Reference table - passive formation main verb forms: R4-02G
Other English Grammar Lessons
To find what you need: type the subject you are looking for into the ‘search’ box >, then click. Highlight, copy and paste into ‘word’ to make this file interactive.
The verb is present simple, so -
a) begin with the SAME TENSE of the verb TO BE: ‘are’
b) Then add the PAST PARTICIPLE of the verb being used – bite u ‘bitten’:
‘Postmen are sometimes bitten by dogs.’
NOTE:
1) A plural subject in the active can become a singular one in the passive, or vice versa: ‘This airline welcomes blind passengers.’ u ‘Blind passengers are welcomed by this airline.’ Passengers has become the subject, and it needs a plural verb, rather than ‘welcomes’ which agrees with the singular subject of the active sentence – ‘this airline’.
2) For regular verbs such as ‘welcome’ above, the past participle is the same as the past simple: just add –ed.
Here are the passive forms of the most common tenses in English:
|
VERB FORM |
ACTIVE |
PASSIVE |
EXAMPLE SENTENCE |
|
present simple |
takes/take |
am / is / are taken |
The parts are then taken to Scotland by road. |
|
present continuous |
am/is/are taking |
am/is/are being taken |
My mother is being taken to hospital this afternoon. |
|
past simple |
took |
was/were taken |
He was taken to a prison cell and thrown in. |
|
past continuous |
was/were taking |
was/were being taken |
As we arrived, the dogs were being taken for a walk. |
|
present perfect |
has/have taken |
has/have been taken |
‘His temperature has already been taken, doctor.’ |
|
past perfect |
had taken |
had been taken. |
She told me that, as a child, she had often been taken to the circus. |
|
future |
will take |
will be taken |
‘What you say will certainly be taken seriously, Mr. Smith.’ |
|
To-infinitive |
To take |
To be taken |
‘If the children want to be taken for a swim, you’d better get the car out.’ |
|
With modals (inf without to) |
Can take |
Can be taken |
This antibiotic can be taken in pill form |