Lesson 27 of 46

Passive voice

Form the passive and choose when to use it.

The rules

1.Form: be + past participle. "The report was sent." "The files are stored in the cloud."
2.Use the passive when the doer is unknown, obvious, or not important: "My bag was stolen."
3.Add "by + doer" only when it matters: "The report was written by our CEO."
4.Only verbs that take an object can be passive. Verbs like happen, arrive, and appear cannot: "The accident happened."

Incorrect: ~~The accident was happened yesterday.~~

Correct: The accident happened yesterday.

"Happen" has no passive.

Incorrect: ~~The email sent yesterday.~~

Correct: The email was sent yesterday.

You need the "be" verb.

Incorrect: ~~The decision was made by us to approve it.~~

Correct: We decided to approve it.

Active is clearer when the doer matters.

Watch out: Too many passives make writing vague. Prefer active when you know who did it.

1. The invoice ___ yesterday.

2. Which is correct?

3. Best for a clear message:

Paste any text and see exactly what to fix, with the rule explained.