Understanding Passive Voice in English

The Passive Voice is used when the focus is on the action or the result of an action rather than the person or thing performing it. It is commonly used in formal writing, reports, news, and academic English.

What Is Passive Voice?

In a passive sentence, the object of an active sentence becomes the subject. The person or thing that performs the action may be included using by, but it is often omitted when it is unknown or not important.

Examples:

Active: The chef cooks the meal.
Passive: The meal is cooked by the chef.
Active: They built the bridge in 1990.
Passive: The bridge was built in 1990.

Passive Voice Structure

Sentence Type	Structure	Example
Positive	Subject + be + past participle	The book was written.
Negative	Subject + be + not + past participle	The book was not written.
Question	Be + subject + past participle?	Was the book written?

Active Voice vs Passive Voice

Active Voice	Passive Voice
The teacher explains the lesson.	The lesson is explained by the teacher.
Someone cleaned the room.	The room was cleaned.
The company will launch a new product.	A new product will be launched by the company.

When Do We Use Passive Voice?

1. When the Action Is More Important Than the Person

Passive Voice is used when the action or result is the main focus.

The new airport was opened last year.
The documents were sent yesterday.
The project was completed successfully.

2. When the Person Performing the Action Is Unknown

We use passive voice when we do not know who did the action.

My phone was stolen.
The window was broken.
The documents were lost.

3. In Formal and Scientific Writing

Passive Voice is common in reports, research, and official documents.

The experiment was conducted carefully.
The results were analyzed by researchers.

Passive Voice in Different Tenses

Tense	Passive Structure	Example
Present Simple	am/is/are + past participle	The emails are sent every day.
Past Simple	was/were + past participle	The house was built in 2005.
Present Continuous	am/is/are being + past participle	The road is being repaired.
Past Continuous	was/were being + past participle	The room was being cleaned.
Present Perfect	has/have been + past participle	The work has been completed.
Future Simple	will be + past participle	The results will be announced.

How to Change Active Voice Into Passive Voice

Follow these steps:

Move the object of the active sentence to the subject position.
Change the verb into be + past participle.
Add by if the person or thing doing the action is important.

Example:

Active: The company created a new website.
Passive: A new website was created by the company.

Using "By" in Passive Voice

We use by to mention who performed the action. However, it is often unnecessary when the doer is unknown or obvious.

The painting was created by Leonardo da Vinci.
The car was repaired yesterday. (The person is not important.)

Common Mistakes With Passive Voice

Incorrect	Correct
The letter was write yesterday.	The letter was written yesterday.
The room cleaned by the staff.	The room was cleaned by the staff.
The project is complete by the team.	The project is completed by the team.

Passive Voice Exercises

Change the following active sentences into passive voice:

The teacher explains the lesson.
They built the bridge last year.
The company will launch a new product.
Someone stole my wallet.

Passive Voice Summary

Passive Voice focuses on the action or result instead of the doer.
It is formed with be + past participle.
It is commonly used in formal writing, reports, and news.
The word by is used when the person performing the action is important.