Passive voice
be + past participle when the action matters more than who does it.
A — Sample sentences
Words like wake up, commute, housework, cook dinner, and finish work.
1) Present simple passive
am/is/are + past participle — routines and facts.
- Breakfast is usually served at seven in our house.
- The rubbish is collected every Tuesday morning.
- Dinner is cooked by my father on weekends.
- The children are picked up from school at four.
2) Past simple passive
was/were + past participle — finished actions.
- The meeting was cancelled yesterday afternoon.
- Lunch was prepared before everyone arrived home.
- The shopping was done by my partner last night.
- We were told to work from home during the storm.
3) Other tenses and by-agent
Passive in perfect and continuous tenses; by + person when needed.
- The housework has been finished already.
- Dinner is being cooked while I do the washing-up.
- The emails will be sent before finish work.
- The errands were run by my neighbour while I was ill.
The rest of this lesson is in the General English course:
- B — Quick reference
Try it: Active or passive?
Choose the best form.
- The train ___ every ten minutes from this station.
(a) leaves (b) is left (c) is leaving - Lunch ___ in the canteen at twelve.
(a) serves (b) is served (c) has served - The house ___ before the guests arrived.
(a) cleaned (b) was cleaned (c) has cleaned - Emails ___ right now — please wait.
(a) are sent (b) are being sent (c) send
Check your answers in the course — it marks them instantly. This is one of the unit's 4 exercises; the other 3 are in the General English course too.
Practise this unit in the course →