Is “were” passive voice?
"Were" is passive only before a past participle: "The records were destroyed." "Were" + an adjective, noun or -ing verb is active: "They were late," "We were running." In "if I were you," "were" is subjunctive and active.
“Were” passives are the standard past-tense passive for plural subjects (“The samples were stored at minus eighty”). They are frequent in method sections and incident reports, where the procedure matters and the technician does 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.
Passive
The records were destroyed in the flood.Be-passive: "were destroyed" — the subject receives the action and no one is named as doing it.
Active
They were late to the deposition.No “be + past participle” construction here, so the sentence is active.
Active
If I were you, I would file today.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 "were" passive in "if I were you"?
- No. That is the subjunctive mood of "be," an active form used for hypotheticals.