Common Passive Voice Mistakes
Review the most frequent mistakes learners make when forming and choosing the passive voice, along with a few less common but tricky patterns worth knowing.
Where things go wrong
Most passive voice mistakes fall into a small number of categories.
This lesson gathers the most frequent mistakes that appear when forming, choosing and using the passive voice, drawing together points covered throughout this section along with a few additional patterns worth knowing.
In The email was sended yesterday., the error is in the past participle: sended is not a real word; the correct irregular form is sent. Small mistakes like this one are common, and easy to fix once you know what to look for.
This lesson organises mistakes by category, then introduces two additional passive patterns that often cause confusion: the get passive, and the passive form of phrasal verbs.
Before you begin
This is one of ten topics on the passive voice.
This lesson focuses on common mistakes 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
Several small errors can appear in a single sentence.
Compare a sentence carrying more than one mistake with its fully corrected version.
01
With mistakes
The report was wrote by someone yesterday.
02
Corrected
The report was written yesterday.
The useful question is: what changed, and why?
Wrote became written, its correct past participle, and the vague agent by someone was removed entirely, since it added nothing useful to the sentence.
Formation mistakes
These mistakes happen while building the passive structure.
An irregular past participle is not formed by adding -ed.
Not: The email was sended yesterday.
Correct: The email was sent yesterday.
The form of be must agree with the new subject.
Not: The requests was approved.
Correct: The requests were approved.
Being and been are not dropped from continuous or perfect passive forms.
Not: The report is reviewed right now.
Correct: The report is being reviewed right now.
Choice mistakes
These mistakes happen when the passive voice is not the right fit.
Intransitive verbs have no passive form.
Not standard: The party was arrived at by the guests.
Correct: The guests arrived at the party.
A vague agent often adds nothing to the sentence.
Weak: The cake was baked by someone.
Stronger: The cake was baked.
Passive voice in every sentence can feel repetitive and vague.
Overused: The data was collected. The results were analyzed.
Balanced: We collected the data. The results were then analyzed.
The get passive
Get sometimes replaces be in informal passive sentences.
Be passive: neutral, standard in writing
The window was broken last night.
Get passive: informal, often suggesting something sudden or unwelcome
The window got broken last night.
Get passives are common in everyday speech but are generally avoided in formal or academic writing.
Passive phrasal verbs
The preposition stays attached to the verb, not the object.
The team is looking into the problem. → The problem is being looked into.
With a phrasal verb like look into, the whole phrase, including its preposition, moves together as a unit; the preposition is not left behind or moved elsewhere in the sentence.
A note on double passives
Some verbs do not stack neatly with a second passive.
Not: The car is attempted to be repaired.
Better: An attempt is made to repair the car.
Verbs like attempt and try can sound awkward when stacked directly with a second passive infinitive. Rephrasing the sentence, as shown above, is often clearer than forcing two passive structures together.
A useful decision guide
Ask which category a possible mistake falls into.
01
Is the past participle correct, and does be agree with the subject?
These are formation mistakes.
02
Does the verb even have a passive form, and does the agent add value?
These are choice mistakes.
03
Is this an informal context where get could replace be?
Check whether the tone of the writing allows it.
04
Does the sentence involve a phrasal verb, or a stacked passive structure?
These patterns need their own careful handling.
Check your understanding
Which sentence is correctly formed?
Choose the correct answer for each pair.
Which sentence is correctly formed?
✅ Exactly! Written is the correct irregular past participle of “write”.
❎ Not quite. “Wrote” is the simple past form, not the past participle.
What is the past participle of “write”?
Which is the correct passive form of “We are looking into the issue.”?
✅ Exactly! The preposition “into” stays with the phrasal verb.
❎ Not quite. This phrasal verb needs its preposition to stay attached.
Is “look into” a two-word phrasal verb?
Which sentence avoids an unnecessary vague agent?
✅ Exactly! “By someone” adds no useful information here.
❎ Not quite. Consider whether naming a vague performer adds anything to this sentence.
Does “someone” tell you anything you didn’t already know?
Choose the best explanation
Select the sentence that explains the mistake correctly.
Why might “The window got broken.” be avoided in a formal report?
✅ Exactly! This is a style consideration around formality, not a grammar error.
❎ Not quite. “Got” is grammatically valid here; the issue is one of register.
Why is “The car is attempted to be repaired.” considered awkward?
✅ Exactly! A double passive around a verb like “attempt” often reads more clearly when rephrased.
❎ Not quite. Compare this to the rephrased version shown earlier in the lesson.
Try it another way
Find and fix the mistake in each sentence.
Rewrite the sentence correctly.
The letters was sended this morning.
✅ Exactly! “Were” agrees with the plural subject, and “sent” is the correct past participle.
❎ Not quite. Check both the form of “be” and the past participle here.
The problem is dealt.
✅ Exactly! “Deal with” keeps its preposition, and “being” shows the action is in progress.
❎ Not quite. This phrasal verb, “deal with”, needs its preposition, and the action is currently in progress.
Quick review
Most mistakes fall into formation, choice, or a few tricky patterns.
Formation mistakes involve the wrong past participle, a form of be that doesn’t agree with the subject, or a missing being or been.
Choice mistakes involve using the passive voice with an intransitive verb, naming a vague agent, or overusing the passive voice throughout a piece of writing.
The get passive is an informal alternative to be, generally avoided in formal writing.
A phrasal verb keeps its preposition attached when made passive.
A double passive around verbs like attempt or try often reads more clearly when the sentence is rephrased.
Remember
Check formation first, then ask whether the passive voice belongs here at all.
Confirm the past participle and the form of be are correct, then step back and ask whether the passive voice is actually the right choice for this sentence.