Make the passive with be + past participle. The tense goes on be: The bridge is built / was built / has been built / will be built. The thing affected becomes the subject: Someone stole my bike → My bike was stolen.
My bike was stolen last night.
The camera swaps from the doer to the thing: the bike is now the subject, and the thief is out of the picture.
| Present Simple | is / are + participle: These cars are made in Germany. |
|---|---|
| Present Continuous | is / are being + participle: The road is being repaired. |
| Past Simple | was / were + participle: The house was built in 1920. |
| Past Continuous | was / were being + participle: The room was being cleaned. |
| Present Perfect | has / have been + participle: The report has been sent. |
| Past Perfect | had been + participle: The tickets had been sold. |
| Future (will) | will be + participle: You will be contacted. |
| Modals | modal + be + participle: It can be done. It must be finished today. |
Only verbs with an object can be passive: They built a house → A house was built. Verbs like arrive, happen and sleep have no passive: It happened, not It was happened.
English is spoken all over the world.
Facts and things that happen regularly.
The museum was opened in 1990.
A finished event in the past.
Your order has been shipped.
A recent action with a result now. Very common in emails and updates.
This form must be signed by both parties.
Modal + be + past participle: can be done, should be checked, must be signed.
Common expressions worth learning as they are.
These cars _____ in Germany.
From the basic form to the reporting passive.
Paste an email or an essay. Clarigram marks the mistakes you actually make, shows the rule behind each one as a picture, and builds your practice from them.
Yes. Born is a past participle, and it's almost always used in the passive: I was born in 1995. Where were you born?
No, only verbs with an object (transitive verbs). Arrive, happen, die, sleep and go have no passive.