Present and past simple passive: ‘be’ + past participle

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Present and Past Simple Passive: be + past participle

Grammar chart showing active vs passive voice in present and past simple tense, with examples of 'be + past participle' structure.

🔄 Active Sentences vs Passive Sentences

When A does B, we have two possible ways of talking about it: active or passive.

Present Simple:
  • Somebody cleans the classroom every day. → (Active)
  • The classroom is cleaned every day. → (Passive)
Past Simple:
  • Somebody cleaned the classroom yesterday. → (Active)
  • The classroom was cleaned yesterday. → (Passive)

In active sentences, A is the subject (the doer). In passive sentences, B becomes the subject (the receiver).

Active: Somebody broke the window.

Passive: The window was broken (by someone).

In the first sentence, “somebody” is the doer. In the second, “the window” is the receiver.

📌 When Do We Use the Passive?

The passive is more formal than the active and is common in written English. We use it when:

  • We don’t know who did it:
    • A bank was robbed yesterday.
  • The doer is obvious:
    • The robber was arrested last night. (→ by the police)
  • We don’t want to say who did it:
    • I was told that you insulted my brother. (→ I won’t say who told me)
  • We want to focus on the action or result, not the person:
    • Jurassic Park was filmed by Spielberg in 1993. (We care about the movie, not Spielberg)

🔍 Passive Voice + by

We can use by to mention the doer — but only if it’s important or unknown.

  • The painting was bought by a very rich American.
  • Penicillin was invented by Alexander Fleming.
  • Note: Often, by is omitted when the doer is obvious or unimportant.

📊 Passive Structure

Present Simple Passive

am / is / are + past participle

✅ The letters are delivered every morning.

Past Simple Passive

was / were + past participle

✅ The cake was eaten at the party.