Grammar · Lesson 2 of 15

The passive voice

Form the passive in every tense and learn when it sounds natural, for example when you talk about buildings, history and changes in your city.

40–50 minutes
Level B1+
4 exercises

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In this lesson you will

understand the difference between active and passive sentences
form the passive in different tenses
learn when the passive sounds natural in speaking, and when it doesn't
use the passive to talk about buildings, history and changes in your city

Grammar

Active or passive?

In an active sentence, the subject comes first and does the action to the object:

The council (subject) built (verb) the park (object) in 1995.

In a passive sentence, the object of the action comes first. The verb needs two parts: be + past participle. The person who did the action comes after by, or is left out:

The park was built (by the council) in 1995.

Active sentences are usually shorter and clearer, so they are the normal choice. Use the passive when the thing is more important than the person who did the action, or when the person is unknown or obvious.

Exercise 1

Active or passive?

These sentences come from our model answers.

Waste sorting was made compulsory in big cities like Shanghai a few years ago.
My grandmother sold old newspapers to a local collector.
Parts of the old city wall were built more than six hundred years ago.
A new metro line is also being built.
My father brought home an old desktop computer from his office.
Too many historic buildings have been knocked down to make way for shopping centres.

Form

The passive in different tenses

Only the verb be changes; the past participle stays the same.

Tense	Passive form	Example from our model answers
Present simple	am / is / are + past participle	The metro in my city is covered in ads.
Past simple	was / were + past participle	It was written almost like a novel.
Present continuous	am / is / are being + past participle	A new metro line is being built.
Present perfect	has / have been + past participle	Some old parks have been completely transformed.
Past perfect	had been + past participle	It had been handed down from his own father.
Future	will be + past participle	The next Olympic Games will be held in a few years' time.
Modal verbs	can / must / have to + be + past participle	All my assignments have to be submitted electronically.

Exercise 2

Complete with the passive

Use the verb in brackets in the correct passive form.

Many traditional markets (replace) by supermarkets in recent years.
My watch (pass down) from my grandfather when I finished school.
The canals look beautiful at night when the lanterns (light).
Right now, a new shopping centre (build) near my flat.
If you leave an umbrella in a busy place, it (can / easily / see).
The next match (show) on TV next Saturday.

Use

When does the passive sound natural?

The passive can make sentences longer and less direct, and it can sometimes make the meaning unclear. In speaking, use it when it helps:

to talk about buildings, history and inventions: The temple was built in the Ming dynasty.
to talk about changes and rules: Waste sorting was made compulsory.
when the person who did it is unknown or obvious: My bike was stolen last year.

For your own actions and opinions, the active is usually better: say I made a cake, not A cake was made by me.

Exercise 3

Which sounds more natural?

A The Great Wall was built over many centuries. B Many different workers in many different dynasties built the Great Wall over many centuries.
A A paper crane could be folded by me in about a minute. B I could fold a paper crane in about a minute.
A My phone was stolen on the bus last year. B Someone who I don't know stole my phone on the bus last year.
A Hotpot is loved by me and is eaten by my friends every week. B I love hotpot, and my friends and I eat it every week.

Exercise 4

Rewrite in the passive

Leave out the person if they are not important.

They built the pagoda more than a thousand years ago.
The city has restored many old temples.
People sell fresh vegetables at the night market.
They are building a new metro line.

Speaking practice

Use the passive in your answers

Answer these questions out loud. Try to use at least one passive form in each answer, for example was built, has been turned into, is being repaired, is famous for… which is made…

Have you ever seen old buildings in your city?
What's your hometown famous for?
What are some changes in the area where you live?
Do people in your country usually sort their rubbish?

Press Record, answer out loud, then listen back.

Model: “Yes, my city has an old town where some of the temples date back to the Ming dynasty. Some of them have been carefully restored, so they look much as they did when they were first built.” (Old buildings)

Lesson written for Tips4IELTS, drawing on the Purdue OWL guide to active and passive voice. Examples come from our Speaking model answers.