Forming the passive voice

When a sentence is written in the passive voice, the subject receives the action instead of doing it.

To form the passive voice, use a form of be—am, is, are, was, were, being, be, or been—followed by the past participle of the main verb: am hidden, is forgotten, were driven.

The past participle, written, not the present participle, writing, must be used following was in the passive voice.

The passive voice requires a form of be before the past participle, even when another helping verb (such as will) is part of the verb.

The past participle teased, not the base form tease, must be used with was being to form the passive voice.

The by phrase is frequently omitted in passive-voice constructions.

TIP:Only transitive verbs, those that take direct objects, may be used in the passive voice. Intransitive verbs such as occur, happen, sleep, die, and fall are not used in the passive.

Verb tenses commonly used in the passive voice

Exercise: Verb forms and tenses 1

Exercise: Verb forms and tenses 2

Related topics:

Passive-voice transformations

Appropriate uses of the passive voice

past participle A verb form usually ending in -d, -ed, -n, -en, or -t and functioning as part of a main verb or as an adjective: walked, broken, seen.

transitive verb A verb that expresses an action and takes a direct object.

intransitive verb A verb that does not take a direct object.