Passive: Summary Practice Tests with B2 Grammar Rules & Examples

Passive: Summary

In English, we use the passive voice to focus on what happens to something or someone, rather than on who does the action. The passive is used across many different tenses and structures, and at B2 level, it is important to understand how the passive works in all of them.

Compare these two sentences:

Active: The chef prepares the meal every day.
Passive: The meal is prepared every day.

In the passive sentence, we focus on the meal, not on the chef. This lesson brings together all the key passive structures in one place, so you can see how they work, compare them, and avoid common mistakes.

How to Form the Passive

The passive is always formed with the correct form of the verb to be + the past participle of the main verb.

Formula: subject + correct form of "be" + past participle (+ by + agent)

The agent is the person or thing doing the action. We use by to introduce the agent, but we only mention the agent when it is important or interesting.

Example: The letter was written by the president. (The agent — the president — is important here.)
Example: The windows were cleaned yesterday. (We do not need to say who cleaned them.)

Passive Forms Across All Tenses

Below is a complete summary of how the passive is formed in each major tense and structure. Study the pattern carefully in each case.

Present Simple Passive

Form: am / is / are + past participle

Coffee is grown in Brazil.
These cars are made in Germany.
I am paid at the end of the month.

Present Continuous Passive

Form: am / is / are + being + past participle

The road is being repaired at the moment.
New staff are being trained this week.

Past Simple Passive

Form: was / were + past participle

The painting was stolen last night.
The invitations were sent last week.

Past Continuous Passive

Form: was / were + being + past participle

The building was being renovated when the fire started.
The documents were being checked at that time.

Present Perfect Passive

Form: has / have + been + past participle

The report has been submitted.
Several mistakes have been found.

Past Perfect Passive

Form: had + been + past participle

The tickets had already been booked before she arrived.
The system had been updated the previous day.

Future Simple Passive

Form: will + be + past participle

The results will be announced tomorrow.
All applications will be reviewed carefully.

Future Perfect Passive

Form: will + have + been + past participle

The project will have been completed by Friday.
The reports will have been sent before the meeting begins.

Conditional (Would) Passive

Form: would + be + past participle

The event would be cancelled if it rained.
More jobs would be created by the new policy.

Modal Passive (can, could, must, should, might, may, etc.)

Form: modal verb + be + past participle

This medicine must be kept in the fridge.
The form should be completed in black ink.
The package might be delivered tomorrow.
The rules can be changed at any time.

Passive: Complete Summary Table

Tense / Structure	Passive Form	Example
Present Simple	am / is / are + past participle	The news is reported every hour.
Present Continuous	am / is / are + being + past participle	The bridge is being built now.
Past Simple	was / were + past participle	The car was repaired yesterday.
Past Continuous	was / were + being + past participle	The food was being prepared at noon.
Present Perfect	has / have + been + past participle	The emails have been sent.
Past Perfect	had + been + past participle	The form had been signed already.
Future Simple	will + be + past participle	The winner will be announced soon.
Future Perfect	will + have + been + past participle	The work will have been finished by Monday.
Conditional (would)	would + be + past participle	More trees would be planted with funding.
Modal Passive	modal + be + past participle	The gate must be locked at night.

Passive with "Get"

In informal spoken English, we sometimes use get instead of be to form the passive. This is especially common when something happens suddenly, accidentally, or unexpectedly.

Form: get + past participle

He got fined for parking illegally.
She got promoted last month.
My phone got stolen on the bus.
They got caught in the rain.

Note: The get passive is more informal. In formal writing, always use be + past participle.

Passive Reporting Structures

We often use passive reporting structures in news reports, academic writing, and formal contexts. These allow us to report information without saying exactly who said or believed it.

Common patterns:

It + passive reporting verb + that + clause
It is believed that the company will close soon.
It was reported that three people were injured.
It is said that he was a brilliant scientist.

