Passive Voice

We use the passive:
• when the agent (the person or thing the at does the action) is unknown.
The office has been painted. Someone must have done it over the weekend.
• to emphasise the action and not the agent
The conference is being held in Paris this year

• when it is not necessary to state the agent
The young man was arrested for dangerous driving
• when we want to be less direct and more polite. Compare:
Will you mark our essays before the next lesson? (direct ; less polite)
Will our essays be marked before the next lesson? (indirect ; more polite)
• when we want to avoid blaming someone for something; or avoid personal responsability.
I can see the rubbish hasn't been taken out.
Oh dear! This glass has been broken.

The passive is frequently used:

In Formal written English
The outstanding balance must be paid within 50 days,
• for rules and procedures.
Lights must be turned off when leaving the room.
• to describe processes.
Light energy is absorbed by chlorophyll he room.
• in news reports and headlines. Note that in headlines; the verb be is often omitted.
A government official has been accused of corruption

I make the tea

active

The tea is made

​am/is/are + past participle

I am making the tea

active

The tea is being made

​am/is/are being + past participle

I have made the tea

active

The tea has been made

has/have been + past participle

I made the tea

active

The tea was made

was/were + past participle

I was making the tea

active

The tea was being made

was/were being + past participle

I had made the tea

active

The tea had been made

had been + past participle

I will make the tea

active

The tea will be made

will be + past participle

I will have made the tea

active

The tea will have been made

will have been + past participle

I am going to make the tea
I was going to make the tea

active

The tea is going to be made
The tea was going to be made

am/is/are going to be + past participle
was/were going to be + past participle

I should make the tea now

active

The tea should be made now

madal + be + past participle

I have to make the tea everyday

active

The tea has to be made everyday

semi-madal + be + past participle

Teo must have made the tea last week

active

The tea must have been made last week

madal +have been + past participle

I didn't need to make the tea

active

The tea didn't need to be made

to be + past participle

I dislike people telling me lies.

active

I dislike being told lies

being + past participle

No pasive forms for

future Continuous
Future Perfect Continuous
Present Perfect Continuous
Past Perfect Continuous

​Some verbs

arrive, come, disappear, go, happen, have, live, occur, sleep

(can not be used in the passive)