GRAMMAR - The Passive Voice - Welcome to Learn English with Carlo

There are two voices in English (and most other languages), ACTIVE and PASSIVE.

ACTIVE: Isabella ate the burrito.
In this sentence, the subject, Isabella, performed the action, and the object, the burrito, suffered the action.

To express something in the PASSIVE voice, the idea needs to have an OBJECT.
Why? Because in the passive voice, the OBJECT (of the active sentence) occupies the SUBJECT place.

We make the passive by putting the verb ‘to be’ into the tense we need (refer to the active sentence) and then adding the past participle of the action. In our example, The object of the active sentence, the burrito, becomes the SUBJECT of the passive sentence. The active sentence is in the simple past so the verb ‘to be’ must be also in the past and conjugated for our “new” subject, the burrito (third person singular). We then add the past participle of the action (eat/ate/eaten) and then we can complete the idea by adding the prepositional phrase ‘by Isabella.’

PASSIVE: The burrito was eaten (by Isabella).

This is one of the few areas that has logic and NO EXCEPTIONS!

Look at a few more examples in other tenses:

PRESENT: I teach English – English is taught (by me).
PRESENT CONTINUOUS: She is watching TV – TV is being watched (by her)
PRESENT PERFECT: I have visited three museums today – Three museums have been visited by me today.
MODAL: Tom can play the piano – The piano can be played (by Tom)

Adjective + Preposition (OF)

1 / 12

She was __________ her best friend's success. She knew she deserved it.

afraid of

aware of

proud of

jealous of

2 / 12

He felt __________ forgetting his nephew's birthday. His sister was going to be very upset.

capable of

conscious of

ashamed of

envious of

3 / 12

The children were __________ the idea of going to the amusement park.

kind of

typical of

excited about

sweet of

4 / 12

She was __________ her brother's achievements in sports.

certain of

nice of

proud of

silly of

5 / 12

He is __________ his ability to speak multiple languages fluently.

scared of

capable of

jealous of

aware of

6 / 12

The mouse was __________ the cat hiding under the sofa.

envious of

scared of

typical of

nice of

7 / 12

The actor was __________ all the positive reviews he received for his latest performance.

ashamed of

conscious of

proud of

afraid of

8 / 12

She felt __________ her bad behavior at the party last night.

envious of

ashamed of

sweet of

proud of

9 / 12

It was __________ him to help his neighbor carry groceries upstairs.

envious of

proud of

capable of

nice of

10 / 12

The student was __________ his knowledge of history. He always got the best grade in the class.

proud of

kind of

silly of

typical of

11 / 12

She was __________ of her sister's good grades. She studied hard but her sister's grades were always better.

envious of

capable of

certain of

scared of

12 / 12

She was ______________ the time and didn't want to be late for the meeting.

envious of

ashamed of

proud of

conscious of

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3 comments

- Marie Weston on 22 de July de 2024 at 17:38
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How can I say in the passive
The policeman didn’t allow US to enter the museum at night
1. - EYW2026 on 23 de July de 2024 at 10:30
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  Great Question Marie,
  In the passive voice, you would say “We weren’t allowed to enter the museum at night (by the policeman).”
- Rejeki on 30 de April de 2025 at 11:10
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Great explanation of the passive voice, Carlo! I appreciate the examples you provided; they really helped clarify the concept. Looking forward to more grammar tips!

GRAMMAR – The Passive Voice

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