Subject + passive reporting verb + to + infinitive
The suspect is believed to be in the country.
The economy is expected to grow next year.
He is known to have worked there for years.

Common reporting verbs used in these structures include: say, believe, think, report, expect, know, consider, claim, allege, understand.

When to Use the Passive

Knowing when to use the passive is just as important as knowing how to form it. Use the passive in the following situations:

• When the agent (doer) is unknown: My bag was taken from the office.
• When the agent is unimportant or obvious: The rubbish is collected on Tuesdays.
• When you want to focus on the action or the result, not the doer: The contract has been signed.
• In formal or academic writing to sound impersonal: The data were analysed using a computer program.
• In news reports and official announcements: Three people have been arrested in connection with the robbery.
• To avoid blame or responsibility: Mistakes were made.

Passive in Questions and Negatives

Forming questions and negatives in the passive follows the same rules as with the verb to be in each tense.

Questions

Is the parcel being delivered today?
Was the report submitted on time?
Have the results been published yet?
Will the meeting be recorded?
When was the building constructed?

Negatives

The letter wasn't sent yesterday.
The results haven't been announced yet.
The area shouldn't be accessed without permission.
The form won't be processed without a signature.

Important Differences and Special Cases

Active vs Passive: Which to Choose?

English speakers use the active voice most of the time in everyday conversation. Use the passive intentionally — when it serves a clear purpose (see the list above). Overusing the passive can make writing feel awkward or unnecessarily complicated.

Active (natural): The police arrested the suspect.
Passive (also fine here): The suspect was arrested. (focus on the suspect)

Transitive Verbs Only

Only transitive verbs (verbs that take an object) can be made passive. Intransitive verbs (verbs with no object) cannot.

✅ The book was written by a local author. (write = transitive)
❌ The accident was happened at midnight. (happen = intransitive — cannot be passive)

Two-Object Verbs in the Passive

Some verbs, such as give, send, offer, show, tell, teach, pay, can take two objects. Either object can become the subject of the passive sentence.

Active: The teacher gave the students a test.
Passive (indirect object as subject): The students were given a test.
Passive (direct object as subject): A test was given to the students.

Both passive versions are correct. The first version (indirect object as subject) is more common in British English.

The Agent: When to Include "By"

Only include the by + agent phrase when the agent is important, surprising, or adds useful information. In most passive sentences, the agent is left out.

✅ Useful: The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci. (The agent is famous and important.)
❌ Unnecessary: The window was broken by someone. → Better: The window was broken.

Common Mistakes

❌ The car was repairing yesterday.
✅ Use the past participle, not the -ing form. The car was repaired yesterday.

❌ The report has written by the manager.
✅ Always include "been" in perfect passive structures. The report has been written by the manager.

❌ The accident was happened last night.
✅ Intransitive verbs cannot be made passive. The accident happened last night.

❌ She was given to a scholarship.
✅ Do not add "to" when the indirect object becomes the subject. She was given a scholarship.

❌ The letters were sended to all members.
✅ Use the correct past participle, not a regular form of an irregular verb. The letters were sent to all members.

❌ The building is been renovated.
✅ In the present continuous passive, use "is being", not "is been". The building is being renovated.

❌ It was said that he is a spy. (when referring to the same time period)
✅ Match the tense in the that-clause to the reporting verb. It was said that he was a spy.

Passive: Quick Summary

Here are the key points to remember about the passive in English:

• The passive is formed with the correct form of be + past participle.
• The passive exists in all major tenses and with modal verbs.
• Use the passive when the agent is unknown, unimportant, or obvious.
• Use by + agent only when the agent is important or relevant.
• The get passive is informal: He got promoted.
• Use passive reporting structures in formal, academic, and news contexts.
• Only transitive verbs can be made passive.
• With two-object verbs, either object can become the subject of the passive sentence.
• Always use the past participle (not the -ing form) in passive constructions.

Now practise the passive: summary in the exercises below.