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How is a barcode read? The present and past simple passive

The passive voice in the present and past is the grammar of this B1 English for IT lesson plan, built around barcodes and QR payments.

Grammar
The present passive for how things work (The code is scanned.) and the past passive for history (The patent was filed in 1949.), with by + agent.
Topic
Barcodes and QR payment links in the app of a fictional payments startup, with words such as scan, decode, check digit and receipt.
Activities
The barcode's story and a feature doc to read, a call with a product manager, self-checking drills, a chat and a wheel, then a help-page section to write and a recording.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: Scan Me!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock
    • Study the words for barcodes and paymentsVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2The Story: Lines in the Sand

    • Read the story: from the beach to the checkoutArticleUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer about the storyQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3At Work: The QR Feature Doc

    • Read the feature doc: QR payment linksArticleUnlock
    • True or false? Check the feature docTrue or falseUnlock
    • Choose the active or the passive formChoose the optionUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Listen: Explain It to Sales

    • Listen to Iryna explain the QR links to DanielListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer about the callQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Grammar: It Is Scanned, It Was Invented

    • Study the scheme: the present and past passiveGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct passive formChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the table: irregular past participlesFill in the tableTry it
    • Fill in the gaps: rewrite in the passiveFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: how a refund worksFill in the gapsUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Speak Up: How Is It Done?

    • Choose the best replies: Felix asks about QR paymentsChatTry it
    • Spin the wheel: how is it done?Spin the wheelUnlock

  7. Chapter 7Homework: How It Works at Your Work

    • Read your phrase bankReal-life documentTry it
    • Choose the true sentence with the correct passiveQuizUnlock
    • Match the words with their meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Write a “How it works” section for your teamWriting, checked by the teacherUnlock
    • Record how a tool you use worksSpeaking, checked by the teacherUnlock

24 exercises in 7 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • a laser
  • a patent
  • a payment link
  • a checkout
  • a receipt
  • scan
  • decode
  • generate
  • invent

Grammar: the present and past simple passive

The passive puts the thing first and the doer later, or nowhere: The code is scanned. That suits the explanation of a system, where what happens usually matters more than who does it. Learners use is and are for how things work now and was and were for history, from a beach in Florida to a payment app.

The passive: how it works and how it started

Use is / are + past participle for how things work now, and was / were + past participle for history.

Be + past participle

The form is be + past participle, and be carries the time and the number: The code is scanned. Card numbers are never stored on the phone. The laser was invented in 1960. Negatives add not, and questions put be before the subject: How is a barcode read?

Present and past passive

UseFormExample
How it works now: one thingis + past participleThe code is scanned.
How it works now: two or moreare + past participleCard numbers are never stored on the phone.
History: one thingwas + past participleThe laser was invented in 1960.
History: two or morewere + past participleDots and dashes were drawn in the sand.
Negativeisn't / aren't / wasn't / weren't + past participleThe card number isn't stored in the app.
Question(How / Where) is / are / was / were + thing + past participle?How is a barcode read?

From today's texts

  • The patent was filed in 1949 and granted in 1952.
  • A pack of chewing gum was scanned.
  • The bars are decoded into digits.
  • The check digit is calculated from the other 11.
  • The card details are sent straight to Kestrel Pay.

By + agent, only when it matters

Add by and the doer when it tells the listener something new: The code is read by the phone's camera. The bars were designed by George Laurer. When everyone knows who does it, or nobody cares, leave it out.

thingis / are / was / werepast participle(by + who or what)

The code is read by the phone's camera.

The bars were designed by George Laurer.

Active or passive?

When a person acts, the active is often clearer: The customer scans the code. When the system does the work, the passive keeps the focus on the action: A payment link is created on the server. The payment is confirmed in a few seconds.

Active or passive?

Active: who does it matters

  • The merchant types the amount.
  • The customer scans the code.

Passive: what happens matters more

  • A payment link is created on the server.
  • The payment is confirmed in a few seconds.

When to use the passive

Use the passive when the action matters more than who does it, or when everyone knows who does it: A payment link is created on the server. Add by + agent only when it tells us something useful: The code is read by the normal phone camera. When a person does the action, the active is often clearer: The merchant types the amount.

Past participles: regular and irregular

Regular verbs add -ed: scanned, filed, invented. Many irregular verbs have a third form of their own: drew, drawn; wrote, written; took, taken. Others repeat the past simple, like built, sent and read, never readed.

VerbPast simplePast participle
scan, file, invent (regular)scanned, filed, inventedscanned, filed, invented
readreadread
makemademade
buildbuiltbuilt
sendsentsent
findfoundfound
drawdrewdrawn
showshowedshown
writewrotewritten
givegavegiven
choosechosechosen
taketooktaken

Typical mistakes

  • The code is scan by the camera.

