Skip to main contentAccessibility help
Accessibility feedback
Filters and topics
All
Images
Videos
News
Web
Books
Maps
More
Tools
Search Results
AI overview
Search Labs | AI Overview
Learn more
A passive verb is a verb that appears in a sentence where the subject receives the action of the verb,
rather than performing it. Passive verbs always include a form of the verb "to be". For example, "The cat
scratched Joanna" is active voice, while "Joanna was scratched by the cat" is passive voice.
Here are some more examples of active and passive verbs:
Active: "Mr Brewer kicked the ball"
Passive: "The ball was kicked by Mr Brewer"
Active: "Roberta takes karate lessons"
Passive: "Answers to the survey are being sought by Dr. Eggleston"
While some teachers and professors may consider the use of passive voice to be a bad writing habit, it is
not grammatically incorrect and can be useful and appropriate in certain situations. For example, the
passive voice is often used to report something or state a fact.
What is a passive verb? - BBC Bitesize
BBC
Active & Passive Verbs | Writing Center | McKendree University
McKendree University
What are passive verbs? (Passive & Active Voice)
Subject Receives the Action = Passive Voice (Passive Verb) When the subject of the sentence is receiving
the action of the verb, t...
English Grammar Revolution
Show all
Generative AI is experimental.
Passive voice
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Passive_voice
In a clause with passive voice, the grammatical subject expresses the theme or patient of the main verb
– that is, the person or thing that undergoes the action ...
People also ask
What is a passive verb example?
What are 5 examples of passive sentences?
What words are passive verbs?
How to identify passive verbs?
Feedback
Active and passive voice | LearnEnglish
Learn English Online | British Council
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org › grammar › active...
Transitive verbs have both active and passive forms. Passive forms are made up of the verb be with a
past participle.
What is a passive verb? - BBC Bitesize
BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk › bitesize › articles
When the subject of a sentence isn't doing something the verb is passive. Find out more about passive
verbs in this Bitesize Primary KS2 guides.
Passive Verbs - Purdue OWL
Purdue OWL
https://owl.purdue.edu › owl › grammar › verb_tenses
Use passive verbs when you do not want to specify the actor. If the actor is either unknown or irrelevant,
you may not want to specify an actor: “Crimes were ...
Passive Voice - English Grammar Rules
Ginger Software
https://www.gingersoftware.com › grammar-rules › verbs
The passive voice is used when we want to emphasize the action (the verb) and the object of a sentence
rather than subject. This means that the subject is ...
Videos
14:30
How to use the Passive Voice 😅 English Grammar Lesson
YouTube · mmmEnglish
24 May 2018
7 key moments in this video
4:16
What are passive verbs (passive voice)?
YouTube · GrammarRevolution
4 Mar 2021
5 key moments in this video