Passive Voice — Be + Past Participle
English passive is used far more than Japanese indirect expression
Category: Passive Voice
The Rule
English passive: subject + be + past participle (+ by agent). 'The cake was eaten by the children.' Used when the action receiver is the focus or the agent is unknown/unimportant.
Why This Matters
Japanese uses passive differently: 雨に降られた (was rained on — adversity passive, unique to Japanese). English passive is more straightforward but used in contexts where Japanese would use active voice or topic-comment structure.
Examples
• This temple was built in 1500. — "この寺は1500年に建てられました。" [Passive for historical facts where the builder is unknown] • English is spoken worldwide. — "英語は世界中で話されています。" [Passive when the agent ('people') is obvious] • The window was broken by the ball. — "窓はボールで割られました。" ['By' introduces the agent]
Common Mistakes
❌ The book was wrote by her. ✅ The book was written by her. → Passive requires PAST PARTICIPLE (written), not past simple (wrote). ❌ I was stolen my wallet. (adversity passive from Japanese) ✅ My wallet was stolen. / Someone stole my wallet. → English passive doesn't work like Japanese adversity passive. The thing affected becomes the subject.
Quick Tip
Passive formula: [receiver] + was/were/is/are + PAST PARTICIPLE + (by [doer]). The hardest part is getting the past participle right (irregular verbs!).
Passive formula: [receiver] + was/were/is/are + PAST PARTICIPLE + (by [doer]). The hardest part is getting the past participle right (irregular verbs!).
Examples
Common Mistakes
Incorrect: The book was wrote by her. → Correct: The book was written by her.. Passive requires PAST PARTICIPLE (written), not past simple (wrote).
Incorrect: I was stolen my wallet. (adversity passive from Japanese) → Correct: My wallet was stolen. / Someone stole my wallet.. English passive doesn't work like Japanese adversity passive. The thing affected becomes the subject.
Quiz
Which is correct passive?