Passive Voice

Passive Voice in English: Form, Use, and Examples (B1–C1 Guide)

Hello, dear English learners! Today we’re diving into a structure that often confuses students at first, but becomes wonderfully clear once you see the logic behind it — the Passive Voice.

Many people think the passive is complicated or unnecessary. In reality, it’s simply another way of organising information, and English speakers use it all the time in conversations, news reports, academic writing, and everyday life. Let’s explore how it works.

Active vs Passive: What’s the Difference?

English sentences can be active or passive.

Active Voice

The subject performs the action.

Structure:

subject + verb + object

Mary pushed the door.

Mary = subject (the doer)

pushed = verb

the door = object

Passive Voice

The object becomes the subject, and we focus on the action rather than the person who performed it.

Structure:

object + be (in the correct tense) + past participle

To turn the active sentence into passive:

The door was pushed (by Mary).

The phrase by Mary is optional. In most real-life cases, we leave out the agent because it is unknown, unimportant, or obvious.

How to Form the Passive Voice in Different Tenses

Here is a clear overview showing how the passive form changes according to the tense.

Notice that the structure always includes a form of be + past participle, and it never changes.

When Do We Use the Passive Voice?

1.When the doer (agent) is unknown, unimportant, or obvious

Sometimes we simply don’t know who did the action, or it doesn’t matter.

• Michael’s car was stolen last night. (unknown)
• The church was built in the 11th century. (unknown)
• The thief was arrested. (obvious: by the police)

2.When the action is more important than the person

Often used in news, reports, scientific writing, and formal contexts.

• Twenty villages along the coast were flooded.
• This model of car is made in Italy.
• Several new laws were introduced last year.

3.To emphasise the doer (agent)

Sometimes we want to highlight who performed the action.

• The film was directed by Almodóvar.
• The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell.

4.To sound polite or impersonal

A very useful trick in English!

• Your house needs to be cleaned and tidied.
• This report should be completed by Friday.
• Teeth should be cleaned at least twice a day.

This avoids sounding bossy or direct.

More Examples of Active → Passive Conversions

Here are a few extra examples to make everything clearer:

Download the passive voice exercise in PDF here

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