Passive Voice: English Is Spoken Here / The Window Was Broken
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
Use the passive voice when the action is more important than the person doing it.
- Use 'be' + past participle: The cake was eaten.
- The object becomes the subject: The window was broken.
- Use 'by' to mention the actor: It was painted by him.
Overview
- Active: The chef makes the pizza. (focus on chef)
- Passive: The pizza is made by the chef. (focus on pizza)
- English is spoken in many countries.
- These products are made in Italy.
- This office is cleaned every morning.
- The window was broken last night.
- These cars were made in Germany.
- The email was sent yesterday.
- The book was written by J.K. Rowling.
- The meal was cooked by a famous chef.
- (Often we don't mention by — it's not important or not known)
- The agent (doer) is unknown: My bike was stolen.
- The agent is obvious: He was arrested.
- Focus on the result: The report has been finished.
Passive Voice Conjugation
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
|
Present Simple
|
They clean
|
It is cleaned
|
|
Past Simple
|
They cleaned
|
It was cleaned
|
|
Future Simple
|
They will clean
|
It will be cleaned
|
|
Present Continuous
|
They are cleaning
|
It is being cleaned
|
|
Past Continuous
|
They were cleaning
|
It was being cleaned
|
|
Present Perfect
|
They have cleaned
|
It has been cleaned
|
Common Contractions
| Full Form | Contraction |
|---|---|
|
It is cleaned
|
It's cleaned
|
|
It was not cleaned
|
It wasn't cleaned
|
|
It has been cleaned
|
It's been cleaned
|
Meanings
The passive voice shifts the focus from the person performing an action to the object receiving the action.
Focus on result
Highlighting the outcome rather than the agent.
“The door was locked.”
“The letter was sent.”
Unknown agent
When the person doing the action is unknown or irrelevant.
“My bike was stolen.”
“The money was found.”
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Affirmative
|
Subj + be + V3
|
The car is washed.
|
|
Negative
|
Subj + be + not + V3
|
The car is not washed.
|
|
Question
|
Be + Subj + V3?
|
Is the car washed?
|
|
Short Answer
|
Yes, it is.
|
Yes, it is.
|
|
Past
|
Subj + was/were + V3
|
The car was washed.
|
|
Future
|
Subj + will be + V3
|
The car will be washed.
|
Espectro de formalidade
The report was completed by the team. (Work)
The report was finished. (Work)
They finished the report. (Work)
Report's done. (Work)
Passive Voice Concept
Focus
- Object The receiver
Agent
- by The doer
Active vs Passive
Exemplos por nível
The cake is eaten.
El pastel es comido.
The door is opened.
La puerta es abierta.
The book is read.
El libro es leído.
The car is cleaned.
El coche es limpiado.
The window was broken yesterday.
La ventana fue rota ayer.
English is spoken here.
Aquí se habla inglés.
The letter was sent by him.
La carta fue enviada por él.
The house was built in 1990.
La casa fue construida en 1990.
The project has been finished.
El proyecto ha sido terminado.
The decision will be made tomorrow.
La decisión será tomada mañana.
The report must be signed.
El informe debe ser firmado.
The room is being cleaned now.
La habitación está siendo limpiada ahora.
It is said that the economy is improving.
Se dice que la economía está mejorando.
The evidence should have been collected.
La evidencia debería haber sido recolectada.
The museum is visited by thousands.
El museo es visitado por miles.
The rules were being ignored.
Las reglas estaban siendo ignoradas.
The proposal was rejected, much to our dismay.
La propuesta fue rechazada, para nuestro disgusto.
The findings are considered to be ground-breaking.
Los hallazgos son considerados innovadores.
The matter is being looked into.
El asunto está siendo investigado.
He was seen to enter the building.
Fue visto entrar al edificio.
The policy was deemed untenable by the committee.
La política fue considerada insostenible por el comité.
The manuscript is thought to have been written in the 14th century.
Se cree que el manuscrito fue escrito en el siglo XIV.
The results were not to be believed.
Los resultados no debían ser creídos.
The situation was handled with the utmost care.
La situación fue manejada con el máximo cuidado.
Fácil de confundir
Learners mix up who does the action.
Confusing past tense with passive voice.
Trying to make intransitive verbs passive.
Erros comuns
The cake eaten.
The cake is eaten.
He is eat the cake.
The cake is eaten by him.
The window broken.
The window was broken.
It is make.
It is made.
The car was arrive.
The car arrived.
The house is builded.
The house is built.
Is the cake eat?
Is the cake eaten?
The work has been do.
The work has been done.
The meeting will be happen.
The meeting will happen.
It is being done by me.
I am doing it.
The situation is considered as bad.
The situation is considered bad.
He was seen to be leave.
He was seen to leave.
The report is said to be finished by him.
The report is said to have been finished by him.
Padrões de frases
The ___ was ___.
___ is spoken in ___.
The ___ has been ___.
It is ___ that ___.
Real World Usage
The suspect was arrested.
The data was analyzed.
The meeting was cancelled.
The museum is visited by many.
The photo was taken by me.
Your order is being prepared.
Focus on the object
Don't overuse it
Use 'by' only when needed
Formal tone
Smart Tips
Use passive to sound objective.
Use passive to avoid guessing.
Put the object at the start.
Use passive to soften the blow.
Pronúncia
Past Participle endings
Ensure the -ed sound is clear.
Statement
The cake is EATen. ↘
Neutral tone.
Memorize
Mnemônico
Be the Past: 'Be' + 'Past' participle makes the passive.
Associação visual
Imagine a ball being kicked. The ball is the star, the kicker is in the shadows.
Rhyme
When the action is the star, use 'be' and the past participle from afar.
Story
The window was broken. Who did it? We don't know. The focus is on the broken glass, not the person.
Word Web
Desafio
Look around your room and name 3 things using the passive voice (e.g., 'The bed is made').
Notas culturais
Passive voice is very common in formal British English.
Americans often prefer active voice for clarity.
Passive is the standard for scientific papers.
The passive voice evolved from Old English constructions using 'beon' (to be).
Iniciadores de conversa
What was done yesterday?
Is English spoken in your country?
How is this dish prepared?
What is being discussed in the news?
Temas para diário
Erros comuns
Test Yourself
The cake ___ eaten.
Which is passive?
Find and fix the mistake:
The house builded.
They clean the room.
Passive voice is always formal.
A: Who broke the window? B: It ___ by the cat.
the / was / by / written / book / him
Which is present passive?
Score: /8
Exercicios praticos
8 exercisesThe cake ___ eaten.
Which is passive?
Find and fix the mistake:
The house builded.
They clean the room.
Passive voice is always formal.
A: Who broke the window? B: It ___ by the cat.
the / was / by / written / book / him
Which is present passive?
Score: /8
Perguntas frequentes (8)
Use it when the action is more important than the person doing it.
Yes, you can use it in almost all tenses.
No, it is just more formal and objective.
The verb must be transitive (have an object).
'Get' is more informal.
It can make writing feel distant or unclear.
Yes, but it might sound a bit formal.
Yes, but 'I ate the cake' is more natural.
Scaffolded Practice
1
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
Ser + participio
Spanish also uses the 'se' passive.
Être + participe passé
Agreement of the participle is mandatory in French.
Werden + Partizip II
Word order is much stricter in German.
Rare-ru form
Japanese passive often implies suffering.
Internal vowel change
No auxiliary verb is needed.
Bei construction
It is often used for negative events.
Learning Path
Prerequisites
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