Learning the passive voice help us focus on the action and the result, rather than on who performs the action. In many real-world situations. For example, in news, formal writing, academic reports, and instructions, the doer of the action is unknown, unimportant, or obvious. That’s where the passive becomes essential.

This lesson reviews the form and use of the passive in all main verb tenses included at B1 level.

1. Why We Use the Passive Voice

We use the passive when:

• The doer is unknown:
  My wallet was stolen.
• The doer is not important:
  These phones are made in Korea.
• The result is more important than the person:
  The meeting has been cancelled.
• The sentence sounds more formal or objective:
  The survey will be analysed next week.

2. How to Form the Passive

The structure is always:

BE + Past Participle (V3)

The verb BE changes according to the tense.
The past participle stays the same.

3. Passive voice (different verb tenses)

Tense	Form	Example

Present Simple

am / is / are + past participle

English is spoken in many countries.

Past Simple

was / were + past participle

The window was broken last night.

Present Continuous

am / is / are being + past participle

The room is being cleaned right now.

Past Continuous

was / were being + past participle

The documents were being printed when the machine stopped.

Present Perfect

has / have been + past participle

The emails have been sent.

Future with “will”

will be + past participle

Dinner will be served at 7 pm.

Be Going To (future plans)

am / is / are going to be + past participle

A new road is going to be built.

Modal Verbs (can, must, should, etc.)

modal + be + past participle

This form must be completed.

4. When to Include the Agent (by + person)

We add by + agent only when the doer is important or surprising:

• The painting was created by a ten-year-old.
• The project will be reviewed by the CEO.

In most cases, we omit the agent.

🧠 Quick Comparison: Active vs Passive

Active	Passive
People speak Spanish here.	Spanish is spoken here.
Someone stole my phone.	My phone was stolen.
They will announce the winner tomorrow.	The winner will be announced tomorrow.
They are repairing the road.	The road is being repaired.

Passive Voice (present and past)

Let’s practice

Practice 1

Practice 2

Speaking

Practice 1