Is “been” passive voice?
"Been" + a past participle makes a perfect passive: "has been sent," "had been paid," "will have been completed." "Been" + an adjective, noun or -ing verb is active: "has been late," "has been a problem," "has been waiting."
“Been” is the past participle of “be,” so it only appears after “has,” “have,” “had” or a modal + “have.” Whatever follows “been” decides the voice: a past participle makes the construction passive, anything else keeps it active.
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.
Passive
The letter has been sent.Be-passive: "has been sent" — the subject receives the action and no one is named as doing it.
Active
The letter has been a problem for weeks.No “be + past participle” construction here, so the sentence is active.
Active
The clerk has been waiting for approval.No “be + past participle” construction here, so the sentence is active.
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 "has been" the same as "been" for passive voice?
- "Been" never stands alone as a passive marker; it needs a helper (has, have, had, will have) before it and a past participle after it. Our pages on "has been," "have been" and "had been" cover each form.