The Passive Voice – English Tenses Overview

The Passive Voice

Passive Forms in the Main English Tenses

What is the Passive?

Active: Somebody does the action.

The company builds the machines.

[Die Firma baut die Maschinen.]


Passive: The action or result is more important than the person.

The machines are built by the company.

[Die Maschinen werden von der Firma gebaut.]


Structure:
Passive = form of be + past participle

is built / was made / has been finished

1. Present Simple Passive
am / is / are + past participle
English is spoken in many countries.
[Englisch wird in vielen Ländern gesprochen.]
→ General fact
The reports are checked every morning.
[Die Berichte werden jeden Morgen überprüft.]
→ Routine process
2. Present Continuous Passive
am / is / are being + past participle
The office is being cleaned right now.
[Das Büro wird gerade gereinigt.]
→ Action in progress
New computers are being installed this week.
[Diese Woche werden neue Computer installiert.]
→ Temporary ongoing process
3. Present Perfect Passive
has / have been + past participle
The project has been completed.
[Das Projekt wurde abgeschlossen.]
→ Present result
The documents have been sent already.
[Die Dokumente wurden bereits geschickt.]
→ Finished action connected to the present
4. Past Simple Passive
was / were + past participle
The meeting was cancelled yesterday.
[Das Treffen wurde gestern abgesagt.]
→ Finished past event
The bridge was built in 1998.
[Die Brücke wurde 1998 gebaut.]
→ Completed past action
5. Past Continuous Passive
was / were being + past participle
The road was being repaired when we arrived.
[Die Straße wurde gerade repariert, als wir ankamen.]
→ Action in progress in the past
The problem was being discussed all morning.
[Das Problem wurde den ganzen Morgen besprochen.]
→ Ongoing process in the past
6. Past Perfect Passive
had been + past participle
The room had been cleaned before the guests arrived.
[Das Zimmer war gereinigt worden, bevor die Gäste ankamen.]
→ Earlier past action
The work had been finished by noon.
[Die Arbeit war bis Mittag beendet worden.]
→ Completed before another past moment
7. Future Simple Passive
will be + past participle
The results will be announced tomorrow.
[Die Ergebnisse werden morgen bekanntgegeben.]
→ Future event
The new system will be tested next month.
[Das neue System wird nächsten Monat getestet.]
→ Planned future process
8. Future Perfect Passive
will have been + past participle
The building will have been completed by June.
[Das Gebäude wird bis Juni fertiggestellt worden sein.]
→ Completed before a future point
All applications will have been reviewed by Friday.
[Alle Bewerbungen werden bis Freitag geprüft worden sein.]
→ Future completion
Tense Passive Structure Main Use
Present Simple Passive am / is / are + past participle Facts / routines
Present Continuous Passive am / is / are being + past participle Action in progress
Present Perfect Passive has / have been + past participle Present result
Past Simple Passive was / were + past participle Finished past event
Past Continuous Passive was / were being + past participle Past process in progress
Past Perfect Passive had been + past participle Earlier past action
Future Simple Passive will be + past participle Future action
Future Perfect Passive will have been + past participle Completed before future time

Super-Compact Passive Memory Guide

Passive = focus on the action or result

[Passive = Fokus auf die Handlung oder das Ergebnis]


Passive Structure:
form of be + past participle

is made / was built / has been finished / will be completed


Active: Somebody does something.

Passive: Something happens to something.