Passive voice for continuous tenses | English Time Ask Elo

Asked by @ Anas Aliyu Dispenser (Community Student)

 Passive voice for continuous tenses | English Time Ask Elo

Answered by @ Elo Kasia

Elo Kasia is the English Mentor for  ” English Grammar and Speaking Academy” ,  Join now.

Passive voice for continuous tenses | English Time ask elo

Question Time: Passive voice for continuous tenses | English Time Ask Elo

  @ Anas Aliyu Dispenser, Thank you for your question.

  As usual, I will try to explain the difference using simple language and plenty of examples.

I have already introduced you to the basics of the passive voice. As I have explained, passive voice is not used very often and active voice is usually preferred. But in some situations, we might need it so it is a good idea to become familiar with this construction.

Remember to use active voice when the agent, the person or thing that performs the action is important.

Remember to use passive voice

• When we focus more on the object (the receiver) of the action
• When do not know who the agent is
• When it is not important who the agent is
• When people in general are the agents
• When we talk about the laws, regulations or the actions of the government

Form of passive voice.

Passive voice is form by using TO BE (in the right tense) + V3 (Past Participle) from of verb.

We have already looked at how passive voice is used in simple tenses, i.e. Present Simple and Past Simple. These are the forms you will need most often, so make sure you know how to use them.

Passive voice for Present and Past Continuous

There aren’t that many situations (apart from grammar tests) when continuous tenses are used in passive voice, but here are some examples. I mean, technically speaking, every sentence with an object can be made into passive, however, many of them would sound unnatural and the usage of passive completely unnecessary (i.e. I’m eating an apple – An apple is being eaten by me. What would be the purpose of this sentence – to focus on the apple?)

Present Continuous

is being/ are being + V3 (Past Participle)

• The PM is announcing new environmental regulations. à New regulations are being announced by the PM.
• The widows are being cleaned as we speak.
• A lot of phone calls are being made to sort out this issue as soon as possible.
• Penguins living in the Antarctic are being threatened by global climate change.
• New orders are being delivered this week.
• Neighbourhood schemes are being rolled out by councils in the coming months.
• A new law is being introduced to combat street crime.
• Are you being served? (waiter in a restaurant)

Past Continuous

Was/ were being + V3 (Past Participle)

Remember that Past Continuous can often be used to ask what somebody was doing at a certain time in the past?

Compare these two questions at the police station:

• Was the suspect dragging you? à Were you being dragged by the suspect?
  You might come across the following in detective fiction:
• Were you being watched?
  I was being followed so I made a couple of quick turns.

Also, if you look at the sentences in Present Continuous passive you can change many of them into Past Continuous form, for example:

The widows were being cleaned when we were having our meeting. We could see the cleaners outside.

New regulations were being announced by the PM, when the protesters stormed into the conference room.

Note that it is only transitive verbs (verbs which require an object) which can have passive forms. Intransitive verbs, like cry, die, arrive, disappear, wait, which often describe physical behaviour, cannot be used in the passive voice.

Elo Kasia is the Community Mentor for ” English Grammar and Speaking Academy“.

Director at Eloquent Learning Online School www.eloquentlearning.com.