Passive
In this lesson, we look at changing the voice of the subject using the passive tense. Take alook at the quiz below to test your knowledge.
Passive
When using passive, it changes the main focus of the sentence:
I kick the ball
The ball is kicked
Structure: Subject + to be + past participle
The passive is used:
- If the person/thing doing the action is already known or doesn’t want to be shared.
- to make sure the most important information is in focus.
Creating the Passive tense
Try these other courses
Other info
We can use the passive in any tense, by just change the ‘be’ in the sentence.
| Tense | Active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present simple | I kick the ball | The ball is kicked (by me) |
| Present continuous | He is cooking dinner | Dinner is being cooked (by him) |
| Present perfect | They have been working here for years. | Work has been done for years (by them) |
| Past simple | I ate so much. | So much was eaten (by me) |
| Past continuous | He was sleeping in the house | The house was being slept in (by him) |
| Past perfect | She has lost everything | Everything had been lost (by her) |
| Future simple | I will play football tomorrow. | Football will be played tomorrow (by me) |
Your grade is: __