The Passive Voice in Present Simple

The Big Idea: Flipping the Spotlight
In an active sentence, the spotlight is on the doer (the person or thing doing the action). In a passive sentence, we flip the spotlight onto the receiver (the person or thing the action happens to). We use the passive when the action itself is more important than who did it, or when we don't know who did it.

  • Active: The chef cooks the meal. (Spotlight on The chef)
  • Passive: The meal is cooked. (Spotlight on The meal)

1. The Golden Formula

To build a passive sentence in the present simple, you need two main ingredients:

Object + am / is / are + Past Participle (V3)

  • am: Used with "I"
  • is: Used with "He, She, It" (singular)
  • are: Used with "You, We, They" (plural)
  • Past Participle (V3): The third form of the verb (e.g., eaten, broken, cleaned).
  • Extra Example (Singular): The letter is written by Sarah.
  • Extra Example (Plural): The rooms are cleaned every morning.
  • Extra Example (I): I am paid on Fridays.

2. How to Transform Active to Passive (Step-by-Step)

Let's take an active sentence and flip it:

  • Active: The gardener waters the plants.

Step 1: Move the object (the plants) to the front.
Step 2: Add the correct form of "to be" (is/are/am) based on the new subject.
Step 3: Change the main verb to its Past Participle (V3).
Step 4: Add "by + the original subject" if it's important to know who did it (often optional).

  • Passive: The plants are watered (by the gardener).
  • Extra Example: Active: Millions of people speak English. Passive: English is spoken by millions of people.
  • Extra Example: Active: They make these cars in Japan. Passive: These cars are made in Japan.

3. When to Use It (And When to Drop "By")

We use the passive voice in the present simple for:

  • General truths or facts: Water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen.
  • Habits or routines: The office is locked at 6 PM every day.
  • When the doer is unknown: My bike is stolen! (I don't know who stole it).
  • When the doer is obvious or unimportant: The trash is collected on Tuesdays. (We don't need to say "by the garbage collectors").

A Note on Negatives and Questions:

  • Negative: Just add "not" after the 'to be' verb. The window is not (isn't) cleaned.
  • Question: Flip the subject and the 'to be' verb. Is the window cleaned?