The Passive Voice in English
A passive sentence consist of;
- The subject
- The verb to be in the correct tense.
- The past participle of the verb needed.
- Sometimes, the agent and/or other complements
Subject + verb + “to be” + Past participle
Example Sentences
- The novel was read by Mom in one day.
- This film wasn’t liked by no one.
- The windows had been broken.
Active and Passive Verb Tenses
| Tense | Active | Passive |
| Present simple | Reporters write news reports | News reports are written by reporters |
| Present continuous | Michael is baking a brownie | A brownie is being baked by Michael. |
| Past simple | The company hired new workers last year. | New workers were hired by the company last year. |
| Past continuous | The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the store. | The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the sotre. |
| Present perfect | They have already discussed the book. | The book has already been discussed. |
| Past perfect | He had delivered the letters. | The letters had been delivered. |
| Future simple | The company will hire new workers. | New workers will be hired by the company. |
| Infinitive | She has to deliver the letters. | The letters have to be delivered. |
| Modals | She must deliver the letters. | The letters must be delivered. |
