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Can an old railroad become a park? Present perfect and present continuous passive

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches the present perfect passive and the present continuous passive through the Atlanta Beltline, where old railroad lines are becoming trails and parks.

Grammar
Has or have been + past participle for work that is done (Several trails have been opened.) and am, is or are being + past participle for work going on now (New sections are being built.).
Topic
The Atlanta Beltline, from a 1999 student thesis to the sections still under construction, with words such as corridor, loop and neglected.
Activities
Episode notes, a bike ride on the trail and a listener's message, self-checking drills, a chat about a neighborhood notice and open-box questions.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: from tracks to trails

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: changing citiesVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: a student's idea, a city's loop

    • Look at the photo: a trail on an old railroadPictureUnlock
    • Read the episode notesArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: bikes, murals and a scooter

    • Listen to Riley and DariusListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to The Listener's Take: DeweyListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: It's been opened! It's being built!

    • Study the scheme: has been opened, is being builtGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use the present perfect passive (has / have been + -ed)Fill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the gaps: use the present continuous passive (am / is / are being + -ed)Fill in the gapsUnlock
    • Fill in the table: done or happening now?Fill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence is correct?QuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: news for the neighborhood

    • Choose the right replies: a notice about a new trailChatTry it
    • Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: words and meaningsMemory gameUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: done or happening now?Choose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use has / have been or am / is / are being + -edFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the sentence with the same meaningQuizUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: the hosts' answer to DeweyDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: a town updateChoose the optionUnlock

32 exercises in 6 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

  • corridor
  • loop
  • thesis
  • neglected
  • transit
  • cyclist
  • scooter
  • construction
  • section

Grammar: the present perfect and present continuous passive

Two passives describe a city that is changing: has been + past participle for work that is finished and visible now, is being + past participle for work still under way. On an old railroad loop that is half finished and half under construction, learners build both forms for every person, ask questions with them and keep been and being apart.

It has been opened! It's being built!

In the passive, the thing comes first, not the person who does it. has / have been + past participle: it's done. am / is / are being + past participle: it's happening now.

Has been or is being + past participle

The present perfect passive is has or have been + past participle: Several trails have been opened. The present continuous passive is am, is or are being + past participle: New sections are being built. Only the first helper changes with the person.

The forms, for every person

SubjectDone: has / have been + -edHappening now: am / is / are being + -ed
II have been invited.I am being filmed.
youYou have been invited.You are being filmed.
heHe has been invited.He is being filmed.
sheShe has been invited.She is being filmed.
itIt has been opened.It is being built.
weWe have been invited.We are being filmed.
they (the trails)They have been opened.They are being built.

On the Atlanta Beltline

  • The old railroad corridor is being transformed into trails and parks.
  • Several trails have been opened since 2008.
  • Since 2012, the Eastside Trail has been used by walkers, joggers and cyclists.
  • Gravel's thesis has been downloaded so many times!
  • The loop hasn't been finished yet. New sections are being built.
  • Oh no! Darius is being passed by a scooter!

Done, or happening now?

Has been means the work is over and we see the result: This part of the trail has just been paved. Is being means it's still going on: The old corridor is still being transformed. Time words point the way: since, so far, yet, or right now, at the moment.

has / have been + -ed: it's done, and we see the result now

  • Several trails have been opened since 2008.
  • This part of the trail has just been paved.
  • Time words: since, for, so far, just, already, yet, ever, never

am / is / are being + -ed: it's happening now, it isn't finished

  • New sections are being built right now.
  • The old corridor is still being transformed.
  • Time words: now, right now, at the moment, still

Negatives, questions and short answers

Not follows the first helper: The loop hasn't been finished yet. Trains aren't being used on the loop. Questions move has or is to the front: Has the station been reopened? Short answers repeat that helper: Yes, it has. No, it isn't.

FormDone: has / have been + -edHappening now: am / is / are being + -ed
NegativeThe loop hasn't been finished yet.Trains aren't being used on the loop.
Yes / no questionHas the station been reopened?Is a new bridge being built?
Short answersYes, it has. / No, it hasn't.Yes, it is. / No, it isn't.
Wh- questionWhat has been built so far?What is being built right now?

