Passive Voice Power at B2: Be + Past Participle, News Style, and Get‑Passives

Ever noticed how news reports say “The law was passed” instead of “Parliament passed the law”? That’s the passive voice—clear, objective, and super useful for English at B2. In this post, you’ll learn how to form the passive across tenses, when to use it (and when not to), the “get-passive,” and how it shows up in headlines, science writing, and professional emails. You’ll practice with quick exercises along the way.

What is the passive voice?

In passive voice, the focus is on the receiver of the action. We form it with be + past participle (V3), and we can add a by-phrase to say who did it.

• Active: The chef prepares the meal.
• Passive: The meal is prepared (by the chef).

We use passive when:

• The agent (doer) is unknown or irrelevant: My bike was stolen.
• We want to sound objective/formal: The policy was revised.
• The receiver is more important than the agent: A vaccine was developed.

Notice how the subject in passive is the thing that receives the action.

How to form the passive across tenses

Use the right form of be + past participle (V3). Here are common patterns:

• Present simple: am/is/are + V3 → The report is checked.
• Present continuous: am/is/are being + V3 → The report is being checked.
• Present perfect: has/have been + V3 → The report has been checked.
• Past simple: was/were + V3 → The report was checked.
• Past continuous: was/were being + V3 → The report was being checked.
• Future: will be + V3 → The report will be checked.
• Modal: can/must/should + be + V3 → The report must be checked.

Remember: The past participle (V3) is the same as the third column: written, built, taken, approved.

The proposal has been by the committee.

The window is being right now.

The contract will be next week.

Agents and the by-phrase

We add a by-phrase when the doer matters:

• The vaccine was developed by a team at Oxford.
• A new bridge was opened by the mayor.

If the agent is obvious or unimportant, leave it out:

• Taxes were raised. (Government is implied)
• The suspect was arrested. (Police is implied)

Passive voice in news, science, and formal writing

Passive is common when writers want to sound neutral, avoid blame, or focus on results.

• News: “The suspect was charged,” “A law was passed.”
• Science: “Samples were analyzed,” “Data were collected.”
• Workplace: “Your request has been approved,” “The error has been fixed.”

Cultural note: English-language media often use passive to avoid naming sources or to keep headlines concise: “Police were called,” “Prices were raised,” “A statement has been issued.” This can soften claims and make reporting more cautious.

The get-passive: more informal, event-focused

We also use get + past participle, especially for changes of state and often for unexpected or negative events:

• He got promoted last month. (Change of status)
• My phone got stolen at the concert. (Unexpected/negative)
• Don’t get stuck on this problem. (Become stuck)

In many cases, be + V3 is more neutral or formal; get + V3 is more colloquial and suggests the event happened (sometimes suddenly). Compare:

• Formal: The document was approved.
• Informal/event: The document got approved.

He got after the interview.

Practice: transform and choose

Test your control of passive forms and usage choices.

Wrap-up and next steps

• Passive highlights the receiver, not the doer.
• Form it with be + past participle across tenses.
• Add a by-phrase only when the agent matters.
• Use passive for objective tone (news, science, workplace).
• Choose get-passive in informal contexts to emphasize events.

Keep listening for passive in headlines, emails, and policy updates. Try rewriting active sentences you hear into passive to practice both form and judgment. You’ve got this—clear, professional English is within reach!