Examples of Passive Level: lower intermediate

Tense

Subject
Active: Rita
Simple Present
Passive: A letter
Active: Rita
Simple Past
Passive: A letter
Active: Rita
Present Perfect
Passive: A letter
Active: Rita
Future I
Passive: A letter
Active: Rita
Hilfsverben
Passive: A letter

Verb
writes
is written
wrote
was written
has written
has been written
will write
will be written
can write
can be written

Object
a letter.
by Rita.
a letter.
by Rita.
a letter.
by Rita.
a letter.
by Rita.
a letter.
by Rita.

Examples of Passive Level: upper intermediate

Tense

Subject
Active: Rita
Present
Passive
Progressive
A letter
:
Active: Rita
Past Progressive Passive
A letter
:
Active: Rita
Past Perfect
Passive
A letter
:
Active: Rita
Future II
Passive
A letter
:
Active: Rita
Conditional I
Passive
A letter
:
Active: Rita
Conditional II Passive
A letter
:

Verb
is writing

Object
a letter.

is being written

by Rita.

was writing

a letter.

was being written

by Rita.

had written

a letter.

had been written

by Rita.

will have written

a letter.

will have been written

by Rita.

would write

a letter.

would be written

by Rita.

would have written

a letter.

would have been written

by Rita.

Passive Sentences with Two Objects Level: intermediate

Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two
objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform into
a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.

Active:
Passive:
Passive:
.

Subject
Rita
A letter
I

Verb
wrote
was written
was written

Object 1
a letter
to me
a letter

Object 2
to me.
by Rita.
by Rita.

As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. Thats why it is
usually dropped.

Personal and Impersonal Passive

Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of
the passive sentence. So every verb that needs an object (transitive verb) can form a personal
passive.
Example: They build houses. Houses are built.
Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive sentence
(as there is no object that can become the subject of the passive sentence). If you want to use
an intransitive verb in passive voice, you need an impersonal construction therefore this
passive is called Impersonal Passive.
Example: he says it is said
Impersonal Passive is not as common in English as in some other languages (e.g. German,
Latin). In English, Impersonal Passive is only possible with verbs of perception (e. g. say,
think, know).
Example: They say that women live longer than men. It is said that women live longer than
men.
Although Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.
Example: They say that women live longer than men. Women are said to live longer than
men.
The subject of the subordinate clause (women) goes to the beginning of the sentence; the verb
of perception is put into passive voice. The rest of the sentence is added using an infinitive
construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary verbs and that are dropped).
Sometimes the term Personal Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect object of an
active sentence is to become the subject of the passive sentence.

She sang a song. - A song was sung by her.'a song' becomes the subject. As it is third
person singular, we use was + past participle.
irregular verb: sing - sang - sung
A song w as sung

 Somebody hit me. - (Your answer: i was hit by their) I was hit by somebody.'I' becomes
the subject. As it is first person singular, we use was + past participle.
irregular verb: hit - hit - hit
i w as hit by their

We stopped the bus. - (Your answer: the bus was stopped by our) The bus was stopped
by us.'the bus' becomes the subject. As it is third person singular, we use was + past
participle.
Note: 'p' must be doubled when adding '-ed' as 'o' before 'p' is a short, stressed vowel.
the bus w as stop

A thief stole my car. - My car was stolen by a thief.

They didn't let him go. - He was not let go by them.'he' becomes the subject. As it is third
person singular and a negative sentence, we use was + not + past participle.
irregular verb: let - let - let
She didn't win the prize. - The prize was not won by her.'the prize' becomes the subject.
As it is third person singular and a negative sentence, we use was + not + past participle.
irregular verb: win - won - won
Don't use 'did' with a form of 'to be'
They didn't make their beds. - Their beds were not made by them.'their beds' becomes the
subject. As it is plural and a negative sentence, we use were + not + past participle.
irregular verb: make - made - made
Don't use 'did' with a form of 'to be'.
I did not tell them. - They were not told by me.'them' becomes the subject. As it is plural
and a negative sentence, we use were + not + past participle.
irregular verb: tell - told - told
Don't use 'did' with a form of 'to be'.
Did you tell them? - Were they told by you?'they' becomes the subject. As it is plural and
a questin, we use Were + subject + past participle.
irregular verb: tell - told - told
Don't use 'did' with a form of 'to be'.
Did he send the letter? - Was the letter sent by him?'the letter' becomes the
subject. As it is third person singular and a question, we use Was + subject + past
participle.
irregular verb: send - sent - sent
Don't use 'did' with a form of 'to be'.

 I had worn blue shoes. - Blue shoes had been worn by me.In positive sentences we use:
had + been + past participle
irregular verb: wear - wore - worn
Blue shoes had b

Joe had cleaned the tables. - (Your answer: the tables had cleaned by joe) The tables
had been cleaned by Joe.In positive sentences we use: had + been + past participle
the tables had cle

We had lost the key. - The key had been lost by us.In positive sentences we use: had +
been + past participle
irregular verb: lose - lost - lost
They had started a fight. - A fight had been started by them.In positive sentences we use:
had + been + past participle
I had been reading an article. - An article had been read by me.In positive sentences we
use: had + been + past participle
irregular verb: read - read - read
Note: In active voice, the sentence is in past perfect progressive. That tense does not exist in
passive voice, so we use past perfect simple.
I had not closed the window. - The window had not been closed by me.In negative
sentences we use: had + not + been + past participle
Note: the silent 'e' in 'close' is dropped when adding '-ed'.
They had not bought the paper. - The paper had not been bought by them.In negative
sentences we use: had + not + been + past participle
irregular verb: buy - bought - bought
She had not noticed me. - I had not been noticed by her.In negative sentences we use: had
+ not + been + past participle
Note: the silent 'e' in 'notice' is dropped when adding '-ed'.
Had she solved the problem? - Had the problem been solved by her?In questions we use:
had + subject + been + past participle
Note: the silent 'e' in 'solve' is dropped when adding '-ed'.
Had he recorded that song? - Had that song been recorded by him?In
questions we use: had + subject + been + past participle

 Jane will buy a new computer. - A new computer will be bought by Jane.In positive
sentences we use: will + be + past participle.
irregular verb: buy - bought - bought
A new computer

Her boyfriend will install it. - It will be installed by her boyfriend.In positive sentences
we use: will + be + past participle.
Millions of people will visit the museum. - The museum will be visited by millions of
people.In positive sentences we use: will + be + past participle.
Our boss will sign the contract. - The contract will be signed by our boss.In positive
sentences we use: will + be + past participle.
You will not do it. - It will not be done by you.In negative sentences we use: will + not +
be + past participle.
irregular verb: do - did - done
They will not show the new film. - The new film will not be shown by them.In negative
sentences we use: will + not + be + past participle.
irregular verb: show - showed - shown/showed
He won't see Sue. - Sue will not be seen by him.In negative sentences we use: will + not +
be + past participle.
irregular verb: see - saw - seen
They will not ask him. - He will not be asked by them.In negative sentences we use: will
+ not + be + past participle.
Will the company employ a new worker? - Will a new worker be employed by the
company?In questions we use: will + subject + be + past participle.
Will the plumber repair the shower? - Will the shower be repaired by the
plumber?In questions we use: will + subject + be + past participle.