Many English learners find the passive voice confusing — but it’s actually very useful once you understand how it works!
We use the passive voice when the focus is on the action or the result, not on who does it.
✅ Active: A thief stole the money.
✅ Passive: The money was stolen.
This lesson shows 50 examples of passive voice sentences in different verb tenses.
Passive Voice: Basic Structure
be + past participle
Subject + form of “be” + past participle
Example:
-
The book was written by George Orwell.
We can often omit “by + person” when the “doer” of the action is unknown, obvious, or not important:
-
The book was published in 1949. ✅
(no need to say by the publisher)
Present Simple Passive
The passive voice in the present simple is often used for regular processes, or general actions:
| Active voice | Passive voice |
|---|---|
| People speak English all over the world. | English is spoken all over the world. |
| The company sells phones online. | Phones are sold online. |
| They clean the offices every day. | The offices are cleaned every day. |
| Someone delivers the mail at noon. | The mail is delivered at noon. |
| Chefs prepare the food in this restaurant. | The food is prepared in this restaurant. |
Present Continuous Passive
The passive voice is used in the present continuous for actions that are being done at the moment:
| Active voice | Passive voice |
|---|---|
| They are building a new bridge. | A new bridge is being built. |
| Someone is painting the house. | The house is being painted. |
| The workers are repairing the road. | The road is being repaired. |
| They are filming a new movie. | A new movie is being filmed. |
| The teacher is grading the exams. | The exams are being graded. |
Past Simple Passive
The past simple passive voice is used for actions that are completely finished in the past:
| Active voice | Passive voice |
|---|---|
| The mechanic fixed the car. | The car was fixed. |
| Someone stole my wallet. | My wallet was stolen. |
| They built this hospital in 1980. | This hospital was built in 1980. |
| The police arrested the thief. | The thief was arrested. |
| The company hired five new employees. | Five new employees were hired. |
Past Continuous Passive
The past continuous passive voice is used for actions that were in progress at a certain time in the past:
| Active voice | Passive voice |
|---|---|
| They were painting the walls. | The walls were being painted. |
| Someone was questioning the suspect. | The suspect was being questioned. |
| The kids were cleaning the classroom. | The classroom was being cleaned. |
| They were repairing the roof. | The roof was being repaired. |
| The students were writing the test. | The test was being written. |
Present Perfect Passive
The present perfect passive voice is used for actions completed in the past at an unknown/unspecified time:
| Active voice | Passive voice |
|---|---|
| They have finished the project. | The project has been finished. |
| Someone has stolen my phone. | My phone has been stolen. |
| The manager has approved the proposal. | The proposal has been approved. |
| They have closed the road for repairs. | The road has been closed for repairs. |
| Scientists have discovered a new planet. | A new planet has been discovered. |
Past Perfect Passive
The past perfect passive voice is used for actions that were completed before another past event:
| Active voice | Passive voice |
|---|---|
| They had completed the work before the deadline. | The work had been completed before the deadline. |
| Someone had cleaned the room. | The room had been cleaned. |
| They had given him the award. | He had been given the award. |
| The chef had prepared the meal before guests arrived. | The meal had been prepared before guests arrived. |
| They had repaired the car before the trip. | The car had been repaired before the trip. |
Future Simple Passive
The future simple passive voice is used for actions that will be done in the future:
| Active voice | Passive voice |
|---|---|
| They will announce the results tomorrow. | The results will be announced tomorrow. |
| The company will release a new product. | A new product will be released. |
| They will hold the meeting next week. | The meeting will be held next week. |
| The team will finish the project soon. | The project will be finished soon. |
| The teacher will correct the essays. | The essays will be corrected. |
Future Continuous Passive
We do not typically use the passive voice for future continuous sentences because it sounds strange:
- Active voice: They will be interviewing the candidates.
- Passive voice: The candidates will be being interviewed.
Future Perfect Passive
The future perfect passive voice is used for actions that will be finished before a future date:
| Active voice | Passive voice |
|---|---|
| They will have completed the building by June. | The building will have been completed by June. |
| The team will have finished the report by tomorrow. | The report will have been finished by tomorrow. |
| They will have delivered all the packages. | All the packages will have been delivered. |
| The company will have launched the product. | The product will have been launched. |
| The students will have learned the material. | The material will have been learned. |
Modal Verbs in the Passive Voice
We can form passive voice sentences with modal verbs like can, must, should, might, and have to:
| Active voice | Passive voice |
| They can solve the problem. | The problem can be solved. |
| We could improve this design. | This design could be improved. |
| You must follow the rules. | The rules must be followed. |
| They should tell the truth. | The truth should be told. |
| They might announce the results today. | The results might be announced today. |
| You have to wear a uniform. | A uniform has to be worn. |
| If you select express shipping, they would deliver the package faster. | If you select express shipping the package would be delivered faster. |
| They could have saved his life if they’d given him the right medicine. | His life could have been saved if they’d given him the right medicine. |
| The company should have promoted him after all his hard work. | He should have been promoted after all his hard work. |
| The college would have accepted her if her grades had been better. | She would have been accepted to college if her grades had been better. |
| Someone might have thrown away the documents. | The documents might have been thrown away. |
| I can’t find the product anywhere. The company must have discontinued it. | I can’t find the product anywhere. It must have been discontinued. |
Practice The Passive Voice
Try writing five sentences of your own in each passive voice tense.
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