Passive voice in present tenses — englishillustrated.com

What is Passive Voice?

Passive voice shifts focus from the person doing an action to the action itself or the person receiving it. In active voice, the subject performs the action. In passive voice, the subject receives the action. Compare: Active: 'The chef prepares the meal.' Passive: 'The meal is prepared by the chef.' Both sentences mean the same thing, but passive voice emphasizes the meal, not the chef. At B1 level, you'll use passive voice to sound more formal, to focus on results, or when the 'doer' is unknown or unimportant.

Forming Present Passive Voice

To form passive voice in present tenses, use the present tense of 'be' + past participle. For present simple: am/is/are + past participle. Example: 'The letter is sent every morning.' For present continuous: am/is/are being + past participle. Example: 'The house is being painted right now.' For present perfect: have/has been + past participle. Example: 'The work has been completed.' The past participle stays the same for all three tenses—only the 'be' verb changes to show the time.

When to Use Present Passive Voice

Use passive voice when you want to emphasize the action or result rather than who did it, when the doer is unknown or obvious, or in formal writing like reports and instructions. In everyday conversation, active voice is more natural and direct. However, passive voice is essential in academic writing, professional communication, and when describing processes. For example, in a recipe: 'The ingredients are mixed together' (not important who mixes). Or in news: 'Two people were injured in the accident' (the injured person is the focus, not the cause).

Present Passive Voice: Full Conjugation by Subject

Present Simple Passive — am / is / are + past participle

Subject	Affirmative	Negative	Question
I	`I am invited`	`I am not invited`	`Am I invited?`
you (singular)	`you are invited`	`you are not invited`	`Are you invited?`
he / she / it	`he is invited`	`he is not invited`	`Is he invited?`
we	`we are invited`	`we are not invited`	`Are we invited?`
you (plural)	`you are invited`	`you are not invited`	`Are you invited?`
they	`they are invited`	`they are not invited`	`Are they invited?`

Present Continuous Passive — am / is / are + being + past participle

Subject	Affirmative	Negative	Question
I	`I am being watched`	`I am not being watched`	`Am I being watched?`
you (singular)	`you are being watched`	`you are not being watched`	`Are you being watched?`
he / she / it	`she is being watched`	`she is not being watched`	`Is she being watched?`
we	`we are being watched`	`we are not being watched`	`Are we being watched?`
you (plural)	`you are being watched`	`you are not being watched`	`Are you being watched?`
they	`they are being watched`	`they are not being watched`	`Are they being watched?`

Present Perfect Passive — have / has + been + past participle

Subject	Affirmative	Negative	Question
I	`I have been chosen`	`I have not been chosen`	`Have I been chosen?`
you (singular)	`you have been chosen`	`you have not been chosen`	`Have you been chosen?`
he / she / it	`it has been chosen`	`it has not been chosen`	`Has it been chosen?`
we	`we have been chosen`	`we have not been chosen`	`Have we been chosen?`
you (plural)	`you have been chosen`	`you have not been chosen`	`Have you been chosen?`
they	`they have been chosen`	`they have not been chosen`	`Have they been chosen?`

Notes and Special Rules

1. Auxiliary agreement: Use am only with I; use is with he / she / it; use are with you, we, they.

2. has vs. have: In the present perfect passive, use has been with he / she / it and have been with all other persons.

3. Irregular past participles: Many common verbs have irregular forms used in the passive — for example, write → written, break → broken, choose → chosen, see → seen, do → done, make → made, take → taken, give → given, know → known, bring → brought.

4. Contractions: In informal speech, negatives are often contracted — isn't, aren't, hasn't, haven't. Note that amn't is non-standard; use I'm not instead.

5. Present continuous passive limitation: Stative verbs (for example, know, like, contain) are not normally used in the continuous passive form.

6. By-agent: The agent (doer) can optionally be added with by — for example, The letter is being written by her.

Formula

✔ Positive

Subject + am/is/are + past participle

The email is sent every morning.

✖ Negative

Subject + am/is/are not + past participle

The homework is not completed yet.

? Question

Is/Are + subject + past participle

Is the report being written?

Examples

The website is updated every week.

Present simple passive · Regular maintenance

The new hospital is being built in the city center.

Present continuous passive · Action in progress

The concert has been postponed to next month.

Present perfect passive · Recent change with present effect

These products are made from recycled materials.

Present simple passive · General fact

The winner is being announced right now on television.

Present continuous passive · Happening at this moment

Has the decision been made about the new policy?

Present perfect passive · Question form

When to use it

News & Media

Passive voice is common in news articles to focus on events and facts rather than specific people.

"Three buildings were damaged in the storm, and several roads are being closed for repairs."

Professional Reports

Business and academic writing use passive voice to sound formal and objective.

"The survey was completed by 500 participants, and the results have been analyzed."

Instructions & Processes

Passive voice is used when explaining how something is done without naming the doer.

"The document is signed and then submitted to the manager."

Scientific Writing

Passive voice maintains objectivity and focuses on procedures and findings.

"The experiment was conducted under controlled conditions, and measurements are being recorded continuously."

Signal words

is are am being been by (optional agent) has have

Common Mistakes

Wrong

The cake is bake yesterday.

✓

Correct

The cake was baked yesterday.

Use 'was' for past, not 'is'. Past participle 'baked' is correct, but tense must match.

Wrong

The letter is send to me.

✓

Correct

The letter is sent to me.

Use past participle 'sent', not base form 'send'. Only 'be' changes tense.

Wrong

The work is being completed yesterday.

✓

Correct

The work was completed yesterday.

Present continuous passive (is being) is for now/current actions. Use simple past for yesterday.

Wrong

Has the report been wrote?

✓

Correct

Has the report been written?

Use past participle 'written', not past tense 'wrote'. Only 'have/has' shows the tense.

Wrong

The office is being painted tomorrow.

✓

Correct

The office will be painted tomorrow.

For future actions, use 'will be' + past participle, not 'is being' (which shows now).

KEY TAKEAWAYS

What to Remember

Passive voice shifts focus from the doer to the action or receiver of the action.
In present simple passive, use is/are + past participle: 'The meal is prepared.'
In present continuous passive, use is/are + being + past participle: 'The meal is being prepared.'
Use passive voice to sound formal, emphasize results, or when the doer is unknown.
Both active and passive sentences convey the same meaning but with different emphasis.

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Passive voice — negative sentences and questions

Passive voice in past tenses