The Group of Tenses of the Passive Voice
The tenses of Passive Voice:
Present simple:
Affirmative: Subject + am/is/are + past participle
Example: The cake is baked by the chef.
Negative: Subject + am/is/are + not + past participle
Example: The cake is not baked by the assistant.
Question: Am/Is/Are + subject + past participle + ?
Example: Is the cake baked by the chef?
Past simple:
Affirmative: Subject + was/were + past participle
Example: The cake was baked by the chef.
Negative: Subject + was/were + not + past participle
Example: The cake was not baked by the assistant.
Question: Was/Were + subject + past participle + ?
Example: Was the cake baked by the chef?
Future simple:
Affirmative: Subject + will + be + past participle
Example: The cake will be baked by the chef.
Negative: Subject + will + not + be + past participle
Example: The cake will not be baked by the assistant.
Question: Will + subject + be + past participle + ?
Example: Will the cake be baked by the chef?
Future in the past:
Affirmative: Subject + would + be + past participle
Example: The cake would be baked by the chef.
Negative: Subject + would + not + be + past participle
Example: The cake would not be baked by the assistant.
Question: Would + subject + be + past participle + ?
Example: Would the cake be baked by the chef?
Present continuous:
Affirmative: Subject + am/is/are + being + past participle
Example: The cake is being baked by the chef.
Negative: Subject + am/is/are + not + being + past participle
Example: The cake is not being baked by the assistant.
Question: Am/Is/Are + subject + being + past participle + ?
Example: Is the cake being baked by the chef?
Past continuous:
Affirmative: Subject + was/were + being + past participle
Example: The cake was being baked by the chef.
Negative: Subject + was/were + not + being + past participle
Example: The cake was not being baked by the assistant.
Question: Was/Were + subject + being + past participle + ?
Example: Was the cake being baked by the chef?
Present perfect:
Affirmative: Subject + have/has + been + past participle
Example: The cake has been baked by the chef.
Negative: Subject + have/has + not + been + past participle
Example: The cake has not been baked by the assistant.
Question: Have/Has + subject + been + past participle + ?
Example: Has the cake been baked by the chef?
Past perfect:
Affirmative: Subject + had + been + past participle
Example: The cake had been baked by the chef.
Negative: Subject + had + not + been + past participle
Example: The cake had not been baked by the assistant.
Question: Had + subject + been + past participle + ?
Example: Had the cake been baked by the chef?
Future perfect:
Affirmative: Subject + will + have + been + past participle
Example: The cake will have been baked by the chef.
Negative: Subject + will + not + have + been + past participle
Example: The cake will not have been baked by the assistant.
Question: Will + subject + have + been + past participle + ?
Example: Will the cake have been baked by the chef?
Future perfect in the past:
Affirmative: Subject + would + have + been + past participle
Example: The cake would have been baked by the chef.
Negative: Subject + would + not + have + been + past participle
Example: The cake would not have been baked by the assistant.
Question: Would +subject + have + been +past participle+ ?
Example: Would the cake have been baked by the chef?
In the passive voice construction with to be and past participle, the focus is on the action being done to the subject, rather than the subject performing the action.
This construction emphasizes the result or effect of the action, rather than who is doing the action.
For example, in the sentence The cake was baked by the chef, the focus is on the cake and the fact that it was baked, rather than the chef who did the baking.
This construction is useful when the doer of the action is unknown, unimportant, or when the speaker wants to emphasize the result of the action rather than who performed it.
The passive voice with to be and past participle can be used with other tense forms, as well.
Some examples:
Present continuous: am/is/are + being + past participle
Example: The cake is being baked by the chef.
Past continuous: was/were + being + past participle
Example: The cake was being baked by the chef.
Present perfect: have/has + been + past participle
Example: The cake has been baked by the chef.
Past perfect: had + been + past participle
Example: The cake had been baked by the chef.
Future: will/shall + be + past participle
Example: The cake will be baked by the chef.
Future perfect: will/shall + have + been + past participle
Example: The cake will have been baked by the chef.
The meaning of the construction to be + past participle can show both action and state, depending on the context and the verb being used.
When the past participle describes an action, the construction to be + past participle is used to form the passive voice, as we discussed earlier.
For example, The cake was baked by the chef is in the passive voice, and the past participle baked describes an action.
On the other hand, when the past participle describes a state, the construction to be+ past participle is used to form the passive voice, but it does not necessarily indicate an action.
Instead, it indicates a state or condition that the subject is in.
For example, The cake was eaten is in the passive voice, and the past participle eaten describes a state or condition that the cake is in, rather than an action being done to it.
In short, the context and the verb being used determine whether the construction to be + past participle indicates an action or a state.
Uncommon Passive voice forms:
The perfect continuous tenses
present perfect continuous,
past perfect continuous,
future perfect continuous
can have passive voice forms, but they are relatively uncommon and not often used in everyday speech or writing.
For example, the present perfect continuous passive voice could be formed as
The cake has been being baked for two hours.
(meaning someone has been baking the cake for two hours).
Similarly, the past perfect continuous passive voice could be formed as
The cake had been being baked for three hours when the power went out.
(meaning someone had been baking the cake for three hours before the power went out). However, these passive voice forms are somewhat awkward and are not commonly used.
The future perfect continuous tense does not have a passive voice form because it is not logical to use a passive construction with an ongoing action that has not yet occurred.
The future perfect continuous describes an action that will continue up to a certain point in the future, and it does not make sense to use the passive voice to describe that kind of ongoing action.
The passive voice can be used with a formal subject it.
This is especially common when the agent of the action (the doer of the action) is unknown or unimportant.
For example:
It is said that the meeting will be held next week.
(passive voice)
They say that the meeting will be held next week.
(active voice)
In the passive voice sentence, the formal subject it is used to introduce the statement, while in the active voice sentence, the subject they is used to indicate who is making the statement.
Another example:
It was reported that the building had been damaged in the storm.
(passive voice)
The news reporter reported that the building had been damaged in the storm.
(active voice)
In this case, the passive voice is used to emphasize the fact that the building was damaged, without focusing on who reported it.
The formal subject it is used to introduce the statement, while in the active voice sentence, the subject the news reporter is used to indicate who reported the damage.
click here The Group of Tenses of the Passive Voice
click here The Indicative Mood-the Passive Voice
click here Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
click here The Indicative Mood – the Active Voice
click here What is the Voice of a Verb?
click here What is the Mood of a Verb?
click here What is the Number Category?
click here What is the Person category?