Is “are” passive voice?
"Are" is passive only when a past participle follows it and the subject receives the action: "Premiums are calculated from payroll." "Are" + an adjective, a noun or an -ing verb is active: "The rates are high," "They are adjusters," "We are working."
“Are” follows the same rule as “is” and “was”: look at the next word. One trap is “there are” sentences (“There are three options”), which are not passive even though they feel flat. Another is “are” + an -ed adjective (“We are interested”), which describes a state.
Three sentences, checked
Each example below was run through our engine (v1.0.0). Amber marks the passive construction; a dotted underline marks a “be + participle” that is an adjective, not a passive.
Related forms
- Is “was” passive?
- Is “is” passive?
- Is “has been” passive?
- Is “have been” passive?
- Is “had been” passive?
- Is “will be” passive?
- Is “can be” passive?
- Is “could be” passive?
See the full list of passive voice verbs and passive voice in all twelve tenses.
Questions people ask
- Is "there are" passive voice?
- No. "There are" is an expletive construction with a linking verb. It can be wordy, but it is not passive.