    The code is scanned by the camera.

    be + past participle, not the base verb

  • The laser was invent in 1960.

    The laser was invented in 1960.

    regular verbs: past participle with -ed

  • The digits was printed under the bars.

    The digits were printed under the bars.

    two or more: are / were

  • The first UPC barcode scanned in 1974.

    The first UPC barcode was scanned in 1974.

    don't forget is / are / was / were

More lessons on this grammar: Passive voice lessons and exercises

Try the present and past passive exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 12 auto-checked exercises
  • 2 games
  • 2 teacher-checked tasks
  • 1 real-life document
  • 2 articles
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 1 audio clip
  • 1 picture
  • 1 transcript

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • describe how a system works with the present passive: A payment link is created on the server.
  • tell the history of an invention with the past passive: The patent was filed in 1949 and granted in 1952.
  • add by + agent only when it tells the listener something: The code is read by the normal phone camera.
  • explain a payment feature to a non-technical colleague or a merchant in clear, short steps

Lesson 14 is the middle lesson of unit 5 of English for IT B1 · Inside the Team, How it works, where learners explain systems step by step. It follows the time clauses of lesson 13 and reuses the past participles of the present perfect from lessons 2 and 5; lesson 15 adds relative clauses and the unit's diagram task. In documentation, the steps matter more than who runs them, so the passive puts them first.

Open boxes of questions and twelve word cards with pictures and audio, from a barcode to decode, start the lesson. The story runs from dots and dashes in the sand to the first UPC barcode scanned at a store checkout, in 1974, and shows how a scanner reads it. At work, Iryna's feature doc describes QR payment links for Kestrel Cloud, a fictional payments startup, and in an AI-voiced call she explains them to a product manager.

Four self-checking drills follow the scheme: passive forms to choose, a table of irregular past participles, sentences to rewrite and a support note on refunds. In the chat, students answer a bakery owner's questions about QR payments; a wheel asks how things are done, from a password reset to a backup.

Homework begins with the phrase bank, then a quiz and a word match that check themselves. Students then write a How it works section for their team's wiki or help page and record how a tool they use works; the teacher reviews both.

Grammar:
present passive · past passive
Topic:
barcodes · explaining how systems work · payments

Teaching tips

  • Bring in a few packaged products and ask how each barcode is read at the checkout: the natural answers are passive, such as It's scanned, and the bars are decoded.
  • Collect the participles from the call on the board as students hear them: created, generated, read, opened, stored, sent, confirmed, scanned.
  • In an in-company class, rewrite a real process: learners turn three steps from a team document into the passive and say which doer they left out, and why.
  • One-to-one, play a salesperson: ask How does it work? about a feature the learner knows, then Where is the data stored? and Who is it checked by?

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The whole course: English for IT B1 · Inside the Team

24 lessons at B1 for people who build, test or run software, in American English. Learners follow Iryna, a junior developer, through her first year at Kestrel Cloud, a fictional payments startup: standups, tickets, code review, chats across time zones and job interviews. Each lesson is built around a true story from software history.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Hello, team

    roles, stacks and first days: the present simple, the present perfect with for and since, question forms

    1. Lesson 1How big is a two-pizza team?Present simple for jobs and responsibilities
    2. Lesson 2Your first "Hello, World"Present perfect with for and since
    3. Lesson 3Write your personal READMEQuestion forms for getting to know colleagues

  2. Unit 2 The daily standup

    updates and blockers: the present simple and continuous, just, already and yet, have to and need to

    1. Lesson 4Why is it called a scrum?Present simple vs continuous and state verbs
    2. Lesson 5Done, not done yetPast simple, present perfect and going to for updates
    3. Lesson 6Help, I'm blocked!Have to, need to, don't have to and can't

  3. Unit 3 Bugs and tickets

    clear bug reports: the past continuous, imperatives and the zero conditional, quantifiers

    1. Lesson 7The first actual bugPast simple and past continuous for bug stories
    2. Lesson 8Steps to reproduceImperatives and the zero conditional for bug reports
    3. Lesson 9The email that couldn't go 500 milesQuantifiers in bug tickets

  4. Unit 4 Code review

    kind, useful comments: -ed and -ing adjectives, modals for suggestions, the first conditional

    1. Lesson 10What's a nit?-ed and -ing adjectives in review comments
    2. Lesson 11Could we maybe…?Modals for suggestions in code review
    3. Lesson 12Your first pull requestThe first conditional and unless in code review

  5. Unit 5 How it works

    explaining systems step by step: time clauses, the passive, relative clauses

    1. Lesson 13What happens when you type a URL?Time clauses with as soon as, until and once
    2. Lesson 14 · you're hereHow is a barcode read?The present and past simple passive
    3. Lesson 15Draw it, then say itDefining relative clauses

