Passive voice verbs
A passive verb is two words working together: a form of *be* or *get* (am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being, get, got, gotten) and a past participle (written, taken, denied). Neither word is passive on its own. "Was" is a linking verb in "she was late," and "written" is an adjective in "the written word"; put them together as "was written" and you have a passive.
The auxiliary: forms of be and get
| Form | Tense it builds | Example |
|---|---|---|
| am / is / are | simple present passive | The claim is denied. |
| was / were | simple past passive | The claim was denied. |
| be | after modals and to | must be denied; needs to be denied |
| been | perfect passives, after has/have/had/will have | has been denied |
| being | progressive passives, after is/are/was/were | is being denied |
| get / gets / got / gotten | informal get-passive | She got promoted. |
A sentence can stack several: “will have been denied” (future perfect), “is being denied” (present progressive), “should have been denied” (modal perfect). Each of our verb-form pages — is “was” passive?, is “has been” passive? and so on — walks through one of these.
The participle: regular and irregular
Regular participles end in -ed and look like the simple past: denied, reviewed, signed, issued. Irregular ones are where mistakes happen, because the participle often differs from the simple past, and the passive always needs the participle:
| Base | Simple past | Past participle (use this) |
|---|---|---|
| write | wrote | written |
| take | took | taken |
| give | gave | given |
| see | saw | seen |
| do | did | done |
| go | went | gone |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| break | broke | broken |
| drive | drove | driven |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| begin | began | begun |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| sing | sang | sung |
| ring | rang | rung |
| swim | swam | swum |
| fly | flew | flown |
| know | knew | known |
| grow | grew | grown |
| throw | threw | thrown |
| draw | drew | drawn |
| show | showed | shown |
| wear | wore | worn |
| tear | tore | torn |
| bear | bore | borne / born |
| hide | hid | hidden |
| bite | bit | bitten |
| ride | rode | ridden |
| rise | rose | risen |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| freeze | froze | frozen |
| steal | stole | stolen |
| shake | shook | shaken |
| mistake | mistook | mistaken |
| prove | proved | proven / proved |
| get | got | gotten (US) / got (UK) |
| lie (recline) | lay | lain |
| lay (put) | laid | laid |
| pay | paid | paid |
| say | said | said |
| make | made | made |
| build | built | built |
| send | sent | sent |
| spend | spent | spent |
| lend | lent | lent |
| lose | lost | lost |
| find | found | found |
| hold | held | held |
| keep | kept | kept |
| leave | left | left |
| meet | met | met |
| sell | sold | sold |
| tell | told | told |
| teach | taught | taught |
| catch | caught | caught |
| buy | bought | bought |
| bring | brought | brought |
| think | thought | thought |
| fight | fought | fought |
| seek | sought | sought |
| strike | struck | struck / stricken |
| hang | hung | hung |
| sit | sat | sat |
| stand | stood | stood |
| understand | understood | understood |
| win | won | won |
| cut / put / set / hit / let / shut | (same) | (same) |
“The letter was wrote” and “the record was broke” are the common errors; the participle is written, broken.
Words that look passive and are not
Dozens of past participles have become ordinary adjectives. After be they describe a state, and the sentence is active. The test: can you put “very” in front?
- Emotions: interested, excited, bored, tired, worried, pleased, surprised, confused, satisfied, disappointed, frightened, exhausted, relieved, thrilled, concerned, embarrassed.
- States: married, retired, dead, born, drunk, armed, qualified, experienced, prepared, located, situated, closed (sometimes), finished (sometimes).
“I am interested in the position” is not passive; nothing interested me. “The store is closed” is ambiguous: a state (adjective) or the result of someone closing it (passive). Our checker marks the first group with a dotted underline and leaves them out of the count, and marks the ambiguous ones “probably passive.”
Verbs that have no passive
Intransitive verbs take no object, so nothing can receive the action: arrive, come, go, sleep, happen, occur, exist, die, laugh, fall, rise, disappear. “The witness arrived” cannot be turned around. Linking verbs (be, seem, become, appear, remain) describe, so they have no passive either. If your sentence has one of these, a passive reading is impossible, no matter how many be-verbs it contains.
Questions people ask
- What verbs are used in passive voice?
A form of be (am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being) or informally get (get, got, gotten), followed by the past participle of a transitive verb — a verb that takes an object, such as write, deny, build, send.
- What are passive voice words?
There is no list of inherently passive words. The be-verbs and past participles are the ingredients, and “by” often signals the doer. Lists of “passive words to avoid” are usually lists of be-verbs, which are also used in active sentences.
- Can intransitive verbs be passive?
No. Verbs that take no object — arrive, sleep, happen, die, exist — have no passive form, because there is nothing to receive the action.
- Is "being" a passive verb?
“Being” + past participle forms the progressive passive (“is being reviewed”). “Being” + adjective (“he is being difficult”) is active.
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