THE PASSIVE VOICE

How to Form the Passive

The passive voice in English is composed of two elements : the appropriate form of the verb 'to be' + the past participle of the verb in question:

Subject	verb 'to be'	past participle
The house	was	built ...

Example

to clean

Subject	verb 'to be'	past participle
Simple present:
The house	is	cleaned every day.

Present continuous:
The house	is being	cleaned at the moment.

Simple past:
The house	was	cleaned yesterday.

Past continuous:
The house	was being	cleaned last week.

Present perfect:
The house	has been	cleaned since you left.

Past perfect:
The house	had been	cleaned before their arrival.

Future:
The house	will be	cleaned next week.

Future continuous:
The house	will be being	cleaned tomorrow.

Present conditional:
The house	would be	cleaned if they had visitors.

Past conditional:
The house	would have been	cleaned if it had been dirty.

NOTE: 'to be born' is a passive form and is most commonly used in the past tense:

I was born in 1976. When were you born?
BUT: Around 100 babies are born in this hospital every week.

Infinitive form: infinitive of 'to be' + past participle: (to) be cleaned

This form is used after modal verbs and other verbs normally followed by an infinitive, e.g.

You have to be tested on your English grammar
John might be promoted next year.
She wants to be invited to the party.

Gerund or -ing form: being + past participle: being cleaned

This form is used after prepositions and verbs normally followed by a gerund

Examples

Most film stars hate being interviewed.
I remember being taught to drive.
The children are excited about being taken to the zoo.

NOTE: Sometimes the passive is formed using the verb to get instead of the verb to be:

He got arrested for dangerous driving.
They're getting married later this year.
I'm not sure how the window got broken.

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