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Passive Voice (Basic)

1 min
B1
CEFR B1·voice

Formula

is / are / was / were
by + agent (optional)

Examples

Positive
The letter was written by John.
Negative
The house was not built in 2010.
Question
Was the email sent by Sarah? Are the documents being prepared?

Usage

  • •Shifting focus from the action to the object or result
  • •When the agent is unknown or unimportant
  • •More formal or objective tone in writing

More Examples

  • The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci.

    Historical fact with known agent

  • My wallet was stolen.

    Unknown agent — passive preferred

  • English is spoken in over 50 countries.

    General truth, agent unimportant

  • The report will be finished by Friday.

    Future passive

Common Mistakes

  • ✗❌ "The car repaired by John" → ✓ "The car was repaired by John" (need to be + past participle)
  • ✗❌ "English is spoke worldwide" → ✓ "English is spoken worldwide" (past participle, not past simple)
  • ✗❌ "The letter was written by he" → ✓ "The letter was written by him" (object pronoun after "by")

Tips

  • ✓The agent (by + person) is optional — omit it when unknown or obvious.
  • ✓Common in academic/formal writing to create an impersonal tone.

Advanced Notes

The passive is far more common in written and formal English than in conversation — academic papers, news reports, and instructions rely on it to sound objective. A key learner blind spot: omitting "by + agent" when the agent is contextually obvious or unknown is not sloppy — it's correct and natural. The passive can be formed in almost any tense (is done, was done, will be done, has been done, is being done); B1 learners often know only present/past forms. Compare passive ("The window was broken") with causative have ("I had the window fixed") — different structure, different situation.

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Compare With

Causative Have(B2)