Been or being, opened or open

Been follows has and have; being follows am, is and are, so is been built and has being paved are wrong. Open is also an adjective: The trail has been open since 2012, but the action is Two new trails have been opened by the city.

been or being?

Done: has / have been, never being: The trail has been paved (not: has being paved). Happening now: am / is / are being, never been or be: A bridge is being built (not: is been built, not: is be built). After both, use the past participle: built, paved, planted (not: have been build).

open or opened?

Open is also an adjective: The trail is open. It has been open since 2012 (it's open now). For the action, use the past participle opened: Two new trails have been opened by the city (not: have been open by the city). Reopen has no adjective: The station has been reopened.

Common mistakes

  • A new bridge is been built.

    A new bridge is being built.

    happening now: is being + -ed

  • The trail has being paved.

    The trail has been paved.

    done: has been + -ed

  • Three trails have been build.

    Three trails have been built.

    the past participle, not the base form

  • New parks are building in my city.

    New parks are being built in my city.

    parks don't build: use the passive

Who does it?

A bridge is building is wrong, because a bridge can't build anything: the thing that is built takes the passive. Workers are building a bridge is active. Add by + the doer only when it matters: The trail has been used by walkers and cyclists.

Who does it?

Active: Workers are building a bridge (the workers do it). Passive: A bridge is being built (the bridge doesn't build anything, so not: A bridge is building). Add by + the doer only when it's important: The trail has been used by walkers and cyclists.

More lessons on this grammar: Passive voice lessons and exercises

Try the present perfect passive exercises

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

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 18 auto-checked exercises
  • 5 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • say what has been done, with a result now: Several trails have been opened since 2008. This part of the trail has just been paved.
  • describe work in progress with am, is or are being + past participle: New sections are being built right now.
  • ask and answer questions: Has the station been reopened? Yes, it has. Is a new bridge being built? Yes, it is.
  • choose the tense from time words: since, so far and yet for done, right now and at the moment for happening now
  • keep the passive when the thing can't act: New parks are being built in my city, not New parks are building

Lesson 8 closes Cities of tomorrow, unit 2 of English B1.2 · Changemakers. It takes the passive of lessons 5 to 7 into two more tenses: the present perfect of A2.2 lessons 1 and 2 and the present continuous of A1.2 lessons 7 and 22. Lesson 9 opens the next unit with comparative adverbs. A loop that is partly open and partly under construction makes every sentence choose between done and happening now.

Students spin a wheel of questions about their town, parks and getting around, then learn twelve words, from transform and pave to scooter and section, with pictures and audio. They read the episode notes on Ryan Gravel's 1999 thesis and the trails that grew from it, then hear Riley and Darius ride the Eastside Trail, where Darius loses a race to a scooter, and Dewey, a listener from Georgia, describe changes in his neighborhood, both AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and five self-checking drills, including a table with each verb done and happening now. In the speaking chapter, a neighbor named Katrina texts about a notice for a new trail, and open boxes ask what has changed in the students' own towns.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: four for the words, then a choice between done and happening now, gaps with both forms, word order, a same-meaning quiz, the hosts' answer to Dewey with words to drag in and a town update on a new rail trail with options to choose.

Grammar:
present perfect passive · present continuous passive · has been + past participle · is being + past participle · passive questions and negatives
Topic:
the Atlanta Beltline · Atlanta · Georgia · trails · city parks · railroads · cities of tomorrow · Stories That Travel

Teaching tips

  • Start with a before-and-after: show two pictures of one place, an empty lot and a small park, and ask what has been done. Students answer Trees have been planted. A path has been paved.
  • Ask for a guess before the episode notes: how long does a student's idea take to become a trail? The notes answer: a thesis in 1999, a launch in 2005, the Eastside Trail in 2012 and construction in 2026.
  • Play the bike ride twice: first for the places, from the tunnel with murals to the park's lake, then for the passives. Students sort each one into done or happening now.
  • Turn the scooter race into live commentary: in pairs, one student acts out a race and the other describes it with is being passed and, at the end, has been won, as Darius and Riley do.

