The Present Simple passive

What the passive changes

In an active sentence, the subject performs the action: Staff check every form. In a passive sentence, the subject receives that action: Every form is checked. The facts may remain the same, but the starting point and focus change.

The passive is useful when the agent is unknown, obvious or unimportant, or when it makes sense to start with a document, product or process. The active is not inferior: when who acts matters, it is often clearer.

How to build it

receiver of the action + am/is/are + V3 (+ by + agent)

V3 / past participle: The third verb form: worked, gone, seen. Used after have/has or in the passive, for example; it is not always the same as V2.

Every application is checked before payment.

The focus is on the application and what regularly happens to it. The agent can remain unnamed.

Our team checks every application before payment.

The active is grammatical and natural when the message concerns the team’s work.

Form and agreement

Be shows tense and number: I am, singular is, plural and you are. The main verb takes its past participle, or third form: checked, made, written, sent. Do not add -s to V3.

The passive subject is the receiver of the action. Make be agree with that subject: Each box is weighed, but All boxes are weighed. With I, use am: I am paid on Fridays.

How to build it

I am checked; it/each item is checked; you/we/they/items are checked

Coffee is grown in this region.

Coffee is an uncountable noun with singular agreement, so use is. The irregular V3 of grow is grown.

The reports are written in English.

Reports is plural, so use are, followed by V3 written, not wrote or write.

I am paid every Friday.

A passive with I uses am; paid does not change with the person.

Negatives, questions and short answers

For a negative, put not after am/is/are: The fee is not included; Paper copies are not accepted. The contractions isn’t and aren’t are natural. Do or does is unnecessary because be is already the auxiliary.

In a yes/no question, place am/is/are before the subject: Is the fee included? Keep this structure after how/why/where: How are the samples tested? If the question word itself is the subject, do not add another subject: Who is invited? An affirmative short answer uses the full form: Yes, they are, not Yes, they’re.

How to build it

negative: subject + am/is/are + not + V3; yes/no question: Am/Is/Are + subject + V3?

subject / S: The grammatical subject: who or what the clause is about; the verb agrees with it. In The book was written, the book is the subject, although someone else does the action.
V3 / past participle: The third verb form: worked, gone, seen. Used after have/has or in the passive, for example; it is not always the same as V2.

Personal data isn't shared with advertisers.

Not follows is; V3 shared stays in place.

Are the tickets checked at the entrance? — Yes, they are.

Are moves before the subject. The affirmative short answer uses the full form are.

Present facts, routines, processes and regular arrangements

The Present Simple passive describes general facts and habitual repeated actions: Spanish is spoken here; Orders are checked every morning. Expressions such as usually, every day or on Fridays can specify frequency, but the whole context determines the form.

When explaining a process, present each step as a typical operation: First, the seeds are dried. The Present Simple passive can also describe a stable schedule or arrangement: The team meeting is held online every Friday. This does not mean the action is happening right now.

First, the beans are washed and then they are roasted.

These are the general steps of a process, not a description of one production cycle currently taking place.

The weekly briefing is held online every Monday.

Held describes a regular arrangement; the subject briefing takes is.

When to name the agent

Add by + agent when the agent contributes relevant information: The final report is approved by the director. In Orders are packed before noon, generic agents such as workers or staff add nothing useful and can naturally be omitted.

By identifies who performs the action. An instrument is often introduced with with: The label is printed with a special machine. Do not automatically add by people, by someone or by them to every passive.

Each prescription is checked by a pharmacist.

The agent’s qualification matters, so the by-phrase is meaningful.

Receipts are emailed after payment.

Who initiates the routine procedure is unimportant; no by-phrase is needed.

Changing the structure without losing facts

To change an active sentence into the passive, make its object the new subject, choose am/is/are to agree with it, and use the verb’s V3. If needed, the old subject becomes the agent after by: Local volunteers sort the books → The books are sorted by local volunteers.

Preserve tense, negation, question form, quantities and participants. Staff do not record calls → Calls are not recorded by staff. Do staff check all three alarms? → Are all three alarms checked by staff? The passive does not allow you to change three to some or omit an important agent.

The security team checks all four doors every morning. → All four doors are checked by the security team every morning.

The four doors, regular timing and named responsible team are all preserved.

The system does not store passwords. → Passwords are not stored by the system.

Active does not store becomes passive are not stored. The negation must remain.

Boundaries: not every be + V3 belongs to this rule

We normally form the passive from a verb with an object: Staff inspect the lift → The lift is inspected. Intransitive verbs such as happen, arrive and sleep have no such object: A problem happens; The train arrives. Is happened and is arrived are incorrect in these meanings.

Do not confuse neighbouring forms. Are checked every Friday is Present Simple passive; were checked yesterday is Past Simple passive; are being checked now is Present Continuous passive; have been checked already is Present Perfect passive. Get checked belongs to the get-passive, which has a different register and nuance.

Some -ed forms have become adjectives. The museum is closed today most naturally describes a state, whereas The museum is closed by staff at six describes a regular action. Context sometimes allows both readings, so do not classify a sentence solely by the appearance of the word.

The parcels arrive at nine every morning.

Arrive has no direct object, so the active is needed here, not are arrived.

The machines are checked every Friday, but they are being checked now as well.

Are checked describes a routine; are being checked describes an action in progress at this moment.

The museum is closed today.

Closed naturally has an adjectival state reading here. The sentence does not itself describe a regular staff action.

Common mistakes

Incorrect:Coffee is grow in this region.

Correct:Coffee is grown in this region.

After is, the passive needs the third form grown, not the base form grow.

Incorrect:The reports is checked every morning.

Correct:The reports are checked every morning.

Reports is plural, so the auxiliary be must be are.

Incorrect:Paper copies don't accepted here.

Correct:Paper copies aren't accepted here.

Form the passive negative with are not + V3, without do.

Incorrect:Do the samples tested here?

Correct:Are the samples tested here?

In a passive question, put the existing auxiliary are before the subject, rather than using do.

Incorrect:Millions of messages are send every day.

Correct:Millions of messages are sent every day.

The irregular third form of send is sent.

Incorrect:A delay is happened every winter.

Correct:A delay happens every winter.

Happen has no object in this meaning and does not form a passive. Use the active Present Simple.

Sources