UHCL Writing Center
“To Be” Verbs
and
Passive Voice
UHCL Writing CenterUHCL Writing Center
What is a “to be” verb?
•A verb that is used in a number of ways in the English
language, including linking, passive construction, and
auxiliary
•Has many forms, including is, am, are, was, were, be,
being, and been
UHCL Writing CenterUHCL Writing Center
How are they used?
•Present Tense:
• I am/we are
• You are
• He, she, it is/they are
•Past Tense:
• I was/we were
• You were
• He, she, it was/they were
UHCL Writing CenterUHCL Writing Center
How are they used? (cont.)
•Perfect form:
• I, you, they, we have been
•Progressive form:
• I am being, they are being, etc.
UHCL Writing CenterUHCL Writing Center
Linking Verbs
•“To be” verbs are used as linking verbs to describe the
role or description of the subject. They are called this
because they link the subject and the subject
complement.
• Examples:
The cat is black.
• They are late to the party.
• He was not very happy.
• Driving a car is faster than walking.
UHCL Writing CenterUHCL Writing Center
Now you try!
•Create a sentence that describes something with a
linking verb.
UHCL Writing CenterUHCL Writing Center
Auxiliary verbs
•Used with progressive and progressive perfect tenses
• Present progressive: The dog is barking.
• Past progressive: The dog was barking.
• Future progressive: The dog will be barking.
• Present perfect progressive: The dog has been barking for
five minutes.
• Past perfect progressive: The dog had been barking when I
got home.
• Future perfect progressive: The dog will have been barking
for 20 minutes by the time I finish this workshop!
UHCL Writing CenterUHCL Writing Center
For more information…
•See the PowerPoint on Verb Tenses on the Writing
Center website.
UHCL Writing CenterUHCL Writing Center
Now you try!
•Create a sentence with a progressive tense and an
auxiliary verb.
UHCL Writing CenterUHCL Writing Center
Passive Voice
•Passive voice occurs with the emphasis is placed on the
object of the action rather than the subject.
• Example:
• Active voice: The boy threw the ball.
• Passive voice: The ball was thrown.
UHCL Writing CenterUHCL Writing Center
Why use passive voice?
• The actor is unknown:
• The cave paintings of Lascaux were made in the Upper Old
Stone Age. [We don't know who made them.]
• The actor is irrelevant:
• An experimental solar power plant will be built in the Australian
desert. [We are not interested in who is building it.]
• You want to be vague about who is responsible:
• Mistakes were made. [Common in bureaucratic writing!]
UHCL Writing CenterUHCL Writing Center
Why use passive voice? (cont.)
• You are talking about a general truth:
• Rules are made to be broken. [By whomever, whenever.]
• You want to emphasize the person or thing acted on. For example, it
may be your main topic:
• Insulin was first discovered in 1921 by researchers at the
University of Toronto. It is still the only treatment available for
diabetes.
• You are writing in a scientific genre that traditionally relies on passive
voice. Passive voice is often preferred in lab reports and scientific
research papers, most notably in the Materials and Methods section:
• The sodium hydroxide was dissolved in water. This solution was
then titrated with hydrochloric acid. (Corson, Tim and Rebecca
Smollett)
UHCL Writing CenterUHCL Writing Center
“To Be” verbs used
with passive voice
•When using to be verbs with passive voice, they are used
similarly to linking and auxiliary verbs.
•Passive sentences are constructed as follows:
• [thing receiving action] + [to be verb] + [past participle of
verb]+[by] + [thing doing action] (“Active/Passive Verb Forms”).
UHCL Writing CenterUHCL Writing Center
Examples
•Present progressive tense: “The sweater is being knit by
the girl.”
•Simple past: “The sweater was knit by the girl.”
•Simple past, plural: “The pies were made by different
people.”
UHCL Writing CenterUHCL Writing Center
Now you try!
•Create a sentence in the passive voice.
UHCL Writing CenterUHCL Writing Center
Works Cited
Corson, Tim and Rebecca Smollett. “Passive Voice:
When To Use It and When To Avoid It." University
College Writing Centre. University of Toronto, n.d.
Web. 12 Nov, 2014.
“Active/Passive Verb Forms.” Englishpage.com.
Language Dynamics, n.d. Web. 12 Nov, 2014.