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The whole course: English B1.2 · Changemakers

32 lessons for adults at B1 in American English, about people and ideas that changed things: start-ups, future cities, food, memory, customs, art, volunteers and adventure. The podcast team of English B1.1 is back for a season called Changemakers. Learners use the second conditional, the passive, reported speech, the past perfect, relative clauses and verb patterns, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Start-up stories

    the second conditional, If I were you, the first vs the second conditional, also, too, as well and besides

    1. Lesson 1The garage where Silicon Valley beganThe second conditional for imagined situations
    2. Lesson 2Would you sell lemonade to save bees?Second conditional questions and If I were you
    3. Lesson 3Pitch it to the Sharks!First vs second conditional: a real plan or a dream?
    4. Lesson 4A bakery that hires anyone?Adding ideas: also, too, as well, either and besides

  2. Unit 2 Cities of tomorrow

    the passive in the present simple and the past simple, with modals, and in the present perfect and present continuous

    1. Lesson 5Can you cross a city without going outside?The present simple passive
    2. Lesson 6A park on top of a freeway?The past simple passive
    3. Lesson 7Can a desert city catch the rain?The passive with modals
    4. Lesson 8 · you're hereCan an old railroad become a park?The present perfect and present continuous passive

  3. Unit 3 Food for the future

    comparative and superlative adverbs, the future passive, verbs with prepositions, phrasal verbs with up, away and out

    1. Lesson 9Why did Carver tell farmers to plant peanuts?Comparative and superlative adverbs
    2. Lesson 10Lettuce from space?The future passive with will be
    3. Lesson 11Why do corn, beans and squash grow together?Verbs with dependent prepositions
    4. Lesson 12What happens to dining-hall leftovers?Phrasal verbs with up, away and out

  4. Unit 4 Memory and learning

    reported statements with say and tell, tense changes, time and place words, reported questions, requests and commands

    1. Lesson 13Can you train your memory?Reported statements with say and tell
    2. Lesson 14He got better but never rememberedReported statements about the past
    3. Lesson 15Can a TV show teach the alphabet?Reported questions
    4. Lesson 16Can you learn a new skill at 70?Reported requests and commands

  5. Unit 5 Customs and manners

    degree adverbs such as quite and pretty, the past perfect, the past perfect vs the past simple, make vs do

    1. Lesson 17To tip or not to tip?Adverbs of degree before adjectives and adverbs
    2. Lesson 18They'd already started without me!The past perfect: had + past participle
    3. Lesson 19What should you do at a powwow?Past perfect vs past simple
    4. Lesson 20How do you accept a lei?Make vs do: collocations to learn

  6. Unit 6 Art and design

    relative clauses with whose, non-defining relative clauses, relative clauses without a pronoun, when and why

    1. Lesson 21Art that moves in the airRelative clauses with whose
    2. Lesson 22A heart that sells a stateNon-defining relative clauses
    3. Lesson 23What would you paint on a city wall?Relative clauses without who, which or that
    4. Lesson 24Why does the sign say Hollywood?Relative adverbs: when, why and where

  7. Unit 7 Volunteers and changemakers

    verb + -ing or to, -ing as a subject and after prepositions, stop, remember, try and forget, prefer and would rather

    1. Lesson 25A day on, not a day off?Verb + -ing or verb + to
    2. Lesson 26The house that welcomed a neighborhoodGerunds as subjects and after prepositions
    3. Lesson 27A walk that lasted 24 hoursStop, remember, forget and try + to or -ing
    4. Lesson 28Head, heart, hands and healthPrefer, would rather and would prefer

  8. Unit 8 Adventure and challenge

    possessive 's vs of, must and can't for deduction, might, may and could for possibility, the meanings of get

    1. Lesson 29Could you climb a fourteener?Possessive 's, s' or of
    2. Lesson 30It must be here somewhere!Must and can't for deduction
    3. Lesson 31How did Houdini get out?Might, may and could for possibility
    4. Lesson 32A capital with no road inThe meanings of get

