Passive: present simple
is/are + past participle.
In English the passive voice lets us focus on what happens to the subject rather than on who does the action. To form the present simple passive we use the correct form of 'to be' (am / is / are) followed by the past participle of the main verb. We use 'am' with I, 'is' with he / she / it (and singular nouns), and 'are' with we / you / they (and plural nouns). The person or thing doing the action — called the agent — can be added with 'by', but it is often omitted when it is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from context. To make a negative, we insert 'not' after 'am / is / are': 'is not written', 'are not sold'. For a question we invert the subject and 'am / is / are': 'Is the homework checked every day?' Compare the two sentences: Active — 'Teachers check the homework every day.' Passive — 'The homework is checked by teachers every day.' For example: Active — 'People speak English in many countries.' Passive — 'English is spoken in many countries.'
Rules
- 1Form: am / is / are + past participle (e.g. 'The letter is written').
- 2Use 'is' for singular subjects (he, she, it, a noun); use 'are' for plural subjects (we, they, plural nouns).
- 3Add 'by + agent' only when the agent is known and important; omit it when unknown or obvious.
- 4Negative: place 'not' after am / is / are — 'The windows are not cleaned every day.'
- 5Question: invert subject and am / is / are — 'Is the car repaired here?'
Practice
10 easy · 10 medium · 10 hard