Passive in other tenses: what's being done? Passive exercises: has been, is being, will be
About this lesson
This B1 drill lesson gives passive tense exercises past the simple tenses: present perfect, present and past continuous, future and modal verbs, with been, being or be before the participle.
- Grammar
- Has / have been, is / are being, was / were being, will be, going to be and modal + be with the past participle; negatives, questions and short answers.
- Topic
- An invented natural history museum in Boise getting ready to reopen: news about its dinosaur, a staff blog post, a notice for visitors, a volunteer email and a chat with Odalys.
- Activities
- True or false, sorting, choices, gap-fills, tables, matching, word order, drag-and-drop, quizzes, a memory game and a chat.
What's inside
Chapter 1The rule
- PictureUnlock
- Study the scheme: the passive in other tensesGrammar schemeTry it
- Is the sentence correct? Mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
- Sort the sentences: which form of the passive?Sort into columnsTry it
- Choose the right form of the passiveChoose the optionUnlock
- Write the missing form of beFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 2Has it been done?
- Fill in the gaps: has / have been + past participleFill in the gapsTry it
- Fill in the table: active to passiveFill in the tableUnlock
- Choose the right form: active or passive?Choose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: negatives and questions in the present perfectFill in the gapsUnlock
- Match the questions and the answersMatchUnlock
- Put the words in order to make questionsUnjumbleUnlock
- Read the message from the garage and fill in the gaps: present perfect passiveFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 3It's being done right now
- Fill in the gaps: am / is / are being + past participleFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the right form: what's happening now?Choose the optionTry it
- Read about the restaurant and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: was / were being + past participleFill in the gapsUnlock
- Fill in the table: positive, negative, questionFill in the tableUnlock
- Put the words in the right orderUnjumbleUnlock
- Find the mistake and choose the right wordsQuizUnlock
Chapter 4It will be done
- Fill in the gaps: will be + past participleFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the right form: signs and rulesChoose the optionUnlock
- Match the beginnings and the endingsMatchTry it
- Fill in the gaps: modal verbs in the passiveFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the right tense of the passiveChoose the optionUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: future and modal verbsUnjumbleUnlock
- Read the notice for parents and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
Chapter 5Real life: The dinosaur is coming home
- Read the news about the museumReal-life documentUnlock
- Read the news again: true or false?True or falseUnlock
- Read Saoirse's blog post and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read the notice for visitors and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Read Emrys's email and choose the right wordsChoose the optionUnlock
- Choose the right replies: Odalys texts youChatTry it
- Test yourself: choose the right answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 6Homework
- Choose the right form of be: a busy SaturdayChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps with the present perfect passive: good newsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Fill in the gaps with the continuous passive: around townFill in the gapsUnlock
- Fill in the gaps with will be or a modal verb: at the swimming poolFill in the gapsUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: active and passive in other tensesMemory gameUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: questions and sentencesUnjumbleUnlock
- Sort the sentences: which tense is the passive in?Sort into columnsUnlock
- Fill in the table: + − ? in different tensesFill in the tableUnlock
- Match the questions and the short answersMatchUnlock
- Find the mistake in each sentenceQuizUnlock
- Choose the right tense of the passive: in the newsChoose the optionUnlock
- Read the order update and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Read the notice from the building manager and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read Imelda's email and fill in the gapsFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the correct sentenceQuizUnlock
Grammar: the passive in more tenses
In every tense the passive is be + past participle, and the form of be carries the tense: has been, is being, was being, will be, must be. The participle itself never changes: The hall has been cleaned, is being cleaned, will be cleaned.
The passive in other tenses: what's being done?
The form of be shows the tense, and the past participle stays the same: has been / is being / was being / will be / must be + past participle.
Active to passive, tense by tense
Keep the tense of the active verb and give it to be: They are cleaning the hall → The hall is being cleaned. They must clean the hall → The hall must be cleaned.
be (in the right tense) + past participle
subjectbe in the right tensepast participle
The roof has been repaired.
The bones are being cleaned.
The museum will be reopened in May.
Active → passive in every tense
| Tense | Form | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|---|
| present simple | am / is / are + past participle | They clean the hall every day. | The hall is cleaned every day. |
| past simple | was / were + past participle | They cleaned the hall yesterday. | The hall was cleaned yesterday. |
| present perfect | have / has been + past participle | They have cleaned the hall. | The hall has been cleaned. |
| present continuous | am / is / are being + past participle | They are cleaning the hall. | The hall is being cleaned. |
| past continuous | was / were being + past participle | They were cleaning the hall. | The hall was being cleaned. |
| future: will | will be + past participle | They will clean the hall. | The hall will be cleaned. |
| future: going to | am / is / are going to be + past participle | They are going to clean the hall. | The hall is going to be cleaned. |
| modal verbs | can / must / should… + be + past participle | They must clean the hall. | The hall must be cleaned. |
Been, being or be?
Been comes after have or has: has been fixed. Being comes after a form of be: is being fixed, were being fixed. Be comes after will, going to and modal verbs: will be fixed, must be fixed.
been, being or be?
been comes after have / has: has been fixed. being comes after am / is / are / was / were: is being fixed, were being fixed. be comes after will, going to and modal verbs: will be fixed, is going to be fixed, must be fixed. (Not: is been fixed, has being fixed, will been fixed, must being fixed.)
Which form when?
