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Passive Voice & Causatives Lesson

Learn Passive Voice Basics

Master Passive Voice Basics with clear explanations, practical examples, and easy-to-follow rules.

10-15 min read
A1 - A2 Level
Includes Examples

Passive Voice Basics

In an active sentence, the subject does the action: Tom cleans the house. In a passive sentence, the subject receives the action: The house is cleaned by Tom. The meaning is the same — but the focus shifts. The passive voice lets you highlight what happened rather than who did it, and it is one of the most useful structures in English. The core formula is simple: be + past participle.

What is the Passive Voice?

Compare these two sentences:

Active Passive
The chef cooks the meal. The meal is cooked (by the chef).

In the active sentence, the subject (the chef) performs the action. In the passive sentence, the subject (the meal) receives the action. The doer can be mentioned with "by", or left out entirely.

How to Form the Passive

The basic formula works for every tense:

Formula Example
Active subject + verb + object Someone cleans the office.
Passive subject + be + past participle (+ by agent) The office is cleaned (by someone).

The verb be changes for tense and subject (am/is/are, was/were), while the past participle stays the same.

Why Use the Passive?

There are four main reasons to choose passive over active:

Reason Example Why Passive?
1. The action matters more than the doer The Mona Lisa was painted in the early 1500s. We care about the painting, not just the painter.
2. The doer is unknown My bike was stolen last night. We don't know who did it.
3. The doer is obvious The suspect was arrested yesterday. Obviously by the police — no need to say it.
4. Formal or impersonal style Mistakes were made. Applications are reviewed within 5 days. Common in news, science, and official notices.

Key point: The passive is not "better" or "worse" than the active. It is a different tool for a different purpose. Choose the voice that puts the right information in focus.

Present Simple Passive: Facts, Rules & Processes

The present simple passive is the most common passive form. Use it for rules, routines, general facts, and processes — situations where what happens matters more than who does it.

Formation

Formula Example
Affirmative subject + am/is/are + past participle English is spoken in many countries.
Negative subject + am/is/are not + past participle Meat isn't sold in this shop.
Question Am/Is/Are + subject + past participle? Is French taught at your school?

Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject Be Example
I am / am not I am not paid enough.
he / she / it / singular noun is / isn't Coffee is grown in Brazil.
we / you / they / plural noun are / aren't These cars are made in Japan.

Short Answers

Question Yes No
Is it made here? Yes, it is. No, it isn't.
Are they delivered daily? Yes, they are. No, they aren't.

Common Contexts

Context Example
Rules & signs Phones are not allowed in the exam room.
Processes First, the beans are roasted. Then they are ground into powder.
General facts Rice is eaten all over the world.
Routines The office is cleaned every evening.

Useful Irregular Past Participles

Base Form Past Participle Example
make made These shoes are made in Italy.
write written The report is written in English.
speak spoken Spanish is spoken in 20 countries.
know known She is known for her research.
give given Students are given a textbook.
sell sold Over a million copies are sold every year.

👉 Practice Present Simple Passive →

Past Simple Passive: Events, History & News

Now let's move to the past. The past simple passive describes completed actions, historical events, and news stories where the focus is on what happened, not who did it.

Formation

Formula Example
Affirmative subject + was/were + past participle The bridge was built in 1894.
Negative subject + was/were not + past participle The passengers weren't injured.
Question Was/Were + subject + past participle? Was the email sent yesterday?

Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject Be Example
I / he / she / it / singular noun was / wasn't The window was broken during the storm.
we / you / they / plural noun were / weren't The streets were flooded last night.

Short Answers

Question Yes No
Was it delivered? Yes, it was. No, it wasn't.
Were they invited? Yes, they were. No, they weren't.

Common Contexts

Context Example
News reports Three people were rescued from the building.
History The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell.
Completed actions The project was finished on time.
Past experiences I was born in 1995.

Present vs Past Passive: Quick Comparison

Present Simple Passive Past Simple Passive
The office is cleaned every day. The office was cleaned yesterday.
English is taught here. Latin was taught here until 2010.
Cars are made in this factory. This car was made in 1967.

