Passive Voice — Present, Past & Perfect

B1 — grammar, vocabulary, listening, reading, writing

Kenji: Did you know? Coffee is grown in 22 departments of Colombia. I read it in a museum!

Sofía: This logo was designed by me... and it is being changed by the client. Again.

Ben: My phone was stolen! ...No, wait. It has been found. It was in my pocket.

Abuela Carmen: In this house, dinner is served at seven. The rule was made in 1985, and it has never been broken.

Common mistake: “This house built in 1980.” — Correct: “This house was built in 1980.”

The passive voice puts the spotlight on what receives the action, not on who does it — and it always needs two pieces: the verb 'to be' + a past participle.

One sentence through the tenses: coffee + grow
Tense	Passive = be + participle	Example
Present simple	is / are + grown	Coffee is grown in Colombia
Present continuous	is / are being + grown	A new blend is being grown this year
Past simple	was / were + grown	This coffee was grown by my grandfather
Past continuous	was / were being + grown	The beans were being grown organically
Present perfect	has / have been + grown	Coffee has been grown here since 1900
Active vs Passive	doer in focus → receiver in focus	Farmers grow coffee → Coffee is grown (by farmers)

ew/own grow · grew · grown — cultivate crops or develop
2 forms make · made · made — manufacture or construct goods
d → t build · built · built — erect a house, bridge, or museum
o/en write · wrote · written — compose a novel, book, or article
regular paint · painted · painted — create a portrait or artwork
regular discover · discovered · discovered — find something previously unknown
regular invent · invented · invented — create a brand new device or system
o/en speak · spoke · spoken — communicate in a language
regular design · designed · designed — plan the form or structure of an object
regular direct · directed · directed — manage the creation of a film
1 form win · won · won — gain a victory, award, or medal
regular produce · produced · produced — manufacture in commercial quantities

Coffee is grown in Colombia.
This house was built in 1980.
The logo is being changed by the client. Again.
Coffee has been grown here since 1900.
The beans were being dried when it started to rain.
Rice isn't grown in the desert.
The email wasn't sent yesterday.
The rule has never been broken.
The room isn't being used right now.
Where is coffee grown?
Was this house built in 1980?
Has the email been sent?
Is coffee grown in Colombia? Yes, it is.
Was the window broken by the ball? Yes, it was.
Has the task been finished? No, it hasn't.

Practice

Coffee ___ in Colombia. (is grown, is grow, grows itself)
This house ___ in 1980. (is being built, was built, has built)
The email hasn't ___ yet. (being sent, be sent, been sent)
Right now, the logo ___ by the client. (is being changed, is changed, was changed)
The passive voice always needs the verb 'to be' + a past participle.
'The window broke by the ball' is a correct passive sentence.
Spanish ___ (speak) in Colombia. — present simple passive
The beans ___ (dry) when it started to rain. — past continuous passive
Coffee ___ (grow) here since 1900. — present perfect passive
Unscramble: coffee, is, grown, in, Colombia
Unscramble: was, this, house, built, in, 1980
Find the mistake: This house built in 1980.
Find the mistake: The email has been send.
Find the mistake: The dinner is serving at seven.
Farmers grow coffee. — Change to passive voice (keep 'by farmers').
Somebody stole my phone. — Change to passive voice (omit 'somebody').
The client is changing the logo. — Change to passive voice.
The rule has been broken. — Write the negative form.
The room isn't being used. — Write the affirmative form.
Is coffee grown in Colombia? (short answer)
Was your house built by the Romans? (short answer, No)

Listening

Kenji: Welcome to my coffee tour! First fact: coffee was brought to Colombia in the 18th century.

Sofía: Nice fact. Where is it grown today?

Kenji: It is grown in 22 departments. And the best beans are picked by hand, one by one.

Ben: And then what happens?

Kenji: The beans are dried in the sun, and the coffee is exported to the whole world.

Abuela Carmen: And in this house, it has been prepared the same way since 1985. Cups are on the table!

Reading

The old house on the corner has a story. It was built in 1923 by an Italian architect who never saw it finished. For decades, it was used as a school, and thousands of children were taught there — Abuela Carmen was one of them. Then it was abandoned for twenty years. Today, everything is different: the house is being restored by a group of young artists. The walls have been painted, the garden has been replanted, and a new roof is being installed this month. 'Beautiful things are not destroyed,' says Abuela Carmen. 'They are just forgotten for a while.'

The house was built by an Italian architect.
It was used as a hospital for decades.
The house is being restored by young artists.
The garden hasn't been replanted yet.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you form the passive voice in English?

Subject + appropriate tense of the verb 'to be' + Past Participle (3rd column). For example: 'The letter was sent yesterday' (Past Simple passive), 'English is spoken worldwide' (Present Simple passive).

When should you use the passive voice instead of the active voice?

Use passive voice when the action or the object is more important than who did it, or when the agent is unknown, obvious, or unimportant: 'The thief was arrested' (the police obviously arrested him; the focus is on the capture).