THE PASSIVE · WHICH BE?
One rule, three steps, and the four words that give it away
The one rule
The tense lives on BE
In a passive sentence, BE carries the tense.
The main verb never changes again.
Active
They cleaned the office.
the tense is on the main verb
Passive
The office was cleaned.
tense moves to BE · main verb frozen in the third form
Once you know this, the passive is only ever one question: which form of BE do I need?
The third form of the main verb is always the same, in every tense: cleaned, written, taken, sold.
How to build it
Three steps, always in this order
1
Find the object of the active sentence. That object becomes your new subject.
They cleaned the office → The office ...
2
Put BE in the same tense as the old verb. Copy the tense, nothing else.
cleaned is past simple → BE goes into the past simple: was / were
3
Look at your new subject to choose singular or plural.
the office is one thing → was
Which BE
Every tense, side by side
Tap a tense to see it big. The table below always stays, so you can print this page.
The giveaway
BEING, BEEN, or nothing?
This is the fastest check. Look at the word in front of the gap and the extra word chooses itself.
BEING goes after is, are, was, were.
BEEN goes after has, have, had.
Never the other way round.
Careful
Count the NEW subject, not the old one
This is where most marks are lost. The person who did the action does not decide anything any more.
Active
One shop is selling thousands of units.
one shop → singular
Passive
Thousands of units are being sold.
the new subject is thousands of units → plural, so ARE
Never write this
The five that cost marks
Tense on BE ·
Number from the new subject ·
Main verb frozen in the third form