What Is the Passive Voice?
An active sentence says who does something: Someone stole my bike. The passive starts with the thing the action happens to: My bike was stolen. Use it when the doer is unknown, obvious or not important.
ACTIVESays who does it
Farmers grow coffee in Đắk Lắk.
PRESENT PASSIVEam / is / are + past participle
Coffee is grown in Đắk Lắk.
PAST PASSIVEwas / were + past participle
My phone was stolen on the bus yesterday.
The passive has two parts: be + past participle.
TRY IT
- Question 1
"Phở blank with rice noodles."
- Question 2
"These photos blank in Hội An last summer."
The forms
PRESENT
Sam / is / arepast participle
Breakfast is served from 6 to 9.
PAST
Swas / werepast participle
These shoes were made in Vietnam.
NEGATIVE
Sbe + notpast participle
I wasn't invited to the party.
No do, does or did.
QUESTION
BeSpast participle?
Were the windows cleaned yesterday?
COMMON PAST PARTICIPLES
- makemade
- buildbuilt
- writewritten
- stealstolen
- speakspoken
after be, the past participle: write, wrote, written
When to use it
Signs
Credit cards are accepted.
Everyone knows who accepts them: the shop.
How things are made
These conical hats are made by hand in this village.
The product matters more than the people.
Common verbs: make · build · grow · sell
Travel problems
Our flight was delayed for three hours.
Who delayed it doesn't matter.
Active or Passive?
| ACTIVE | PASSIVE | |
|---|---|---|
| The subject is | the doer | the thing the action happens to |
| Use it when | the doer matters | the doer is unknown or not important |
| By + doer | not used | only when the doer is worth saying: designed by a Japanese company |
Don't add by someone or by people. Just leave the doer out.
TRY IT
- Question 1
"Something strange blank at school today."
Common mistakes
Incorrect:This house built in 1990.
Correct:This house was built in 1990.
No be, no passive. Add was.
Incorrect:The accident was happened at 9 p.m.
Correct:The accident happened at 9 p.m.
Happen has no object, so it has no passive.
Incorrect:This letter was wrote in 1975.
Correct:This letter was written in 1975.
After be, use the past participle: write, wrote, written.
Incorrect:Where was you born?
Correct:Where were you born?
You always goes with were, even for one person.
Incorrect:Does English spoken in your office?
Correct:Is English spoken in your office?
A passive question moves be to the front. No does.
Quick check · 5 questions
Choose the correct form:
"Can I buy tickets online?" "No, tickets are sold at the door."
- A. are sold — Correct
- B. sold
- C. are sell
Answer: A. are sold
Without are, the sentence has no main verb. Sell is the base verb, not the past participle.
Choose the correct word:
This film was directed by a young Vietnamese woman.
- A. by — Correct
- B. from
- C. of
Answer: A. by
The director is worth naming here, so add by + the person.
Choose the correct word:
We weren't told about the meeting.
- A. weren't — Correct
- B. didn't
- C. don't
Answer: A. weren't
A passive is a be sentence. No do, does or did.
Choose the correct form:
The train arrived late.
- A. arrived — Correct
- B. was arrived
Answer: A. arrived
Nobody arrives the train. It arrives by itself.
Choose the correct word:
When was this temple built?
- A. was — Correct
- B. did
- C. is
Answer: A. was
The temple was built in the past: was. Did never goes with a past participle.
See whether it really stuck.
Start the quiz · 14 questions