Passives — What, How, When | Continuing Studies at UVic

All English verbs are either active or passive. When a sentence or clause starts with the subject, we use an active verb. For example:

Someone broke the window.

In this sentence, “someone” is the subject, so we use an active verb with it — “broke”.

But when a sentence or clause starts with the object, we use a passive verb.

The window was broken.

This sentence starts with the object (“the window”) so we used a passive verb (“was broken”).

Passives are always a combinations of two parts: a “be” verb and a past participle. Don't be confused by the term past participle. A past participle isn't past — that's just its name. We can use a past participle in a past situation, a present situation, a future situation — anything.

1. Some examples of 'be' verbs.

Verb Pattern	Example
present simple	is, am, are
present continuous	is being
past simple	was, were
future simple	will be
present perfect	has been, have been
past perfect	had been
modal	can be, could be, might be, should be, etc

Complete Exercise 1: Passive Times now and then close the window to continue with the lesson.

2. Some examples of past participles.

Dictionary Form	Past Simple Form	Past Participle
go	went	gone
see	saw	seen
live	lived	lived
study	studied	studied
let	let	let

Complete Exercise 2: Past Participles now and then close the window to continue with the lesson.

3. Some examples of passives.

Tense	Passive Verb	Example Sentence
present simple	are paid	They're paid every week.
present continuous	is being built	Their house is being built right now.
past simple	was hired	She was hired last week.
future simple	will be finished	We'll be finished next week.
present perfect	has been done	The work's been done.
modal	can be bought	Textbooks can be bought here.

Complete Exercise 3: Making Passive Sentences now and then close the window to continue with the lesson.

Passives have three basic uses: when we want to focus on the object, when we don't know the subject, and when we want to sound more formal.

Basic Use	Example	Explanation
When we want to focus on the object.	Cellphones are used all over the world.	We want to focus on cellphones here, not on who uses them.
When we don't know the subject.	The window was broken last night.	We don't know who broke the window, so we focus on the window instead.
When we want to sound more formal or official.	Students are provided with a textbook.	This sounds more formal and impersonal than 'We will provide students with a textbook.'