eng8-2.1· Unit 2: Passive Voice· ~13 min

Passive: present simple

is/are + past participle.

In English the passive voice lets us focus on what happens to the subject rather than on who does the action. To form the present simple passive we use the correct form of 'to be' (am / is / are) followed by the past participle of the main verb. We use 'am' with I, 'is' with he / she / it (and singular nouns), and 'are' with we / you / they (and plural nouns). The person or thing doing the action — called the agent — can be added with 'by', but it is often omitted when it is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from context. To make a negative, we insert 'not' after 'am / is / are': 'is not written', 'are not sold'. For a question we invert the subject and 'am / is / are': 'Is the homework checked every day?' Compare the two sentences: Active — 'Teachers check the homework every day.' Passive — 'The homework is checked by teachers every day.' For example: Active — 'People speak English in many countries.' Passive — 'English is spoken in many countries.'

Key terms

passive voice — A sentence form that focuses on what happens to the subject rather than on who does the action. In the present simple it is formed with am / is / are + past participle: 'The letter is written.'
active voice — A sentence form in which the subject does the action: 'Teachers check the homework every day.' The doer comes first, before the verb and object.
agent (by) — The person or thing that does the action in a passive sentence, introduced with 'by': 'The novel is written by Agatha Christie.' The agent is often omitted when unknown, unimportant, or obvious.
past participle — The third form of a verb (V3) used after am / is / are in the passive: 'spoken', 'cleaned', 'written'. Regular verbs add -ed; irregular verbs have special forms (send -> sent, tell -> told).
auxiliary 'be' — The helping verb am / is / are that carries the passive. Use 'is' with singular subjects and 'are' with plural subjects; it agrees with the new (passive) subject, not the agent.
object — The thing that receives the action in an active sentence. In the passive transformation, the active object becomes the subject of the new sentence.
Present simple passive: form
FormStructureExample
Affirmativeam / is / are + V3English is spoken in many countries.
Negativeam / is / are + not + V3The windows are not cleaned every day.
QuestionAm / Is / Are + subject + V3 ?Is the car repaired here?
Active to passive: what changes
ActivePassive
The object receives the actionThe object becomes the subject
The verb is in the present simpleThe verb becomes be (am/is/are) + V3
The subject does the actionThe subject moves to 'by + agent' (often omitted)
✎Turn an active sentence into the passive
  1. 1Active sentence: People speak English in many countries.
  2. 2Step 1 - find the object: The object is 'English' (the thing that receives the action). Move it to the front as the new subject.
  3. 3Step 2 - choose am/is/are: 'English' is singular, so use 'is'.
  4. 4Step 3 - use the past participle: Change 'speak' to its V3 form 'spoken'. This gives 'is spoken'.
  5. 5Step 4 - add 'by + agent' if needed: The agent 'people' is general and unimportant, so omit it.
  6. 6Passive sentence: English is spoken in many countries.
✎Keep an important agent with 'by'
  1. 1Active sentence: A famous chef cooks this dish.
  2. 2Step 1 - find the object: The object is 'this dish'. It becomes the new subject.
  3. 3Step 2 - choose am/is/are: 'This dish' is singular, so use 'is'.
  4. 4Step 3 - use the past participle: Change 'cooks' to the V3 form 'cooked', giving 'is cooked'.
  5. 5Step 4 - add 'by + agent': The agent 'a famous chef' is specific and important, so keep it with 'by': 'by a famous chef'.
  6. 6Passive sentence: This dish is cooked by a famous chef.
🚫Common mistake

After am / is / are use the past participle (V3), not the base form (V1) or the past simple (V2). Write 'is grown', not 'is grow'; write 'is written', not 'is wrote'.

⚠️Caution

Make 'is' or 'are' agree with the new passive subject: singular takes 'is' (Rice is grown; This dish is cooked), plural takes 'are' (The windows are cleaned; These cars are made).

💡Note

'By + agent' is optional. Add it only when the doer is known and important; omit it when the agent is unknown, unimportant, or obvious. Avoid vague agents like 'by someone' or 'by people'.

🚫Common mistake

Use 'by' for the agent, not 'from'. Write 'is written by Agatha Christie', not 'from'. And never mix active with a by-phrase: 'The novel writes by...' is wrong; the passive needs 'is written'.

Rules

  1. 1Form: am / is / are + past participle (e.g. 'The letter is written').
  2. 2Use 'is' for singular subjects (he, she, it, a noun); use 'are' for plural subjects (we, they, plural nouns).
  3. 3Add 'by + agent' only when the agent is known and important; omit it when unknown or obvious.
  4. 4Negative: place 'not' after am / is / are — 'The windows are not cleaned every day.'
  5. 5Question: invert subject and am / is / are — 'Is the car repaired here?'

Practice

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