How to use passive voice with different tenses?
Table of Contents
Passive Voice
The passive voice is a grammatical construction. The noun or a noun phrase that would be the object of an active sentence (such as Our troops defeated the enemy) appears as the subject of a sentence with passive voice (e.g. The enemy was defeated by our troops).
For example:
“… that all men are created equal…”
“We have been cruelly deceived.”
“The captain was struck by a missile.”
“I got kicked in the face during the fight.”
How to Use the Passive Voice with Different Tenses
We can use passive voice with most tenses.
To change the tense of a passive sentence, you change the form of the verb ‘be’. The main verb in a passive sentence is always in the past participle form.
Using the Passive Voice with Different Tenses
| Tenses | Subject | Verb | Object | |
| Simple Present | Active | Marry | serves | the food |
| Passive | The food | is served | by Marry | |
| Simple Past | Active | Marry | served | the food |
| Passive | The food | was served | by Marry | |
| Present Perfect | Active | Marry | has served | the food |
| Passive | The food | has been served | By Marry | |
| Future I | Active | Marry | will serve | the food |
| Passive | The food | Will be served | by Marry | |
| Present Progressive | Active | Marry | is serving | the food |
| Passive | The food | is being served | by Marry | |
| Past Progressive | Active | Marry | was serving | the food |
| Passive | The food | was being served | by Marry | |
| Past Perfect | Active | Marry | had served | the food |
| Passive | The food | had been served | by Marry | |
| Future II | Active | Marry | will have served | the food |
| Passive | The food | will have been served | by Marry | |
| Conditional I | Active | Marry | would serve | the food |
| Passive | The food | would be served | by Marry | |
| Conditional II | Active | Marry | would have served | the food |
| Passive | The food | would have been served | by Marry | |
