Is “could be” passive voice?
"Could be" + a past participle is a modal passive ("The deadline could be extended"); "could be" + an adjective or noun is active ("That could be true"). In hypothetical or polite phrasing the passive is often deliberate.
“Could be” passives soften requests and hedge predictions: “The hearing could be postponed,” “This could be read two ways.” The active forms (“The judge could postpone the hearing,” “You could read this two ways”) are more direct, which is sometimes what you want and sometimes not.
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 “must be” passive?
See the full list of passive voice verbs and passive voice in all twelve tenses.
Questions people ask
- Is "could be" passive in "it could be worse"?
- No. "Worse" is an adjective, so "could be" is a linking verb there and the sentence is active.