❖ Unit 5 ❖ Women and Power ❖ Grammar ❖

The Passive Voice

The passive voice puts the focus on the action and the object, rather than on the person doing it. Form: be + past participle (V3). The tense of "be" changes according to the original active sentence.

Active vs Passive

Active

Subject + verb + object

The teacher writes the lesson.

Passive

Object + be + V3 (+ by + agent)

The lesson is written by the teacher.

Note: the "by + agent" is optional. We omit it when the agent is unknown or unimportant.

Passive voice in all tenses

Tense	Active	Passive
Simple Present	writes	is / are written
Present Continuous	is writing	is / are being written
Simple Past	wrote	was / were written
Past Continuous	was writing	was / were being written
Present Perfect	has written	has / have been written
Past Perfect	had written	had been written
Future Simple	will write	will be written
Future Perfect	will have written	will have been written
Going to	is going to write	is going to be written
Modals (can, must, should, may)	can write	can be written

Three steps to make a passive sentence

Identify the object of the active sentence — it becomes the subject of the passive.
Conjugate "be" in the same tense as the active verb, then add the past participle (V3).
Add "by + agent" at the end (only if useful).

Example

Active: The students wrote some nice paragraphs yesterday.

Step 1: object = "some nice paragraphs" → new subject.

Step 2: active = past simple "wrote" → passive = "were written".

Passive: Some nice paragraphs were written by the students yesterday.

Practice 1 — Rewrite as suggested

Make the sentences passive

The teacher explains a lesson every day. → A lesson is explained (by the teacher) every day.
The students wrote some nice paragraphs yesterday. → Some nice paragraphs were written by the students yesterday.
The government will employ a lot of people next year. → A lot of people will be employed by the government next year.
Our country is going to organise the next World Cup. → The next World Cup is going to be organised by our country.
My father has bought a new car recently. → A new car has been bought (by my father) recently.
Najat had prepared dinner before her husband arrived. → Dinner had been prepared by Najat before her husband arrived.
We will have finished all lessons by the end of this week. → All lessons will have been finished by the end of this week.
They are building a new school in our neighbourhood. → A new school is being built in our neighbourhood.
The child was playing computer games when his parents arrived. → Computer games were being played by the child when his parents arrived.
Lots of tourists will be visiting Marrakech this summer. → Marrakech will be being visited by lots of tourists this summer.

Practice 2 — More transformations

Rewrite as suggested

Some associations give rural women micro-credits. → Micro-credits are given to rural women by some associations.
People mustn't pollute the environment. → The environment mustn't be polluted.
Nadal played an exciting match two weeks ago. → An exciting match was played by Nadal two weeks ago.
The teacher is explaining the lesson of passive voice. → The lesson of passive voice is being explained by the teacher.
The heavy rains damaged many houses last year. → Many houses were damaged by the heavy rains last year.
Kawtar has understood all the English lessons. → All the English lessons have been understood by Kawtar.
Noura gave an expensive watch to Hanan. → Hanan was given an expensive watch by Noura.
Students may use a calculator during the math exam. → A calculator may be used by students during the math exam.
They don't speak Arabic in Canada. → Arabic isn't spoken in Canada.

National Exam items

Past Bac questions on passive voice

Candidates mustn't use mobile phones during the exams. → Mobile phones mustn't be used during the exams.
Our school has used Massar to process students' marks. → Massar has been used by our school to process students' marks.
We should encourage students to take part in social activities. → Students should be encouraged to take part in social activities.
They will build two boarding schools in our area. → Two boarding schools will be built in our area.
They published the article in a weekly magazine. → The article was published in a weekly magazine.
They decorated Nancy's room with balloons and flowers. → Nancy's room was decorated with balloons and flowers.
A multinational company offered Leila a good job. → Leila was offered a good job by a multinational company.
Students must hand the project after the vacation. → The project must be handed in after the vacation.
The company will test a new data system. → A new data system will be tested by the company.
Parents should encourage children to eat healthy food. → Children should be encouraged to eat healthy food.
They have published a new report on divorce rate in The Times magazine. → A new report on divorce rate has been published in The Times magazine.
The committee selected two films for an international festival. → Two films were selected by the committee for an international festival.

❖ Key Takeaways ❖

① Formula: be + V3

Identify the object, conjugate "be" in the same tense, add the past participle.

② Modals stay simple

can → can be · must → must be · should → should be · may → may be · will → will be.

③ "By + agent" is optional

Use it only when the agent is important. Often we omit it: "Mobile phones mustn't be used" — we don't need to say by whom.

❖ Exam tip

The passive voice is tested in nearly every National Exam paper. The exam gives you the start of the passive sentence — you only have to complete it. Always check the original tense and use the right form of "be".