ESL Grammar: Verbs Tenses - Passive Voice, When and How to Use

What It Is

The passive voice is a way of expressing an action where the receiver of the action is emphasized, not the doer. For example: "The ball was thrown by John." Here, the ball is the main subject, and John is the one doing the action. This topic causes difficulty for ESL learners because it's often used in formal or written language, and the word order can be confusing.

Key Rules

• The passive voice uses the past participle of the verb (e.g., "thrown" instead of "throws").
• The subject of the sentence is the receiver of the action (e.g., "the ball").
• Use was or were to form the present perfect passive (e.g., "The ball has been thrown by John").
• Use has been or had been to form the past perfect passive (e.g., "The ball had been thrown by John before I arrived").
• Use is or are to form the present continuous passive (e.g., "The ball is being thrown by John").
• Use was or were to form the past continuous passive (e.g., "The ball was being thrown by John").
• The doer of the action is often introduced by by (e.g., "by John").
• The passive voice can be used with get instead of was or were (e.g., "The ball got thrown by John").
• Use passive voice with auxiliary verbs like has been, had been, is being, etc.
• The passive voice can be used with adjectives like well, badly, etc. (e.g., "The ball was thrown well by John").
• The passive voice can be used with prepositions like with, by, etc. (e.g., "The ball was thrown with a lot of force by John").
• The passive voice can be used with phrasal verbs like pick up, put down, etc. (e.g., "The ball was picked up by John").
• The passive voice can be used with idiomatic expressions like get hurt, get lost, etc. (e.g., "The ball got hurt by John").
• The passive voice can be used with time expressions like yesterday, last week, etc. (e.g., "The ball was thrown yesterday by John").
• The passive voice can be used with place expressions like here, there, etc. (e.g., "The ball was thrown here by John").
• The passive voice can be used with manner expressions like quickly, slowly, etc. (e.g., "The ball was thrown quickly by John").

Common ESL Errors

Error: "The ball was throw by John." Why it happens: Interference from the learner's first language, where the verb order is different. Correction: "The ball was thrown by John." (Use the correct past participle form of the verb.)

Error: "The ball was get thrown by John." Why it happens: Overgeneralization of the passive voice with get. Correction: "The ball was thrown by John." (Use the correct auxiliary verb was or were.)

Error: "The ball was being throw by John." Why it happens: Confusion between the present continuous and past continuous passive. Correction: "The ball was being thrown by John." (Use the correct form of the present continuous passive.)

Practice Exercises

1. Fill in the blank: "The book ________ (write) by John." Answer: "was written" Reason: Use the correct past participle form of the verb.

2. Fill in the blank: "The ball ________ (be) kicked by John." Answer: "was being" Reason: Use the correct form of the present continuous passive.

3. Fill in the blank: "The cake ________ (eat) by my sister." Answer: "was eaten" Reason: Use the correct past participle form of the verb.

Last-Minute Revision

was vs. were: Use was with singular subjects, and were with plural subjects.
has been vs. had been: Use has been for present perfect, and had been for past perfect.
is being vs. was being: Use is being for present continuous, and was being for past continuous.
by vs. with: Use by to indicate the doer of the action, and with to indicate the means or instrument.
get vs. was: Use get with passive voice and auxiliary verbs like has been, had been, etc.
well vs. badly: Use well to indicate good quality, and badly to indicate bad quality.
with vs. without: Use with to indicate presence, and without to indicate absence.
here vs. there: Use here to indicate proximity, and there to indicate distance.
quickly vs. slowly: Use quickly to indicate speed, and slowly to indicate slowness.
yesterday vs. last week: Use yesterday for recent past, and last week for past week.
here vs. there: Use here to indicate proximity, and there to indicate distance.
get hurt vs. get lost: Use get hurt to indicate injury, and get lost to indicate confusion.