Passive Voice: When and How to Use It Correctly
Passive voice shifts the focus of a sentence from who does an action to who or what receives it. It's a structure every learner needs, both for formal writing and for recognizing it in academic and professional English.
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What Is Passive Voice?
In an active sentence, the subject performs the action. In a passive sentence, the subject receives the action, and the person or thing doing the action either appears after by or disappears entirely.
The Critical Distinction: Active vs. Passive Voice
This is the choice that shapes the tone of an entire piece of writing, and it's frequently misused in both directions. Active voice is direct, clear, and generally preferred, since it names who is responsible for the action. Passive voice is useful when the doer of the action is unknown, unimportant, or intentionally left out, which is common in scientific writing, news reporting, and formal reports.
How to Form the Passive Voice
Passive voice is built with a form of be plus the past participle of the main verb. The tense of be matches whatever tense the sentence needs:
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present simple | She writes the report. | The report is written by her. |
| Past simple | She wrote the report. | The report was written by her. |
| Present continuous | She is writing the report. | The report is being written by her. |
| Present perfect | She has written the report. | The report has been written by her. |
| Future simple | She will write the report. | The report will be written by her. |
| Modal | She can write the report. | The report can be written by her. |
When to Use Passive Voice
The passive voice is particularly effective across specific real-world contexts and writing scenarios:
When you don't know who performed the action.
When the actor is obvious or irrelevant to the reader.
Maintaining objective focus in research papers and lab reports.
Highlighting the final outcome over the person who did it.
Informal Passive with Get
In everyday spoken English, get often replaces be in passive constructions, especially for unexpected, negative, or sudden events. This form is too informal for academic writing but very common in conversation and casual messages.
| Standard Passive (be) | Informal Passive (get) |
|---|---|
| He was fired last week. | He got fired last week. |
| My phone was stolen. | My phone got stolen. |
| She was promoted to manager. | She got promoted to manager. |
| Two people were injured in the accident. | Two people got injured in the accident. |
| We were invited to the party. | We got invited to the party. |
Active or Passive? Quick Check
Practice identifying whether a sentence uses active or passive voice:
| Sentence | Voice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The chef prepared the meal. | Active | Subject performs the action |
| The meal was prepared by the chef. | Passive | Subject receives the action |
| They will announce the results tomorrow. | Active | Subject performs the action |
| The results will be announced tomorrow. | Passive | Subject receives the action |
| She got promoted last month. | Passive (get) | Informal passive, subject receives the action |
Common Mistakes
Avoid these typical auxiliary verb and participle errors when forming passive structures:
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| The report was write by her. | The report was written by her. |
| The cake baked by my mother. | The cake was baked by my mother. |
| Mistakes was made. | Mistakes were made. |
| The report is writing by her. | The report is being written by her. |
How Learna AI Teaches Passive Voice?
Learna AI listens for be plus a past participle and checks that the auxiliary matches the intended tense, correcting mismatches like a missing form of be or a main verb left in its base form. It also flags overused passive voice in casual conversation, since active voice usually sounds more natural in everyday speech, and recognizes get passive as a valid informal alternative while noting when formal writing requires the standard be form instead. Learners practicing formal and scientific English with Learna report a 73% improvement in forming the passive voice correctly across different tenses.
Once passive voice feels natural, it connects closely with reported speech, since both structures often appear together in formal writing and news-style reporting.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is passive voice?
A sentence structure where the subject receives the action instead of performing it, formed with a form of be plus a past participle.
What is the formula for passive voice?
Subject + be (in the correct tense) + past participle + optional by-agent, such as "The report was written by her."
When should you use passive voice?
Use it when the doer of the action is unknown, unimportant, or intentionally omitted, or in formal and scientific writing that emphasizes results over actors.
What's the difference between active and passive voice?
Active voice has the subject performing the action; passive voice has the subject receiving the action, often shifting the original subject to a by-phrase or removing it entirely.
How do you form the passive voice in the present simple?
Use is/am/are plus the past participle: The report is written every week.
How do you form the passive voice in the past simple?
Use was/were plus the past participle: The report was written last week.
Can passive voice be used with modal verbs?
Yes: modal + be + past participle, as in The report can be written by tomorrow.
What's a common mistake with passive voice?
Forgetting the correct form of be, or leaving the main verb in its base form instead of the past participle, as in "The report was write" instead of "was written."
Is passive voice grammatically incorrect?
No, it's grammatically correct and sometimes necessary, but it's often overused in writing where active voice would be clearer and more direct.
Do you always need a by-phrase in passive voice?
No, the by-phrase is optional and often left out when the doer of the action is unknown or unimportant, as in "My phone was stolen."
How do you turn an active sentence into passive?
Move the object of the active sentence to the subject position, add the correct form of be plus the past participle, and optionally add by plus the original subject.
Why is passive voice common in scientific writing?
It shifts focus to the process or result rather than the researcher performing it, which fits the objective tone scientific writing aims for.
How does Learna AI help with passive voice?
Learna AI checks that the be verb and past participle are used correctly for the intended tense, and flags overused passive voice in everyday spoken English.
Can Learna help me practice converting active to passive sentences?
Yes. Learna AI can prompt active sentences and check a learner's passive rewrite for the correct be form, past participle, and optional by-phrase.