The passive: form

We form the passive using the following pattern: subject + be + past participle. The tense of the verb be each time is
the same as the tense of the verb in the active sentence.
Tense/Form Passive pattern Example: passive Example: active
Present simple am/is/are + past Champagne is They make
participle made in France. champagne in
France.
Present am/is/are being + The matter is still They are still
continuous past participle being considering the
considered. matter.
Past simple was/were + past The date was They announced
participle announced the date
yesterday. yesterday.
The local
government built
The school was the school.
built by the local
government. /
 The school has
built by the local
government.: X
Past continuous was/were being + Every effort was They were
past participle being made to making every
end the strike. effort to end the
strike.
Present perfect have/has been + A new stadium They’ve built a
past participle has been built in new stadium in
London. London.
Past perfect had been + past The work had They had finished
participle been finished by the work by 2011.
2011.
Future simple will be + past You will be Mr Roberts will
participle examined by Mr examine you.
Roberts.
Future perfect will have been + The project will They will have
past participle have been completed the
completed by project by June.
June.
be going to am/is/are going to A new hospital is They’re going to
be + past going to be built build a new
participle here. hospital here.
Modal verb modal + be + The house must They must clean
past participle be cleaned. the house.

. We do not usually use the passive in the present perfect continuous, the past perfect continuous, the future
continuous or the future perfect continuous:
We will be being watched. X
They will be watching us. /
• We form passive questions and negative sentences in the same way as in the active:
When are important subjects usually discussed?
Experiments are not carried out in this room.

In passive sentences, we place adverbs of frequency, time, etc. (e.g. always, sometimes, just, etc.) after the first
auxiliary verb (is, has, will, etc.):
It is usually made of wood.
They have just been found.
She will never be forgotten.

1. Complete the sentences. Use the correct passive form of the verbs in brackets.
0 The police report that the missing person has already been found (already /find).
1 The news.....................(broadcast) at six o’clock every day.
2 At the moment, the suspect.....................(interview) by the police.
3 The cinema.....................(close down) four years ago.
4 A new security system.....................(install) in all our offices in the next few weeks.
5 A new government.....................(elect) by the end of next month, f
6 There must be a mistake - the hotel bill.....................(already / pay) by my wife.
7 When we got home, we realised that the house....................(burgle).
8 The second bomb went off while the building.....................(evacuate).
9 The government says tax reforms.....................(introduce) next year.
10 In some countries, newspapers.....................(sell) in kiosks as well as supermarkets.

2. Rewrite the sentences in the passive.

1 They are building a new school in West Street
2 They have just arrested him on suspicion of murder.
3 They will publish her new book next month.
4 They will have completed the new motorway by Christmas.
5 They’ve just cleaned the hotel rooms.
6 Someone stole her bike last night.
7 They’re going to repair the machine tomorrow.
8 They were servicing her car when I called her.
9 They had finished the project by Friday.
10 They may invite him to the wedding.

3. Complete the article. Use the correct passive form of the verbs in brackets.
Credit card fraud
A type of con trick which (0) is designed (design) to skim your credit card number, PIN and other information when
you swipe has been growing in popularity. The con, which (1)...................(know) as skimming, allows thieves to
steal your information by the use of a device which (2)...................(insert) through the card slot of an ATM, allowing
the data on your card to be read. The latest European ATM Crime Report (3)...................(just / publish) and it shows
a twenty-four percent increase in card skimming attacks at European ATMs in the last year.
5,743 attacks (4)...................(report) for the period January to June this year.
This is the largest number of such attacks which (5)...................(record) in any six-month period so far.
Already, millions of pounds (6)...................(lost) through skimming and more (7)...................(lose) if effective measures
(8)...................(not take).
The theft of personal details (9)...................(may / avoid) by using secure ATMs or
being very careful when you use an ATM.
Anti-skimming measures (10)................... (already / install) at many European ATMs. Fortunately, in some countries,
a drop in skimming attacks (11)...................(report).
Cardholders should know that even if their card details (12)...................(skim), they will not lose out. This is good
news for members of the public.
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