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B1 grammar · teens and adults

The passive (present and past)

When the action matters more than who did it: English is spoken here. The bridge was built in 1890. The form, when to use it, and when to add by.

Teens · AdultsCEFR B1 · Intermediate

Age
Ages 12+
Level
B1
Skill
Grammar
Format
Teacher guide
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The rule

  • Form: be + past participle. Present: am / is / are made. Past: was / were made. The tense lives in be; the participle never changes.
  • Use it when the doer is unknown, obvious or unimportant, or when the thing affected is the topic: My bike was stolen. Paper is made from wood.
  • Add by + the doer only when it is new or useful information: The novel was written by a 19-year-old.
  • Only verbs with an object can be passive. Arrive, happen, die and appear cannot: The package arrived, not The package was arrived.
  • The passive is common in news, science, instructions and formal writing. In conversation English often uses they or you instead: They stole my bike.

Form

UseForm
Present simpleam / is / are + past participle
Past simplewas / were + past participle
Negativeisn't / aren't · wasn't / weren't + past participle
QuestionIs it made…? · When was it built?
The doer… by + person or thing (only if useful)
Printable worksheetPresentation (PPT)

Example sentences

Tap a sentence to hear it. The translation follows each one.

Quick check: choose the right form

Five sentences from this page, each with one gap. Choose the form that fits; when it is right, you hear the whole sentence.

  1. My bike blank stolen last night.

  2. When was this bridge blank?

  3. The results blank published every Friday.

  4. We blank told about the changes.

  5. The song was blank by two students.

Common mistakes

What learners actually say, why, and which first language makes it typical.

Typical for Russian and Spanish speakers

What was happened?What happened?

Happen has no object, so it has no passive. Learners who have just met the passive often add was to every past event.

Typical for Spanish speakers

In Spain is spoken Spanish.Spanish is spoken in Spain.

Spanish puts the verb first in «se habla español». English needs the subject before the verb: what is spoken comes first.

Typical for Russian speakers

This house built in 1990.This house was built in 1990.

Russian «дом построен в 1990 году» needs no form of be. English always needs it: was built.

The book was wrote by my aunt.The book was written by my aunt.

The passive takes the past participle (written), not the past simple (wrote). Check the third column of the irregular verb table.

How to teach it

  1. Start with processes learners know: how coffee is produced, how an online order is delivered, how a phone is assembled. The doer does not matter, so the passive feels natural rather than forced.
  2. Quiz teams: When was the first iPhone released? Where is paella eaten? Each team writes five questions in the passive for the others.
  3. Rewrite headlines: Police arrest man → A man was arrested. Teens can do it with news from sport and gaming.
  4. Be honest about speech: in conversation people often say They stole my bike. Teach the passive where it is really used — news, reports, processes, formal emails.

Questions teachers ask

Do my students need the passive at B1?

Yes: the present and past simple passive are core B1 (Cambridge B1 Preliminary). Learners meet has been done and can / must be done around B1 too; confident use across tenses (is being done, will have been done) is B2 work.

When do I need by?

Only when the doer is new or interesting information. “My bike was stolen by a thief” adds nothing; “Guernica was painted by Picasso” does.

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