In other articles (also here), I explained the basics of passive sentences.

A quick recap what this is about:

There are active sentences.

And there are passive sentences.

It could be helpful if you looked up in your own native language what these two things mean.

In most languages there is something similar as to what happens in English.

Active sentences are sentences in which the subject does something.

Passive sentences are sentences in which the subject has something done to it.

Example of active: He drives the car. “He” is the subject. What does he do? He drives. So it’s active.

Passive: The car is driven. “The car” is the subject. What is the car doing? Nothing. Something is done to the car. It is driven. So it’s passive.

We said that in the passive you always use a form of the verb “to be.” Add to this the third form of the verb (V3).

Now let’s see how passives work in other tenses:

In every tense, you will need a form of to be + V3. The form of V3 will always be the same in every tense. But the form of “be” will change according to the tense (so in every tense it will be different).

So here is our example in the present tense:

Present simple

He drives the car.

The car is driven.

And some other tenses:

Past simple

He drove the car.

The car is driven.

Present progressive

He is driving the car.

The car is being driven.

Past progressive

He was driving the car.

The car was being driven.

Future

He will drive the car.

The car will be driven.

Those are enough tenses for now.

Just to be sure you got it, here is the list of examples with a plural subject.

Present simple

They sing the songs.

The songs are sung.

Past simple

They sang the songs.

The songs were sung.

Present progressive

They are singing the songs.

The songs are being sung.

Past progressive

They were singing the songs.

The songs were being sung.

Future

They will sing the songs.

The songs will be sung.

 

Confusing? Nooooo… Try the exercise now:

Exercise

Write passive sentences. The tenses that are used are: present simple, past simple, present progressive, past progressive and future.

1 They painted the room yesterday.

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2 The professor is discussing music with the students.

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3 You will find cows on the road in that area.

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4 Marvin was thinking about a marvellous trip for his family.

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5 He was also planning to buy a new set of garden chairs.

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6 Commuters going to work ride the underground every morning.

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7 She put her greasy hair in a ponytail.

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8 The dancers were starting the party.

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9 Big waves are hitting the coast forcefully.

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10 Burglars stole his favourite ring and some cash money.

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11 He took a photo of a man standing in the water.

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