How passive voice is formed

The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive, and the verb takes be + past participle. The tense is carried by the form of be. Only verbs with an object (transitive verbs, plus some verb + preposition combinations) have a passive. Intransitive verbs such as she arrived late or the child slept have no passive, and an option that offers one is wrong. Linking verbs (be, become, seem) also have no passive. Some transitive state verbs, such as have (possess), resemble, lack and fit (be the right size), are not normally used in the passive: They were having lunch, not Lunch was being had.

Tense mapping

Simple present: writes → is written. Present continuous: is writing → is being written. Present perfect: has written → has been written. Simple past: wrote → was written. Past continuous: was writing → was being written. Past perfect: had written → had been written. Future: will write → will be written. Modals: must finish → must be finished; could have done → could have been done. Perfect continuous passives (has been being written) and the future continuous passive are grammatically possible but rare and awkward. Examinations treat them as not normally used, and writers reword instead.

Special passive structures

Make, see, hear: bare infinitive in the active, to-infinitive in the passive. They made him sign → He was made to sign. Let has no normal passive; use be allowed to: They let us leave → We were allowed to leave. Imperatives: the traditional exam form uses let: Close the door → Let the door be closed (formal and rare in modern speech). Requests use a polite passive: Please help him → You are requested to help him. Two objects: either object may become the subject. The person-subject form is more usual: I was given a book, or A book was given to me. Prepositional verbs keep their preposition after the participle: They looked after the child → The child was looked after; No one has paid for the holiday → The holiday hasn’t been paid for. Questions keep question form: Who wrote this letter? → By whom was this letter written? (exam form; informally, Who was this letter written by?). Did he write it? → Was it written by him?

Agent and prepositions

The agent is introduced by by. Drop it when the doer is unknown, obvious or unimportant: The files were stolen. Some participles take a preposition other than by in common usage: known to (familiar to), pleased with, surprised at (or by), interested in, filled with, married to. These are adjective-like patterns, not strict rules for every context. For example, known by is correct in known by a nickname, and surprised by is standard.

Reported speech: tense backshift

When the reporting verb is past (said, told, asked) and the situation has changed, the reported verb usually moves one step back. Present simple → past simple. Present continuous → past continuous. Present perfect → past perfect. Present perfect continuous → past perfect continuous. Past simple → past perfect (often optional when the time sequence is clear). Past continuous → past perfect continuous. Will → would. Shall → would, or should in offers and questions. Can → could. May → might (possibility) or could (permission). Must → had to (obligation), but must stays for deduction.

Pronouns, time and place

Pronouns change to fit the reporter and listener: He said, “I am ready” → He said that he was ready. If you report your own words, “I” stays “I”. Time and place words change only when the time or place has changed since the words were spoken: now → then; today → that day; yesterday → the previous day / the day before; tomorrow → the next / following day; ago → before; last night → the previous night; this → that; these → those; here → there. If you report on the same day, today can stay. Said to + listener becomes told + listener for statements (He said to me, “I am late” → He told me that he was late). For questions, use asked, and for requests use requested.

Questions, commands and exclamations

Questions: use asked, enquired or wanted to know. Yes-no questions take if or whether; wh-questions keep the question word. Never add that before the question word. In both cases the reported clause uses statement word order and ends with a full stop: He asked me where I lived (not where did I live?). Commands and requests: told / ordered / advised / requested / begged + object + to-infinitive. Negative commands use not to: “Don’t shout,” he said to us → He told us not to shout. Exclamations: exclaimed with joy, sorrow or surprise, or exclaimed that…: “What a fine day!” → He exclaimed that it was a very fine day. Let: in a proposal, Let us go → He suggested that they should go or He suggested going. When let asks permission, “Let me go,” he said → He asked to be allowed to go.

Key points to remember

Practice: 10 MCQs

Attempt all ten questions, then press Submit. The correct answer and a short explanation appear under every question, followed by your score analysis.

References

• Cambridge Grammar: Reported speech, indirect speech. Statement, question and command patterns; the backshift and modal tables; past perfect unchanged; no backshift when still true or relevant.
• British Council LearnEnglish: Reported speech, statements. Backshift is not always necessary for still-true statements. Time and place words change only if they are no longer accurate.
• Cambridge Grammar: Passive forms. Tense forms; perfect continuous passives are uncommon; no passive for intransitive, linking and some state verbs; prepositional verbs; two objects.
• British Council LearnEnglish: Verbs followed by the infinitive. Make takes a to-infinitive in the passive; let has no passive form, so use allowed.