Active and passive voice · Grade 10
In an active sentence the subject does the action: The dog chased the cat. In a passive sentence the subject has the action done to it: The cat was chased by the dog. The passive is a form of be + the past participle. We use it when the doer is unknown or unimportant, or to put the focus on what happened.
Key facts
- Active → passive: the object moves to the front, add be + the past participle, and the doer goes after by.
- Past: was / were + participle: The roof was damaged. The keys were found. Present: is / are: The meals are cooked by the chef.
- The verb be agrees with the new subject: The trees were planted (plural), The tree was planted (singular).
- Irregular participles: written, seen, broken, eaten, built, caught, blown.
- Leave out by … when the doer doesn't matter: The school was built in 1990. Science reports and news often use the passive.