GRAMMAR MAP

The passive
am
subject + is + past participle
are

PRESENT am
subject + is not + past participle
SIMPLE are
Short answers
Am
Is + subject + past participle? am.
Are Yes, subject + is.
are.
Active They sell many books nowadays. am not.
No, subject + isn’t.
Passive Many books are sold nowadays. aren’t.

was
subject + + past participle
were

PAST wasn’t
subject + + past participle
weren’t
SIMPLE Short answers
Was was.
+ subject + past participle? Yes, subject +
Were were.
wasn’t.
Active They built a new house. No, subject +
weren’t.

Passive A new house was built .

have been
subject + + past participle
has been

PRESENT haven’t been

subject + hasn’t been + past participle
PERFECT Short answers
Have have.
+ subject + been + past participle? Yes, subject +
Has has.
haven’t.
Active Someone has stolen my bike. No, subject +
hasn’t.

Passive My bike has been stolen .

USE
We use the passive to emphasise the action itself and not the person who performed the action (the agent).
■ 
We use by to mention the agent:
■ 
The car was stolen by an old man.
Only transitive verbs (verbs with an object) can be made passive:
■ 
OBJECT
They’ve opened a new bank in my town.
SUBJECT
A new bank has been opened in my town.