Forming the Passive Voice
Learn the three steps that turn an active sentence into a passive one, how to form a past participle, and how subject-verb agreement changes along the way.
Building the sentence
A passive sentence is built from its active counterpart in three steps.
Forming the passive voice involves moving the object of an active sentence into the subject position, adding a form of be, and changing the main verb to its past participle.
In The chef prepared the meal., the object the meal moves to the front, was is added, and prepared becomes the past participle, producing The meal was prepared by the chef.
This lesson walks through each of these steps in detail.
Before you begin
This is one of ten topics on the passive voice.
This lesson focuses on forming the passive voice specifically. The passive voice as a whole includes nine other topics, each covered in its own lesson.
If you would like an overview of the passive voice in general, begin with the Passive Voice page.
The central idea
Every part of the active sentence moves to a new position.
Compare the active sentence with its passive counterpart, part by part.
01
Active
The chef prepared the meal.
02
Passive
The meal was prepared by the chef.
The useful question is: where did each part of the sentence go?
The meal, the object, becomes the new subject. The chef, the old subject, moves into an optional phrase with by. The verb prepared becomes was prepared.
Three steps to build a passive sentence
Each step moves or changes one part of the active sentence.
Step 1: Move the object to the subject position
The chef prepared the meal. → The meal …
Step 2: Add the correct form of be
The meal was …
The form of be matches the tense of the original active sentence, and agrees with the new subject.
Step 3: Change the main verb to its past participle
The meal was prepared.
The performer of the action, the chef, can then be added at the end with by, or left out.
Forming the past participle
Regular and irregular verbs form the past participle differently.
Regular verbs add -ed
prepare → prepared
Irregular verbs form the past participle in their own way
write → written
break → broken
take → taken
build → built
send → sent
These forms need to be learned individually, as they do not follow the regular -ed pattern.
Subject-verb agreement after the change
The form of be must agree with the new subject.
A singular object becomes a singular subject
The manager approved the request. → The request was approved.
A plural object becomes a plural subject
The manager approved the requests. → The requests were approved.
The form of be depends on the new subject, not the subject of the original active sentence.
A useful decision guide
Ask what moves, what gets added, and what changes form.
01
What is the object of the active sentence?
It becomes the new subject.
02
Is the new subject singular or plural?
The form of be must agree with it.
03
Is the main verb regular or irregular?
Check its past participle form before using it.
04
Should the performer be included with by?
Include it if it adds useful information; otherwise it can be left out.
Common mistakes
Each step in the process needs to be completed correctly.
The main verb needs its past participle form, not its base form.
Not: The meal was prepare.
Correct: The meal was prepared.
An irregular past participle is not formed by adding -ed.
Not: The letter was writed by her.
Correct: The letter was written by her.
The form of be must match the new, plural or singular subject.
Not: The requests was approved.
Correct: The requests were approved.
Check your understanding
Which form correctly completes each passive sentence?
Choose the correct answer for each sentence.
The vase was __________ during the move.
✅ Exactly! Break is irregular, and its past participle is broken.
❎ Not quite. Break does not follow the regular -ed pattern.
Is “break” a regular or an irregular verb?
The documents __________ signed yesterday.
✅ Exactly! Documents is plural, so the passive verb agrees with were.
❎ Not quite. Check whether the new subject is singular or plural.
Is “the documents” singular or plural?
Which is the correct passive form of “They gave her the award.”?
✅ Exactly! Give takes the irregular past participle given.
❎ Not quite. Check the past participle form of “give”.
What is the past participle of “give”?
Choose the best explanation
Select the sentence that explains the mistake correctly.
Why is “The letter was writed by her.” not correctly formed?
✅ Exactly! Irregular verbs need their own memorised past participle form.
❎ Not quite. “The letter” is singular, and the subject is present.
Why does “The requests was approved.” need to be corrected?
✅ Exactly! The form of “be” needs to match the new subject after the sentence is made passive.
❎ Not quite. Look at whether the subject is singular or plural.
Try it another way
Rewrite each active sentence in the passive voice.
Follow the three steps: move the object, add be, use the past participle.
The storm broke the window.
✅ Exactly! The object, “the window”, becomes the subject, and “broke” becomes “was broken”.
❎ Not quite. Move the object to the front, then add “was” and the past participle of “break”.
They built the cars in Germany.
✅ Exactly! Since “the cars” is plural, “were” agrees with the new subject.
❎ Not quite. Check whether the new subject needs “was” or “were”.
Quick review
Move the object, add be, and use the past participle.
Forming the passive voice follows three steps: move the object to the subject position, add the correct form of be, and change the main verb to its past participle.
Regular verbs form the past participle with -ed; irregular verbs have their own forms, such as written or broken, that need to be learned individually.
The form of be must agree with the new subject, not the subject of the original active sentence.
The original subject can be added at the end with by, or left out entirely.
Remember
Move the object first, then build the verb around it.
Identify the object of the active sentence, place it in the subject position, and build the verb from there: the correct form of be, followed by the past participle.