The passive voice is not simply an alternative way of saying the same thing as the active — it shifts emphasis, changes focus, and sometimes deliberately omits information. Understanding both how to form the passive and why it is chosen in a given context is what separates a teacher who can explain it clearly from one who only knows the grammatical rule. This lesson builds form and function together: how does the passive work, and why does English use it?
Before you start — think honestly about your own teaching and experience.
Look at the examples. Answer each question before reading the explanation — this is how your students will learn too.
Both sentences give the same information. But Sentence B is from a school notice — Sentence A is not. Why might the notice writer have chosen Sentence B? What is different about what each sentence emphasises?
Sentence A (active) puts the head teacher at the centre — the head teacher is the subject, the results are the object. Sentence B (passive) puts the results at the centre — the results become the subject. The head teacher disappears entirely. The notice writer chose the passive because the results are what matter to the reader, not who announces them. This is one of the most common and most important reasons for choosing the passive: the action or the thing affected is more important than the agent (the person doing it). When we choose the passive, we are making a deliberate decision about what to highlight. The passive is not lazy or incorrect — it is purposeful.
In Sentence A, the agent is someone — vague and uninformative. In Sentence B, the agent is gone entirely. In Sentence C, the agent is named. When would you choose each version?
Sentence A (active with vague someone) is grammatically correct but sounds awkward — someone is not useful information. Sentence B (passive without agent) is the natural choice when the agent is unknown, unimportant, or when we choose not to name them. The window being broken is the relevant fact; who did it may not be known, or the writer may prefer not to accuse anyone directly. Sentence C (passive with by-phrase) names the agent — used when the agent is known and relevant to the meaning. This three-way comparison shows that the passive is not just about avoiding the agent — it is a flexible tool that lets speakers and writers control what information is foregrounded and what is left out. Teaching learners this decision-making logic is more valuable than teaching the form alone.
What two parts make up the passive verb in each sentence? Can you state the rule?
Every passive verb consists of two parts: the correct form of be (is, are, was, were) + the past participle of the main verb. Is checked, were announced, is explained, was founded — in every case it is be + past participle. The form of be shows the tense (is/are = present simple, was/were = past simple) and must agree with the subject (the register is, the results were). The past participle is fixed — it does not change for person or number. This is the core rule: passive = be (in the right tense and person) + past participle. Common errors involve using the wrong form of be (she are announced — should be she is announced) or using the simple past instead of the past participle (was write — should be was written).'
| Tense / Form | Use / Meaning | Example | Key time words |
|---|---|---|---|
| Structure | Active example | Passive equivalent | |
| Present simple passive | The teacher checks the register. | The register is checked (by the teacher). | |
| Present simple passive (plural) | Teachers mark the books. | The books are marked (by teachers). | |
| Past simple passive | The inspector visited the school. | The school was visited (by the inspector). | |
| Past simple passive (plural) | Parents attended the meeting. | The meeting was attended by parents. | |
| Negative present | They do not teach this topic. | This topic is not taught. | |
| Negative past | No one reported the problem. | The problem was not reported. | |
| Question present | Do they teach this subject? | Is this subject taught? | |
| Question past | Did they announce the results? | Were the results announced? |
WHY THE PASSIVE IS OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD
Many learners are taught the passive as a mechanical transformation — take an active sentence, flip it, add by. This creates two problems: learners do not understand why the passive is chosen, and they often use it unnecessarily. The passive is not a more complicated way of saying what the active already says clearly — it is a different communicative choice. It shifts what is grammatically prominent (the subject) from the agent to the thing affected. This shift matters: English is spoken here is not the same as People speak English here — the first is about this place, the second is about these people. Teaching learners to feel this difference is more valuable than drilling transformations.
PAST PARTICIPLES OF IRREGULAR VERBS
The past participle is critical for passive formation, and irregular verbs cause the most errors. Key past participles that differ from the simple past: write → written (not wrote), break → broken (not broke), give → given (not gave), take → taken (not took), make → made (not maked), teach → taught (not teached), find → found (same), send → sent (same), build → built (same). The passive makes irregular past participles visible in a new way — learners who know the simple past form sometimes forget that the past participle is different.
STATIVE VERBS AND THE PASSIVE
Not all verbs can be passivised. Stative verbs — verbs that describe states rather than actions — do not normally form meaningful passives. We do not say She is known the answer or The book is had by him — know and have in their stative senses cannot be passivised. Action verbs that take an object (transitive verbs) are the ones that form natural passives: check, mark, teach, announce, build, break. Intransitive verbs — verbs that do not take an object — also cannot be passivised: arrive, happen, exist, occur have no passive form.
PASSIVE OR ACTIVE — AND HOW DO I FORM IT? - Is the thing affected (the object) more important than the agent? → Passive. - Is the agent unknown? → Passive (and omit by). - Is the agent obvious or unimportant? → Passive (and omit by). - Is the agent known and relevant? → Include by + agent in the passive. - Is the agent clearly the most important focus? → Active may be better. - To check the form: is it be (correct tense and person) + past participle? Both parts must be present. - Is the past participle correct (not the simple past form)? → Check irregular verbs especially.
Choose the correct passive form and, where asked, say why the passive has been used.
Each sentence has one error in the passive form or use. Write the correct sentence and explain the mistake.
Use this sequence directly in class — guided discovery, no textbook needed. Tap each step to mark it done.
STEP 1 — START WITH THE WHY (7 minutes): Write on the board: The head teacher announced the results. Then show a school notice that reads: The results will be announced on Friday. Ask learners: which version appears in the notice? Why did the writer not use the first version? Draw out the idea that the results are what matter to the reader, not who announces them. Establish the core communicative purpose of the passive before touching the grammar.
STEP 2 — DISCOVER THE FORM (7 minutes): Write six passive sentences on the board from different contexts — three present, three past. Ask learners to look at the verb in each sentence and identify what two parts it always has. Draw out be + past participle. Write the pattern clearly. Ask: what changes between the present and past examples? (be changes: is/are → was/were). What stays the same? (past participle).
STEP 3 — BY OR NO BY? (7 minutes): Present three scenarios: (a) a broken window — no one knows who broke it; (b) a school founded by a community leader — the founder is historically significant; (c) books marked every evening — obviously by teachers. Ask learners: in which situation do we include by + agent? Establish: include by only when the agent is known and relevant. Ask learners to explain why the by-phrase is omitted in most passive sentences they encounter.
STEP 4 — ACTIVE TO PASSIVE (7 minutes): Give learners five active sentences and ask them to convert them to passive, deciding whether to include the by-phrase. Focus especially on choosing the correct form of be (subject agreement) and the correct past participle (especially irregular verbs). Go through each answer and address errors immediately.
STEP 5 — FUNCTION FIRST, FORM SECOND (7 minutes): Give learners three short texts — a school notice, a short report, and a news headline — all using the passive. Ask them to identify each passive and explain why the passive was chosen in each case. This reverses the usual drill approach: instead of converting active to passive, learners explain real passive choices. End with a class summary of the three main reasons for choosing the passive.
Use directly in class — copy, adapt, or read aloud. No printing needed.
For each strategy, choose the option that best describes where you are now.
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