ACTIVE AND PASSIVE TENSES CHART

SIMPLE PRESENT and SIMPLE PAST

The active object (Α) becomes the passive subject (Υ).
am/is/are + past participle
was/were + past participle

Active: Simple Present Passive: Simple Present

The movie fascinates me. I am fascinated by the movie.
The movie bores Jack. Jack is bored by the movie.
The movie surprises them. They are surprised by the movie.

Active: Simple Past Passive: Simple Past

The movie bored me. I was bored by the movie. Was I bored by the movie?
The movie fascinated Jack. Jack was fascinated by the movie.
The movie surprised them. They were surprised by the movie.

PRESENT and PAST CONTINUOUS (PROGRESSIVE)

Passive form:
am/is/are + being + past participle
was/were + being + past participle

Passive: Present Continuous

Active: Present Continuous
Shannon is being helped by me. Is Shannon being
I am helping Shannon.
helped by me?
June is helping Su and Ling.
Su and Ling are being helped by June.

Passive: Past Continuous

Active: Past Continuous
The bathroom was being cleaned by me. Was the
I was cleaning the bathroom.
bathroom being cleaned by me?
They were cleaning the bedroom.
The bedroom was being cleaned by them.
Susan was cleaning the kitchen and patio.
The kitchen and patio were being cleaned by Susan.
 PRESENT PERFECT, PAST PERFECT and FUTURE PERFECT
Passive form:
have/has been + past participle
had been + past participle

Passive: Present Perfect

Active: Present Perfect
The gift has been mailed by me. Has the gift been
I have mailed the gift.
mailed by me?
Jack has mailed the gifts.
The gifts have been mailed by Jack.

Active: Past Perfect Passive: Past Perfect

Steven Spielberg had directed the movie. The movie had been directed by Steven Spielberg.
Penny Marshall had directed those movies. The movies had been directed by Penny Marshall.

Passive: Future Perfect

Active: Future Perfect
The project will have been finished by next month.
John will have finished the project next month.
The projects will have been finished before then. Will
They will have finished the projects before then.
the projects have been finished by then?

FUTURE TENSES
Passive forms: will + be + past participle
is/are going to be + past participle

Active: Future with WILL Passive: Future with WILL BE

I will mail the gift. The gift will be mailed by me.
Jack will mail the gifts. The gifts will be mailed by Jack.

Passive: Future with GOING TO BE

Active: Future with GOING TO
The cake is going to be made by me. Is the cake going
I am going to make the cake.
to be made by me?
Sue is going to make two cakes.
Two cakes are going to be made by Sue.
 PRESENT / FUTURE MODALS
The passive form follows this pattern:
modal + be + past participle

Passive: WILL / WON'T (WILL NOT) BE

Active: WILL / WON'T (WILL NOT)
Tom will be invited to the party by Sharon.
Sharon will invite Tom to the party.
Will Tom be invited to the party by Sharon?
Sharon won't invite Jeff to the party.
Jeff won't be invited to the party by Sharon.
(Sharon will not invite Jeff to the party.)
(Jeff will not be invited to the party by Sharon.)

Passive: CAN / CAN'T (CAN NOT) BE

Active: CAN / CAN'T (CAN NOT)
The future can be foretold by Mai.
Mai can foretell the future.
Can the future be foretold by Mai?
Terry can't foretell the future.
The future can't be foretold by Terry.
(Terry can not foretell the future.)
(The future can not be foretold by Terry.)

Active: MAY / MAY NOT Passive: MAY / MAY NOT BE

Her company may give Katya a new office. Katya may be given a new office by her company.
The lazy students may not do the homework. The homework may not be done by the lazy students.
MIGHT / MIGHT NOT MIGHT / MIGHT NOT
Her company might give Katya a new office. Katya might be given a new office by her company.
The lazy students might not do the homework. The homework might not be done by the lazy students.

Passive: SHOULD / SHOULDN'T BE

Active: SHOULD / SHOULDN'T
English verbs should be memorized by students.
Students should memorize English verbs.
Should English verbs be memorized by students?
Children shouldn't smoke cigarettes.
Cigarettes shouldn't be smoked by children.

Active: OUGHT TO Passive: OUGHT TO BE ( οφείλω να.. ) (συμβουλή)

Students ought to memorise English verbs. English verbs ought to be memorized by students.
(negative ought to is rarely used)

Active: HAD BETTER / HAD BETTER NOT Passive: HAD BETTER / HAD BETTER NOT BE
Students had better practise English every day. English had better be practised every day by students.
Children had better not drink whiskey. Whiskey had better not be drunk by children.
Active: MUST / MUST NOT Passive: MUST / MUST NOT BE
Tourists must apply for a passport to travel abroad. A passport to travel abroad must be applied for.
Customers must not use that door. That door must not be used by customers.

Passive: HAS TO / HAVE TO BE

Active: HAS TO / HAVE TO (είναι ανάγκη να,
πρέπει)
English has to be practiced every day.
She has to practice English every day.
Sara and Miho have to wash the dishes every day. DOES ENGLISH HAVE TO BE PRACTISED?
The dishes have to be washed by them every day.
DOESN'T HAVE TO/ DON'T HAVE TO
Maria doesn't have to clean her bedroom every day. DOESN'T HAVE TO/ DON'T HAVE TO
Her bedroom doesn't have to be cleaned every day.
The children don't have to clean their bedrooms every
Their bedrooms don't have to be cleaned every day.
day.
DOES HER BEDROOM HAVE TO BE CLEANED?

Active: BE SUPPOSED TO Passive: BE SUPPOSED TO BE

I am supposed to type the composition. The composition is supposed to be typed by me.
I am not supposed to copy the stories in the book. The stories in the book are not supposed to be copied.
Janet is supposed to clean the living room. The living room is supposed to be cleaned by Janet.
She isn't supposed to eat candy and gum. Candy and gum aren't supposed to be eaten by her.
They are supposed to make dinner for the family. Dinner for the family is supposed to be made by them.
They aren't supposed to make dessert. Dessert isn't supposed to be made by them.
 PAST MODALS
The past passive form follows this pattern:
modal + have been + past participle

Passive: SHOULD HAVE / SHOULDN'T HAVE

Active: SHOULD HAVE / SHOULDN'T HAVE
The verbs should have been learned by the students.
The students should have learned the verbs.
The window shouldn't have been broken by the
The children shouldn't have broken the window.
children.

Active: OUGHT TO Passive: OUGHT TO

Students ought to have learned the verbs. The verbs ought to have been learned by the students.
(negative ought to is rarely used)

Active: BE SUPPOSED TO (past time) Passive: BE SUPPOSED TO (past time)

I was supposed to type the composition. The composition was supposed to be typed by me.
I wasn't supposed to copy the story in the book. The story in the book wasn't supposed to be copied.
Janet was supposed to clean the living room. The living room was supposed to be cleaned by Janet.
She wasn't supposed to eat candy and gum. Candy and gum weren't supposed to be eaten by her.
Frank and Jane were supposed to make dinner. Dinner was supposed to be made by them.
They weren't supposed to make dessert. Dessert wasn't supposed to be made by them.

Active: MAY / MAY NOT Passive: MAY / MAY NOT

That firm may have offered Katya a new job. Katya may have been offered a new job by that firm.
The students may not have written the paper. The paper may not have been written by the students.
MIGHT / MIGHT NOT MIGHT / MIGHT NOT
That firm might have offered Katya a new job. Katya might have been offered a new job by that firm.
The students might not have written the paper. The paper might not have been written by the students.