B1 Intermediate The passive
Passive voice — other tenses
Lesson goal. After this lesson you can build the passive in any tense and after modal verbs.
When to use it
- Something being done now: The road is being repaired.
- Something already done: The work has been done.
- Something to be done: It will be finished tomorrow.
- Something that must be done: This bill must be paid today.
Form
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present continuous | They are repairing it. | It is being repaired. |
| Past continuous | They were painting it. | It was being painted. |
| Present perfect | They have done it. | It has been done. |
| Past perfect | They had sent it. | It had been sent. |
| Future with will | They will open it. | It will be opened. |
| Modal | They must pay it. | It must be paid. |
Step by step
- Identify the tense of the active sentence.
- Keep that tense, but put it on the verb to be.
- Add the V3 of the main verb after it.
- Check: every passive ends in a V3 and always contains a form of be.
The word that goes missing
| Tense | Correct chain | Often dropped |
|---|---|---|
| present continuous | is being cleaned | is cleaned (sai nghĩa) |
| present perfect | has been cleaned | has cleaned (active voice) |
| future | will be cleaned | will cleaned |
| modal | must be cleaned | must cleaned |
Examples
The road is being repaired at the moment.
All the tickets have been sold.
The new library will be opened next year.
This form must be signed by a parent.
The house was being painted when we arrived.
Nothing can be done now.
Common mistakes
The work has done already. → The work has been done already.
been is missing. has done is active and means something else entirely.
The car is repairing now. → The car is being repaired now.
being is missing. is repairing means the car is repairing something.
The project will finished next month. → The project will be finished next month.
After will you always need be before the V3.
Memory tip
In every passive, only to be changes — the V3 stays put. So if you know how be behaves in each tense, you can build them all.
Summary
- The passive is always be + V3; the tense sits on be.
- is/are being + V3 · has/have been + V3 · will be + V3 · modal + be + V3.
- Dropping been or being is the worst error because it changes the meaning.
Practise this lesson
Do exercises with an explanation for every question, take mini tests and track your progress on GrammUp.