Overview
This lesson explains the passive voice in English: what it is, why it’s useful, and how to form passive sentences step by step.
Why Use the Passive Voice?
- Use the passive voice when you don't want to say who did the action or it’s unknown/unimportant.
- The passive lets you focus on the object or the result, not the subject.
- The passive is common in both formal and informal English, especially in news, science, and legal writing.
Active vs. Passive Voice
- Active voice: Subject does the action to the object (e.g., "The children ate the cake.").
- Passive voice: Object becomes the subject, and the focus shifts (e.g., "The cake was eaten by the children.").
Forming the Passive Voice: Six Steps
- Step 1: Identify the subject, verb, and object in the active sentence.
- Step 2: Move the object to become the new subject.
- Step 3: Determine the verb tense of the active sentence.
- Step 4: Change the be verb to match the tense of the main verb.
- Step 5: Use the past participle form of the main verb after be.
- Step 6: Optionally include the original subject at the end of the sentence using "by".
Examples of Passive Sentences
- "The house was built in 1893."
- "The car will be sold by the weekend."
- "The washing had been left out in the rain."
- "Many people's lives were saved by the volunteers."
- "My neighbour's car has been stolen (by someone)."
- "Lots of money was made by us in 2002."
- "The house will be cleaned by me on Monday."
Structure of Passive Sentences
- The passive always uses a form of the be verb + past participle.
- The by phrase is used to mention who did the action if needed.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Passive voice — a sentence structure where the object is the focus and the subject may be omitted or placed at the end with "by".
- Active voice — a sentence structure where the subject does the action to the object.
- Past participle — the verb form used after the be verb in passive sentences (e.g., eaten, built, stolen).
Action Items / Next Steps
- Practise making passive sentences from active ones using the six steps.
- Sign up for the mmmEnglish grammar challenge to improve your skills.
- Subscribe to the mmmEnglish Channel for more lessons.