English grammar: Passive voice (present and past)

What this grammar point covers

The passive voice is a way to show that the action is more important than who does it. The focus is on what happens, not on the person or thing doing the action.

When to use it

Use the passive voice when you don't know who does the action, when the person is not important, or when you want to focus on the action or result.

Key forms

• Present: am/is/are + past participle (e.g. The book is read.)
• Past: was/were + past participle (e.g. The book was read.)

Examples

Tips

• Remember to use the correct form of 'be' (am/is/are/was/were) with the past participle.
• Do not use the passive voice with verbs that do not take an object.
• The person who does the action can be added with 'by' (e.g. The cake was made by Anna.), but this is often not necessary.

Exceptions and edge cases

• Some verbs in English cannot be used in passive voice.
• Irregular verbs have special past participle forms (e.g. written, made, eaten).