B2 passive voice: all tenses, reporting passives and have something done
The B2 passive voice is be in the right tense + past participle, and at B2 you also need reporting passives (It is said that…, She is thought to be…) and have something done. All three are common answers in Use of English Part 4. This page is part of our B2 grammar guide.
By Eleanor BennettLast updated:
When to use the passive
We use the passive when the action, or the person or thing affected by it, is more important than who did it. Often the "doer" (the agent) is unknown, obvious or not interesting:
- My bike was stolen outside the gym. (We don't know who stole it.)
- The bridge is being repaired, so the road is closed. (Who is repairing it doesn't matter.)
- Over two hundred people were interviewed for the survey. (Formal, factual style.)
If you want to mention the agent, use by: The mural was painted by students from the art school. But most passive sentences in natural English have no by phrase at all.
At B2 the passive is more than a tense exercise. You need it for three reasons. First, it is one of the most frequent structures in key word transformations. Second, it gives your reports and formal essays an objective tone: It is recommended that the café opens earlier. Third, the auxiliaries been, being and by are typical one-word answers in the open cloze.
The passive often combines with other grammar points. You will meet it with modal verbs (must be done, should have been told) and in reported speech, where reporting passives such as He is said to… are a formal way of reporting what people believe.
Passive forms in every tense
| Use it to… | Phrases |
|---|---|
| Present simple: am / is / are + past participle |
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| Present continuous: am / is / are being + past participle |
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| Past simple and continuous: was / were (being) + past participle |
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| Present and past perfect: has / have / had been + past participle |
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| Future and modals: will / can / must / should be + past participle |
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| Modal perfect: should / could / must have been + past participle |
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| Passive infinitive and gerund |
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| Reporting passives |
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| Causative: have / get something done |
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How to build a passive in three steps
- Find the object of the active sentence. It becomes the new subject: They are building a new stadium → a new stadium.
- Keep the tense of the active verb and express it with be: are building (present continuous) → is being.
- Add the past participle of the main verb: A new stadium is being built.
Only verbs with an object can be passive. Verbs such as happen, arrive, die, appear and disappear have no passive form, so The accident was happened is always wrong.
With verbs that have two objects (give, send, offer, show, tell), English usually makes the person the subject: I was offered a place on the course sounds more natural than A place on the course was offered to me.
Typical B1 to B2 mistakes with the passive
Trap: The accident was happened at night. Spanish and Italian speakers sometimes make intransitive verbs passive because of reflexive forms like se produjo or si è verificato.
Fix: Happen, occur, arrive and die cannot be passive: The accident happened at night.
Trap: I was stolen my bike. Using the person as the subject with steal.
Fix: My bike was stolen, or with the causative: I had my bike stolen.
Trap: The house will built next year. German speakers may confuse English will with German werden and leave out be.
Fix: Every passive needs be: The house will be built next year.
Trap: He was born in Kraków in 2006 is right, but learners write He is born in 2006 or He borned. Polish urodził się and Spanish nació are active.
Fix: Be born is always passive, and for a past event use was / were born.
Trap: I cut my hair yesterday when a hairdresser did it.
Fix: Use the causative: I had my hair cut yesterday. I cut my hair means you did it yourself.
Trap: It is said him to be rich or He is said that he is rich. Mixing the two reporting patterns.
Fix: Choose one pattern: It is said that he is rich or He is said to be rich.
Worked example: a reporting passive transformation
The task
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.
People believe that the old mill was destroyed in a fire.
BELIEVED
The old mill ______ destroyed in a fire.
- 1.
Identify the grammar. The first sentence uses People believe that…, and the second sentence starts with The old mill. That means a personal reporting passive: subject + is believed + to + infinitive.
- 2.
Look at the time difference. Believe is present, but the destruction happened in the past. When the action is earlier than the reporting verb, use the perfect infinitive: to have been.
- 3.
The action itself is passive (the fire destroyed the mill), so we need to have been destroyed. Destroyed is already in the sentence, so it stays outside the gap.
- 4.
Write the answer: is believed to have been. Count: is + believed + to + have + been = 5 words. That is exactly the limit.
- 5.
Common wrong answers: is believed to be (wrong time), believed that was (not a correct structure), was believed to have (changes the time of the belief and misses been).
Answer
The old mill is believed to have been destroyed in a fire. (5 words)
Practice · Reading & Use of English Part 4
Key word transformations 1: Mixed grammar
B2 passive voice: frequently asked questions
What passive forms do you need for B2?
You need the passive in all common tenses, with modal verbs (can be done, should have been done), the passive infinitive and gerund (to be told, being told), reporting passives (it is said that, he is said to) and the causative have / get something done.
When should I use the passive in writing?
Use it when the action is more important than the person who did it, or when you want a formal, objective tone. It is especially useful in reports and formal emails: It was agreed that…, Several improvements have been made. Don't overuse it in stories or informal emails.
What is the difference between have something done and get something done?
They mean the same: someone else does a service for you. Get is a little more informal: I need to get my car serviced. Both can also describe something bad that happened to you: He had his wallet stolen.
Can every verb be passive?
No. Only verbs that take an object can be passive. Verbs like happen, arrive, occur, seem and disappear have no object, so they have no passive form.
How is the passive tested in key word transformations?
You usually change an active sentence into a passive one, a People say that… sentence into a reporting passive, or a sentence about a service into have something done. Keep the original tense and count your words carefully.