👉 Practice Past Simple Passive →

Active or Passive? How to Tell the Difference

You can now form passive sentences in two tenses. But can you spot them in a text? Recognizing passive voice is an important reading and writing skill.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Active Passive Focus
Shakespeare wrote Hamlet. Hamlet was written by Shakespeare. Active: the writer. Passive: the play.
They deliver packages every day. Packages are delivered every day. Active: the company. Passive: the packages.
A dog bit the boy. The boy was bitten by a dog. Active: the dog. Passive: the boy.

Three Signals of Passive Voice

Look for these clues to identify a passive sentence:

Signal What to Look For Example
1. Form of "be" + past participle is/are/was/were + V3 The letter was sent yesterday.
2. The subject receives the action The subject doesn't "do" anything The cake was eaten. (The cake didn't eat — it got eaten.)
3. Optional "by" phrase "by + doer" may appear at the end The song was performed by Adele.

When to Use Active vs Passive

Choose... When... Example
Active The doer is important or known The police arrested the suspect.
Active You want a direct, lively style We launch the new product next week.
Passive The action or result is more important The suspect was arrested.
Passive The doer is unknown or obvious My wallet was stolen.
Passive You want a formal, impersonal tone Applications are processed within 48 hours.

Watch Out: "Be" as a Linking Verb vs Passive Auxiliary

Not every sentence with "be" is passive. Compare:

Sentence Type Why?
The door is red. Linking verb (not passive) "Red" is an adjective, not a past participle.
The door is opened every morning. Passive "Opened" is a past participle — someone opens the door.
The shop is closed. Ambiguous — likely adjective Describes a state (= the shop is not open right now).
The shop is closed at 6 p.m. every day. Passive Someone closes the shop at 6 p.m. — an action, not just a state.

Tip: Ask yourself: Is someone doing something to the subject? If yes → passive. If the sentence just describes a state with no action implied → probably a linking verb or adjective.

👉 Practice Recognizing Passive Voice →

The "by" Agent: When to Include and When to Omit

Now that you can recognize passive sentences, an important question arises: when should you include "by + the doer"?

In fact, most passive sentences do not include the agent. Studies show that about 80% of passive sentences in English omit the "by" phrase. So the real question is: when should you keep it?

When to Include "by"

Rule Example Why Include It?
The agent is important or informative Hamlet was written by Shakespeare. The author is key information.
The agent is surprising or unexpected The goal was scored by the goalkeeper. Surprising — that's unusual!
You want to show contrast This was painted by Monet, not by Renoir. The identity matters for comparison.
Without "by", the sentence is incomplete I was taught English by my grandmother. We need to know who taught.

When to Omit "by"

Rule Example Why Omit It?
The agent is unknown My car was stolen by someone. We don't know who.
The agent is obvious The thief was arrested by the police. Of course by the police — who else?
The agent is unimportant The streets were cleaned by workers. We care about the streets, not the workers.
The agent is generic (people, someone, they) English is spoken worldwide by people. Too vague to be useful.

Other Prepositions with Passive Constructions

"By" is the standard preposition for the agent, but some passive expressions use other prepositions:

Expression Example
known for She is known for her kindness.
covered with / in The ground was covered with snow.
made of / from The table is made of wood.
filled with The room was filled with smoke.
surrounded by The island is surrounded by clear water.

Note: Some past participles (like interested, surprised, excited) are used more as adjectives than true passives: I am interested in history. These are called participial adjectives — they look like passive forms but describe a state or feeling, not an action.

👉 Practice The "by" Agent →

Passive with Two Objects: Give, Send, Show & More

Some verbs are special — they take two objects: a direct object (the thing) and an indirect object (the person). When you make these sentences passive, you can choose which object becomes the subject.

Active Sentence with Two Objects

The teacher gave the students (indirect object) a test (direct object).

Two Possible Passive Sentences

Passive Form Example Focus
Person as subject (more common) The students were given a test. Focus on the people
Thing as subject A test was given to the students. Focus on the thing

Both forms are correct, but the person-as-subject form is more natural and more common in everyday English.

