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Passive Voice

Passive voice wording can be formed in multiple ways.

Using To Be Verbs

The passive voice utilizes "to be" verbs a lot. These are verbs like "am," "is," "are," "was," and "were." These "to be" verbs link up with the

participial form⁠

of a verb. This gives us constructs like "was being" or "is being." Another popular verb construct within the passive voice is "have been.”

"By" is another favorite in the passive voice. If we know who or what is carrying out the action, "by" typically slips into the sentence to indicate the acting party. For example, "All her laundry was folded by the hotel staff."

Using Verb Tense

⁠

Verb tense⁠

impacts how passive voice statements should be formed. Use the formulas detailed below to construct sentences in passive voice based on whether the verb is past, present or future tense.

Table 2

Table 2

Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

Tense

Formula

Example Sentence

Past Simple

was/were + past participle

All her laundry was folded.

Past Continuous

was/were being + past participle

Her laundry was being folded by the maid.

Past Perfect Simple

had been + past participle

Her laundry had been folded earlier.

Present Simple

am/is/are + past participle

The hedges are trimmed weekly

Present Continuous

am/is/are/is being + past participle

The hedges are being trimmed today.

Present Perfect Simple

has/have been + past participle

The hedges have been trimmed already.

Future Simple

will be + past participle

She will be given her award on Saturday.

Future Continuous

will have been + past participle

We're late. She will have been given her award by now.

There are no rows in this table

⁠

Using Infinitives

It's important to make a note about infinitives at this point. Basically,

infinitives are verbs⁠

with "to" in front of them. Not every infinitive indicates the passive voice, but they do work hand in hand quite often. For example, "The garbage needs to be taken to the dump," or, "Are you going to be fired?"

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