Simple Passive (Present and Past)
Intermediate (B1)en
Simple Passive
Simple Passive: Present and Past
You already know active sentences in the present and past.
The passive voice lets you focus on the action or the person/thing affected, rather than who does it. This is useful in formal writing, reports, and when the performer is unknown or unimportant.
1. What the Passive Voice Shows
In an active sentence, the subject does the action:
- “The chef cooks the meal.” → chef = subject, cooks = verb, meal = object
In a passive sentence, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject:
- “The meal is cooked by the chef.” → meal = subject, focus on what happens to it
Key idea: The passive focuses on the action or result, not the doer.
2. Forming the Simple Passive
Present Simple Passive
Structure: subject + is/are + past participle
2. Forming the Simple Passive
Present Simple Passive
Structure: subject + is/are + past participle
- Singular subject → is
- Plural subject → are
Examples:
- “The room is cleaned every day.”
- “Letters are delivered in the morning.”
Past Simple Passive
Structure: subject + was/were + past participle
- Singular subject → was
- Plural subject → were
Examples:
- “The room was cleaned yesterday.”
- “The letters were delivered last week.”
3. When to Use the Passive
Use the passive voice when:
- The action is more important than the doer
“The bridge was built in 1990.” (Who built it is not important) - The doer is unknown
“The window was broken last night.” - You want to sound formal
“The rules are explained at the beginning of the course.”
Tip: If you want to mention the doer, add “by …”:
- “The meal was cooked by the chef.”
4. Active vs Passive: Simple Comparison
Active (Present):
- “The teacher corrects the homework.” → focus on who does it
Passive (Present):
- “The homework is corrected by the teacher.” → focus on the homework, the action
Active (Past):
- “The company launched the product last year.”
Passive (Past):
- “The product was launched last year.”
5. Time Expressions with Passive
Present passive: often used with words like:
- every day, usually, always, often, sometimes
“The office is cleaned every day.”
Past passive: often used with:
- yesterday, last week, in 2020, two days ago
“The documents were signed yesterday.”
6. Practice Tips
- Identify the object in active sentences → it becomes the subject in passive.
- Choose the correct form of “be” → is/are for present, was/were for past.
- Use the past participle of the main verb.
Examples to change from active to passive:
- Active: “Someone delivers the mail every morning.”
- Passive: “The mail is delivered every morning.”
- Active: “The workers repaired the road last week.”
- Passive: “The road was repaired last week.”
7. Key Takeaways
- Passive voice shifts focus from the doer to the action or object.
- Form:
Present → is / are + past participle
Past → was / were + past participle - Use passive when:
The action matters more than who did it
The doer is unknown
You want a formal tone - Time expressions help decide present or past passive.
Related Vocabulary
Expand your vocabulary with words related to this grammar topic