 'has been finished') and confusing the auxiliary in modal perfect passives. For example: 'The new bridge will be opened by the mayor next week, but the old one had already been demolished.'
Key terms
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Present perfect passive | has/have + been + past participle | The report has been finished. |
| Past perfect passive | had + been + past participle | The letter had been sent before she arrived. |
| Future passive (simple) | will + be + past participle | The results will be announced tomorrow. |
| Future perfect passive | will + have been + past participle | The road will have been completed by 2027. |
| Modal passive (present/future) | modal + be + past participle | The door must be locked every night. |
| Modal perfect passive (past) | modal + have been + past participle | The keys might have been left inside. |
Note: 'been' is obligatory in all perfect passive forms. Never write 'will been' or 'must been'.
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present perfect | They have already fixed the pipe. | The pipe has already been fixed. |
| Past perfect | Workers had repaired the road. | The road had been repaired. |
| Future simple | The mayor will open the bridge. | The bridge will be opened by the mayor. |
| Future perfect | They will have finished the project by June. | The project will have been finished by June. |
| Modal (present) | You must submit the form today. | The form must be submitted today. |
| Modal (past) | Someone must have stolen the wallet. | The wallet must have been stolen. |
When transforming active to passive, the object becomes subject and 'be' is inserted in the correct form.
| Time reference | Structure | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present / Future | modal + be + pp | The form must be submitted today. | Obligation / rule now or in future |
| Present / Future | modal + be + pp | The door should be locked. | Advice for the present |
| Past (deduction) | modal + have been + pp | The wallet must have been stolen. | Near-certain deduction about past |
| Past (possibility) | modal + have been + pp | The keys might have been left inside. | Possibility about what happened |
| Past (criticism) | modal + have been + pp | Everyone should have been informed. | Past regret or criticism |
| Past (impossibility) | modal + have been + pp | The gate can't have been locked. | Logical impossibility about past |
The key distinction: 'modal + be' points to present/future; 'modal + have been' points to the past.
- 1Sentence to analyse: All the tickets ___ before the concert even started.
- 2Step 1 — Find the time signal: 'Before the concert started' — both events are in the past. The ticket-selling came BEFORE the concert started.
- 3Step 2 — Identify the sequence: The selling (earlier) → the concert starting (later). We need a tense that shows 'completed before another past event'.
- 4Step 3 — Choose the tense: That is past perfect. And tickets were sold (passive, not active). So: past perfect passive = had + been + past participle.
- 5Step 4 — Build the form: had + been + sold = 'had been sold'. Answer: All the tickets had been sold before the concert even started.
- 6Check: 'Have been sold' (present perfect) is wrong — it refers to present time, not before a past event. 'Were selling' is wrong — active voice + implies action still in progress.
- 1Two sentences to compare: A) 'The patient must be taken to hospital immediately.' B) 'Someone must have stolen the wallet.'
- 2Step 1 — Identify the time reference: A) 'Immediately' → the obligation exists NOW. B) 'Someone must have...' → this is a deduction about what happened in the PAST.
- 3Step 2 — Choose the modal passive structure: A) Present obligation → modal + be + past participle → 'must be taken'. B) Past deduction → modal + have been + past participle → 'must have been stolen'.
- 4Step 3 — Why passive?: A) The patient is taken (by someone) — subject receives the action. B) The wallet was stolen (by someone) — subject receives the action. Both require passive.
- 5Result: A) The patient must be taken to hospital immediately. B) The wallet must have been stolen.
Never drop 'be' after a modal. A very common error: 'must completed', 'should handed in', 'will published'. The correct structure is always modal + BE + past participle ('must be completed') or, for future, will + BE + past participle ('will be published'). 'Will been' is also wrong — the future perfect passive is 'will have been + past participle'.
Don't confuse present perfect passive and past perfect passive. 'Has/have been + pp' connects to the present moment. 'Had been + pp' is for actions completed before another past event. With time signals like 'by the time we arrived' or 'before the concert started', always use 'had been + pp'.
In modal perfect passive, 'have' must appear between the modal and 'been': 'might have been seen', 'couldn't have been locked'. Omitting 'have' ('might been seen', 'couldn't been locked') is a structural error. The full chain is always: modal + have + been + past participle.
To tell 'must be stolen' (present obligation/deduction) from 'must have been stolen' (past deduction), ask when the action happened. If it is happening now or in the future → modal + be + pp. If it happened in the past → modal + have been + pp.
Rules
- 1Present perfect passive: has/have + been + past participle (The project has been completed).
- 2Past perfect passive: had + been + past participle (The letter had been signed before the meeting).
- 3Future passive: will + be + past participle (The prize will be awarded tomorrow).
- 4Modal passive (present/future): modal + be + past participle (The form must be submitted today).
- 5Modal passive (past): modal + have been + past participle (The mistake could have been avoided).
Practice
15 easy · 15 medium · 15 hard
10 random questions per test