Grammar

Back to: Explaining processes

In the passive voice, the object of an active verb becomes the grammatical subject of a sentence. It focuses on who or what undergoes the action expressed by the verb rather than on who or what is responsible for the action. The passive voice is formed with the auxiliary be, conjugated in any tense, followed by the past participle of the main verb.

Verb Tenses Be + Past Participle Examples
Simple present Am / is / are + past participle The class is cancelled.
Present progressive am / are / is being + past participle I am being helped by the salesperson at the moment.
Simple past Was / were + past participle He was given a formal warning last week.
Past progressive Was / were being + past participle At 10 a.m., they were being interviewed by the manager.
Future (be going to) Am / is /are going to be + past participle Tonight, I am going to be picked up by my friend.
Future (will) will be + past participle Next year, the event will be organized in Québec.
Conditional would be + past participle You would be warned by the bank if your account were empty.

Explaining processes – Grammar