Has been shows a result now (already, yet, so far); is being, work in progress now; was being, work in progress at a past moment; will be, the future; a modal + be, rules, advice and what's possible.
- has / have been + p.p.: a result now · already, just, yet, ever, never, so far, since, for
- am / is / are being + p.p.: happening now or around now · now, right now, at the moment, this week, still
- was / were being + p.p.: in progress at a moment in the past · when…, while…, at 8 p.m. yesterday
- will be / am / is / are going to be + p.p.: the future · tomorrow, next week, in May, soon
- modal verb + be + p.p.: rules, advice, what is possible · must, have to, should, can, may, might
Negatives, questions and short answers
The first helping verb takes not or moves to the front: The tickets haven't been sold. Is the room being used? Short answers repeat only that first word: Yes, they have. No, it won't.
| Tense | Negative (−) | Question (?) | Short answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| present perfect | The tickets haven't been sold. | Have the tickets been sold? | Yes, they have. · No, they haven't. |
| present continuous | The room isn't being used. | Is the room being used? | Yes, it is. · No, it isn't. |
| past continuous | We weren't being watched. | Were we being watched? | Yes, you were. · No, you weren't. |
| future | The work won't be finished. | Will the work be finished? | Yes, it will. · No, it won't. |
| modal verbs | This box can't be moved. | Can this box be moved? | Yes, it can. · No, it can't. |
Common mistakes
Watch for The bridge has being repaired, The street is cleaning now (the street cleans nothing), will opened and must paid. Each one leaves out be or uses the wrong form of it.
The bridge has being repaired.
The bridge has been repaired.
have / has + been
The street is cleaning now.
The street is being cleaned now.
the street doesn't clean anything: use the passive
The pool will opened in June.
The pool will be opened in June.
will + be + past participle
The bill must paid by Friday.
The bill must be paid by Friday.
modal verb + be + past participle
Examples
- My phone has been fixed, so it works again.present perfect: the result is here now
- Has the mail been delivered? Yes, it has.question and short answer
- Quiet, please! The concert is being recorded.present continuous: happening now
- When we arrived, dinner was being served.past continuous: in progress at a past moment
- The cake will be cut by the bride and groom.future, with by + who does it
- Lost keys can be picked up at the front desk.modal verb + be + past participle
Why the passive?
Use the passive when the action or the thing is more important than the person who does it, or when you don't know who does it. Add by + the person only when it's important: The race will be started by a famous runner.
More lessons on this grammar: Passive voice lessons and exercises
Try the passive tense exercises
Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.
What's in the lesson
- 41 auto-checked exercises
- 5 games
- 1 real-life document
- 1 grammar scheme
- 1 picture
The main objectives of this lesson are to:
- say what has been done: The roof has been repaired. Has the rent been paid? – Yes, it has.
- describe work in progress with being: The bones are being cleaned. While our car was being repaired, we took the bus.
- talk about the future and rules: The museum will be reopened in May. Tickets must be booked online.
- pick been, being or be: has been repaired, not has being repaired; must be paid, not must paid
- keep the passive when the subject does nothing: The street is being cleaned now, not The street is cleaning now
- Grammar:
- passive voice · present perfect passive · present and past continuous passive · future passive · modal verbs in the passive
- Topic:
- grammar practice · museums · renovation · news · rules and notices
Teaching tips
- Report on a room in progress: half-tidy the classroom, then let students say what has been done, what is being done right now and what will be done before the bell.
- Write a notice for your own classroom: groups draft rules like the museum's with modal passives (Phones must be kept in bags), then the class votes on which ones to keep.
- Hold up been, being and be cards: read a sentence with a gap (The pool is ___ cleaned right now) and students raise the right card before anyone says it aloud.
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The whole course: English Grammar Practice · B1
English Grammar Practice · B1 has 28 drill lessons, one grammar point each: the present perfect continuous, narrative tenses, future forms, modals of deduction, the second conditional, the passive, relative clauses, reported speech, question tags and linkers. Each has the rule as a scheme, 43 to 47 exercises that check themselves, 15 of them for homework, and no new words.See the course
- 1Present perfect continuous: how long have you been doing it?
- 2Present perfect simple or continuous: how many or how long?
- 3Past perfect: what had happened before?
- 4Narrative tenses: telling a great story
- 5Future forms: plans, promises and timetables
- 6Future time clauses: I'll call you when I land
- 7Used to, be used to, get used to: settling in
- 8Modal verbs: can, must, should or might?
- 9Could, was able to, managed to: did you make it?
- 10Modals of deduction: whose bag could it be?
- 11Second conditional: what would you do?
- 12Conditionals compared: real or imagined?
- 13Present and past passive: how is it made?
- 14Passive in other tenses: what's being done?
- 15Relative clauses: the person who, the place where
- 16Reported statements: who said what?
- 17Reported questions and commands: what did they ask you?
- 18Indirect questions: could you tell me where it is?
- 19Question tags: it's your first day, isn't it?
- 20Gerunds and infinitives: enjoy doing or decide to do?
- 21Reflexive pronouns: did you make it yourself?
- 22Although, however, despite: great view, tiny room
- 23So, such and because of: what a storm!
- 24Phrasal verbs: who's going to clean it up?
- 25All, both, either, neither, none: two or a whole group?
- 26-ed and -ing adjectives: bored or boring?
- 27Advanced comparatives: the more, the better
- 28Articles with place names: the Nile, but Lake Como