Is “can be” passive voice?
"Can be" + a past participle is a modal passive: "The form can be submitted online." "Can be" + an adjective or noun is active: "The process can be slow." Modal passives (can, could, may, might, must, should, would + be + participle) are common and often appropriate in rules and instructions.
Modal passives state what is possible, permitted or required without saying who does it: “Claims can be filed by phone,” “Receipts must be kept for seven years.” In a policy document that is usually exactly the right register; the rule applies to whoever is reading.
Switch to active when you address a specific reader: “You can file claims by phone.” Second-person active is shorter and clearer in instructions.
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 “could be” passive?
- Is “must be” passive?
See the full list of passive voice verbs and passive voice in all twelve tenses.
Questions people ask
- Are all modal verbs + "be" + participle passive?
- Yes: can be, could be, may be, might be, must be, shall be, should be, would be, ought to be, plus "have to be" and "need to be," all followed by a past participle, are passive constructions.
- Is "can be" passive in "it can be done"?
- Yes. "Done" is the past participle of "do." "It can be done" is passive; "We can do it" is the active equivalent.