  6. Unit 6 Remote and async

    chat, email and time zones: polite requests, future forms, the present perfect continuous

    1. Lesson 16Just say what you needPolite requests and indirect questions
    2. Lesson 17Your 9 a.m. is my noonFuture forms for plans across time zones
    3. Lesson 18Write it downPresent perfect continuous for status updates

  7. Unit 7 Users and clients

    user stories and plain explanations: verb + to or -ing, reported speech, comparisons

    1. Lesson 19As a user, I want…Verb + to or verb + -ing
    2. Lesson 20"The client said it was broken"Reported speech for client calls
    3. Lesson 21Explain it in ten hundred wordsComparisons for plain explanations

  8. Unit 8 Your next job

    resumes and interviews: used to, the past perfect, the second conditional

    1. Lesson 22A resume that shows resultsUsed to for your career path
    2. Lesson 23Tell me about a time when…The past perfect for STAR stories
    3. Lesson 24What would you do if…?The second conditional for interviews

Questions about this lesson

What is the passive voice?
The passive voice puts the thing that receives the action first, with be + past participle: The code is scanned. The doer comes after by, or not at all. Compare the active The customer's camera reads the code with the passive The code is read by the customer's camera. It's common in documentation, where the action matters more than the doer: A payment link is created on the server.
What are some examples of the passive voice?
Common examples describe how something works or how it began: A receipt is sent by email. Card numbers are never stored on the phone. The laser was invented in 1960. The first UPC barcode was scanned in 1974. The first two are present, for what happens every time; the last two are past, for history. All four come from How is a barcode read?, a B1 English for IT lesson on edio.ai.
How do you form the present simple passive?
Form it with am, is or are + past participle: The code is scanned. The bars are decoded into digits. Use is for one thing and are for two or more. For the negative, add not: The card number isn't stored in the app. For a question, put is or are before the subject: How is a barcode read? Where are the card numbers stored?
How do you form the past simple passive?
Form it with was or were + past participle: The patent was filed in 1949. Dots and dashes were drawn in the sand. Was goes with one thing and were with two or more, so The digits was printed is wrong. Don't drop be either: The first UPC barcode scanned in 1974 needs was. Both mistakes are in the scheme of How is a barcode read? on edio.ai.
When do you use the present passive?
Use the present passive to describe a process or how a system works, when what happens matters more than who does it: A payment link is created on our server. Each link is given its own ID. The card details are sent straight to the payment system. It's common in feature docs, wikis and help pages. Join the steps with First, Then, After that and Finally.
When do you use the past passive?
Use the past passive for history: what was done, invented or decided: The patent was filed in 1949 and granted in 1952. The laser was invented in 1960. It suits product history too: Payment links were added in the first beta. The QR option was requested by beta merchants. Add by + agent when the doer is news: The UPC bars were designed by George Laurer.
Is it "the code is scanned" or "the code is scan"?
It's the code is scanned, with the past participle: after is, are, was or were, the verb never stays in its base form. Regular verbs add -ed (was invented, not was invent), and irregular ones take their own third form: The code is read, never readed. A chat in How is a barcode read?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, hides is generate, readed and is show among its wrong replies.
Do you always need "by" in a passive sentence?
No, add by + agent only when it's useful: The code is read by the normal phone camera tells a merchant something new, since customers need no special app. When everyone knows who does it, or nobody cares, leave it out: A receipt is sent after every payment. And when the doer is the point, use the active: The merchant types the amount.
How do you explain how a barcode works in English?
Explain it in short steps in the present passive, since the scanner does the work: A laser beam is sent across the bars. Dark bars absorb the light, and white spaces reflect it back to a sensor. Then the bars are decoded into digits. Add the check digit: The last digit is calculated from the other 11 to catch scanning or typing mistakes.
How do I teach the passive voice to B1 adults?
Teach it as the voice of how things work: take a process your learners know, such as paying with a QR code, and ask what happens at each step. The natural answers are passive: A code is generated. The link is opened. A receipt is sent. Then add history with was and were, practice the irregular participles in a table, and only then compare it with the active.
What's good homework for practicing the passive voice?
Good homework has learners document a process from their own work: First, the bug is reported in the tracker. Then the fix is written and reviewed. In the B1 English for IT lesson How is a barcode read? on edio.ai, a passive quiz and a word match check themselves; then students write a How it works section and record how a tool works, for the teacher to review.
Are there interactive exercises for the present and past passive?
Yes: self-checking tables and chat role-plays make learners produce the right form. Without an account, this page plays four parts of How is a barcode read?, a B1 English for IT lesson on edio.ai: a call that explains QR payment links to a product manager, a table of irregular past participles, a chat answering a bakery owner's questions, and the phrase bank. The rest is locked.
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