Common Two-Object Verbs

Verb Active Passive (person as subject) Passive (thing as subject)
give She gave me a present. I was given a present. A present was given to me.
send They sent her an email. She was sent an email. An email was sent to her.
show He showed us the photos. We were shown the photos. The photos were shown to us.
offer They offered him a job. He was offered a job. A job was offered to him.
tell She told me a secret. I was told a secret. A secret was told to me.
teach Mr Brown taught us maths. We were taught maths. Maths was taught to us.
lend The bank lent them money. They were lent money. Money was lent to them.
pay The company paid her a bonus. She was paid a bonus. A bonus was paid to her.
promise Dad promised me a bicycle. I was promised a bicycle. A bicycle was promised to me.
bring He brought us some coffee. We were brought some coffee. Some coffee was brought to us.

Note: When the thing becomes the subject, we add "to" before the person: A test was given to the students.

👉 Practice Passive with Two Objects →

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Incorrect Correct Explanation
The window broken yesterday. The window was broken yesterday. Don't forget the "be" verb — passive needs be + past participle.
The cakes is baked fresh daily. The cakes are baked fresh daily. Match "be" to the subject: plural cakes → are.
English is speak in many countries. English is spoken in many countries. Use the past participle (V3), not the base form.
The letter was wrote by hand. The letter was written by hand. Wrote is past simple; the past participle is written.
The accident was happened last night. The accident happened last night. "Happen" is intransitive — it cannot be used in the passive.
A cake was made from my mother. A cake was made by my mother. Use by for the doer. "Made from" describes the material.
The report was written by someone. The report was written. Don't include "by someone" — if the agent is unknown, just omit it.
I am born in 1995. I was born in 1995. Birth happened in the past → use was born, not "am born".

Quick Summary

Present Simple Passive

Form Structure Example
✅ Affirmative is/are + V3 Tea is grown in India.
❌ Negative isn't/aren't + V3 Meat isn't sold here.
❓ Question Is/Are + subject + V3? Are tickets sold online?

Past Simple Passive

Form Structure Example
✅ Affirmative was/were + V3 The castle was built in 1350.
❌ Negative wasn't/weren't + V3 They weren't invited to the party.
❓ Question Was/Were + subject + V3? Was the email sent?

"by" Agent Rules

Include "by" Omit "by"
Agent is important / surprising / contrasted Agent is unknown / obvious / unimportant / generic

Two-Object Passive

More Common Less Common
Person + was/were + V3 + thing Thing + was/were + V3 + to + person
I was given a book. A book was given to me.

Practice Tips

  1. Rewrite the news: Take an active-voice news sentence and rewrite it in the passive. Then decide: is passive better here, or is active better? This builds your instinct for when to use each voice.
  2. "by" or not? When you write a passive sentence, always ask: Does the reader need to know who did it? If the answer is no, leave out "by".
  3. Spot the passive: While reading English texts — news articles, signs, instruction manuals — underline every passive sentence you find. Notice how often the "by" agent is missing.
  4. Past participle drills: The hardest part of passive is often irregular past participles. Practise the most common ones (written, spoken, made, built, known, given, sent, told) until they become automatic.
  5. Two-object challenge: Pick five two-object verbs (give, send, show, tell, teach) and write two passive sentences for each — one with the person as subject, one with the thing. Notice which sounds more natural.

Practice All Exercises

Put everything together with the mixed practice set, then review any areas you want to improve:

👉 Practice Mixed Passive Basics →

Set Topic Level
Set 1 Present Simple Passive A2
Set 2 Past Simple Passive A2
Set 3 Recognizing Passive Voice B1
Set 4 The "by" Agent B1
Set 5 Passive with Two Objects B1
Set 6 Mixed Passive Basics B1

Now try the exercises to practise what you've learned!

Ready to Practice?

Put your knowledge to the test with interactive exercises.

Learning Tip

After reading, try the exercises immediately while the rules are fresh in your mind. Start with multiple choice, then challenge yourself with fill-in-the-blank.