Grammar Topic
Forming the Passive Voice (All Tenses)
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Explanation
The passive is formed with 'to be' + past participle. Here is how it works for all 12 tenses.
Present Simple: is/are + pp (The book is read).
Present Continuous: is/are being + pp (The book is being read).
Past Simple: was/were + pp (The book was read).
Past Continuous: was/were being + pp (The book was being read).
Present Perfect: has/have been + pp (The book has been read).
Past Perfect: had been + pp (The book had been read).
Future Simple: will be + pp (The book will be read).
Future Perfect: will have been + pp (The book will have been read).
Use passive when: the doer is unknown ('My car was stolen'), the action is more important than the doer, or for formality and objectivity.
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Examples
Present Simple: The book is read by many students.
Present Continuous: The book is being read by the class now.
Past Simple: The book was read by thousands of people.
Past Continuous: The book was being read when the fire started.
Present Perfect: The book has been read by over a million people.
Past Perfect: The book had been read before the movie was made.
Future Simple: The book will be read by future generations.
Future Perfect: The book will have been read by a billion people by 2050.
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