Form: be (in the needed tense) + past participle. Only “be” changes; the participle stays the same. The doer is added with by only if it matters.
| tense | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| present simple | They build houses. | Houses are built. |
| present continuous | They are building a house. | A house is being built. |
| past simple | They built it in 1900. | It was built in 1900. |
| past continuous | They were repairing the road. | The road was being repaired. |
| present perfect | They have sold the car. | The car has been sold. |
| past perfect | They had cancelled the flight. | The flight had been cancelled. |
| future | They will open the shop. | The shop will be opened. |
| modal | You must sign the form. | The form must be signed. |
| modal + past | Someone should have told him. | He should have been told. |
Why “has been built”? It's simply the present perfect of “be” (has been) followed by the participle of the main verb (built). That's why perfect passives always contain been: has been / had been / will have been + participle.
Verbs with two objects can have the person as subject: I was given a present. She was told to wait.
Impersonal passive (news, reports): It is said that he is rich = He is said to be rich.
get + participle is an informal passive for events: He got injured. They got married.
have / get something done = someone does it for you: I had my hair cut. We're getting the car repaired.
Translate the words from your reading, review them as flashcards and practise with gap-fill sentences.
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