Questions about this lesson

What is the present perfect passive?
The present perfect passive is has or have been + the past participle: Several trails have been opened since 2008. The station has been reopened. It describes something done before now, with a result we can see now, and it puts the thing first, not the person who did it. The B1 lesson Can an old railroad become a park? on edio.ai teaches it with the Atlanta Beltline.
How do you form the present perfect passive?
Use has for he, she and it and have for the others, then been, then the past participle, never the base form: It has been paved. They have been planted. For a negative, add not after the helper: The loop hasn't been finished yet. For a question, move the helper to the front: Has the station been reopened? Yes, it has.
What are some examples of the present perfect passive?
From Can an old railroad become a park?: Several trails have been opened since 2008. Since 2012, the Eastside Trail has been used by walkers, joggers and cyclists. Gravel's thesis has been downloaded so many times! The loop hasn't been finished yet. And from a listener's message: Our old train station has been reopened as a café. Each one reports a change that is visible today.
What's the difference between the present perfect passive and the present continuous passive?
Has been + participle is for work that's done; is being + participle is for work still going on. This part of the trail has just been paved: it's finished. New sections are being built right now: they aren't finished. Time words help: since, so far and yet go with the first, right now and at the moment with the second, as a compare block in Can an old railroad become a park? shows.
Is it "has been built" or "has being built"?
It's has been built: been after has, being after is. So The trail has been paved, not has being paved, and A bridge is being built, not is been built or is be built. The verb after both is the past participle: have been built, not have been build. The drills in Can an old railroad become a park? on edio.ai catch all four slips.
What is the Atlanta Beltline?
The Atlanta Beltline is a project turning old railroad lines into trails and parks around the center of Atlanta, Georgia. The Beltline calls its goal a 22-mile loop of trails, parks and future transit that connects 45 neighborhoods. Several trails have been opened since 2008, among them the Eastside Trail in October 2012, and in 2026 new sections are still being built, as Can an old railroad become a park? explains.
How did the Atlanta Beltline start?
It began with a 1999 master's thesis at Georgia Tech. Ryan Gravel, a graduate student in architecture and city planning, described a 22-mile loop of transit and public space on the old rail lines. It wasn't the first plan for them, but it was the first to gain a large following. Gravel, City Council member Cathy Woolard and others formed Friends of the Beltline, and the project was officially launched in December 2005.
How do I teach the present perfect passive to B1 students?
Start from a place that has changed, ideally one the students know: what has been built, opened or painted there? Then add work that is still going on with is being. Can an old railroad become a park? on edio.ai moves from episode notes on the Beltline and a bike ride on its Eastside Trail to the scheme, five self-checking drills and a neighbor's chat about a new trail.
What's a good game for practicing the present perfect passive?
Spot the change works well: show a room or a street, change a few things while students close their eyes, then let them say what has been moved, opened or taken away. The open boxes in Can an old railroad become a park? on edio.ai add live practice, asking what has been built in the student's town and inviting a race commentary with is being passed.
What's good homework for the present perfect passive?
Good homework makes students decide between done and happening now: My school … three times since 2015 needs has been painted, while Shh! A new song … in the next room right now needs is being recorded. All ten homework tasks in Can an old railroad become a park? on edio.ai check themselves, ending with the hosts' answer to Dewey and a town update about a new rail trail.
How do you practice the present perfect passive one-to-one?
Walk through the student's neighborhood in words: what has been opened, reopened or closed, and what is being built right now? The chat in Can an old railroad become a park? on edio.ai needs no partner: a neighbor named Katrina texts about a notice for a new trail, and most wrong replies mix up been and being or use the wrong verb form.
Are there interactive exercises for the present perfect passive?
Yes: a gap-fill and a chat that mark answers instantly. Without an account, this page plays three parts of Can an old railroad become a park?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai: Riley and Darius on the Eastside Trail, a gap-fill of has or have been + past participle and Katrina's chat about the new trail. The word cards and the scheme are on the page; an account opens the rest.
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