Part 2 — Tense-by-Tense Passive Formulas — English

The tense rule

The tense remains the same when voice changes.

Only the structure changes.

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Choose the correct form of be for the original tense.

Then change the main verb to V3.

1. Present simple

Active formula

Subject + V1(s/es) + object

Passive formula

Object + am/is/are + V3

Example

Active

She writes a letter.

Passive

A letter is written by her.

Plural example

Active

She writes letters.

Passive

Letters are written by her.

2. Present continuous

Active formula

Subject + am/is/are + V-ing + object

Passive formula

Object + am/is/are + being + V3

Example

Active

She is writing a letter.

Passive

A letter is being written by her.

Another example

Active

They are repairing the roads.

Passive

The roads are being repaired by them.

Memory

Continuous passive always contains being.

3. Present perfect

Active formula

Subject + has/have + V3 + object

Passive formula

Object + has/have + been + V3

Example

Active

She has written a letter.

Passive

A letter has been written by her.

Plural example

Active

They have completed the projects.

Passive

The projects have been completed by them.

Memory

Perfect passive always contains been.

4. Present perfect continuous

Active

She has been writing a letter for an hour.

A theoretical passive is possible:

A letter has been being written for an hour.

However, this form is extremely awkward and is normally avoided.

Better expression

Work on the letter has continued for an hour.

MPT advice

If an option contains the heavy structure has/have been being + V3, inspect it carefully. Traditional examination grammar commonly treats present perfect continuous passive as not normally used.

5. Simple past

Active formula

Subject + V2 + object

Passive formula

Object + was/were + V3

Example

Active

She wrote a letter.

Passive

A letter was written by her.

Plural example

Active

The police arrested the thieves.

Passive

The thieves were arrested by the police.

6. Past continuous

Active formula

Subject + was/were + V-ing + object

Passive formula

Object + was/were + being + V3

Example

Active

She was writing a letter.

Passive

A letter was being written by her.

Another example

Active

They were questioning the suspects.

Passive

The suspects were being questioned by them.

7. Past perfect

Active formula

Subject + had + V3 + object

Passive formula

Object + had been + V3

Example

Active

She had written the letter.

Passive

The letter had been written by her.

Another example

Active

They had completed the work.

Passive

The work had been completed by them.

8. Past perfect continuous

Active

She had been writing the report for two hours.

The theoretical passive:

The report had been being written for two hours.

This is grammatical in a technical sense but extremely awkward and normally avoided.

MPT advice

Traditional grammar questions usually mark this tense as having no normal passive form.

9. Future simple

Active formula

Subject + will + V1 + object

Passive formula

Object + will be + V3

Example

Active

She will write the letter.

Passive

The letter will be written by her.

Another example

Active

The committee will announce the result.

Passive

The result will be announced by the committee.

10. “Going to” future

Active formula

Subject + am/is/are going to + V1 + object

Passive formula

Object + am/is/are going to be + V3

Example

Active

They are going to build a hospital.

Passive

A hospital is going to be built by them.

11. Future continuous

Active

She will be writing the report.

A passive form such as:

The report will be being written.

is possible but awkward and rarely used.

MPT advice

Traditional examination grammar normally avoids future continuous passive.

12. Future perfect

Active formula

Subject + will have + V3 + object

Passive formula

Object + will have been + V3

Example

Active

They will have completed the project by June.

Passive

The project will have been completed by June.

Common modals:

can, could, may, might, must, should, ought to, will, would

Active formula

Subject + modal + V1 + object

Passive formula

Object + modal + be + V3

Examples

Active

You must obey the rules.

Passive

The rules must be obeyed.

Active

She can solve the problem.

Passive

The problem can be solved by her.

Active

They should complete the work.

Passive

The work should be completed by them.

14. Perfect modals

Active formula

Subject + modal + have + V3 + object

Passive formula

Object + modal + have been + V3

Example

Active

She should have submitted the assignment.

Passive

The assignment should have been submitted by her.

Another example

Active

They might have cancelled the meeting.

Passive

The meeting might have been cancelled by them.

15. Fast tense memory

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Simple

is/are + V3

was/were + V3

will be + V3

Continuous

is/are being + V3

was/were being + V3

Perfect

has/have been + V3

had been + V3

will have been + V3

Modal

modal + be + V3

modal + have been + V3

Common MPT errors

Wrong V2 after “be”

The window was broke. ❌

The window was broken. ✅

Missing “being” in continuous tense

The road is repaired now.

This usually means a present-simple state or routine.

The road is being repaired now. ✅

This shows an action in progress.

Missing “been” in perfect tense

The work has completed. ❌

The work has been completed. ✅

Wrong agreement

The letters was written. ❌

The letters were written. ✅

Complete tense conversion table

Use this table for fast revision after reading the detailed explanations.

Tense	Active sentence	Passive sentence	Passive formula and explanation
Present simple	She writes a letter.	A letter is written by her.	am/is/are + V3. Use for habits, routines and general facts.
Present continuous	She is writing a letter.	A letter is being written by her.	am/is/are being + V3. Being shows an action in progress.
Present perfect	She has written a letter.	A letter has been written by her.	has/have been + V3. Been is required in the perfect passive.
Present perfect continuous	She has been writing a letter.	A letter has been being written by her.	Theoretical but extremely awkward; normally avoided in MPT usage.
Simple past	She wrote a letter.	A letter was written by her.	was/were + V3. Do not use V2 after was/were.
Past continuous	She was writing a letter.	A letter was being written by her.	was/were being + V3. Preserve the continuing past action.
Past perfect	She had written the letter.	The letter had been written by her.	had been + V3. The earlier past action remains past perfect.
Past perfect continuous	She had been writing the report.	The report had been being written by her.	Theoretical but normally avoided because it is very awkward.
Future simple	She will write the letter.	The letter will be written by her.	will be + V3.
Going-to future	They are going to build a hospital.	A hospital is going to be built by them.	am/is/are going to be + V3.
Future continuous	She will be writing the report.	The report will be being written by her.	Possible but awkward and normally avoided in examination conversion.
Future perfect	They will have completed the project.	The project will have been completed by them.	will have been + V3.
Modal	She can solve the problem.	The problem can be solved by her.	modal + be + V3.
Perfect modal	She should have submitted the form.	The form should have been submitted by her.	modal + have been + V3.

How to use the table

First locate the tense in the active sentence.

Then copy the passive formula from the final column.

Finally, adjust is/are, was/were, or has/have according to the new subject.

Example

Active:

The workers are repairing the roads.

The tense is present continuous.

The new subject is plural roads.

Use:

are being + V3

Passive:

The roads are being repaired by the workers.