When the doer is unknown, not important or obvious: Paper is made from wood. If we want to say who did it, we add by + the doer.

Sentence structure: The passive: be + V3

In the passive, the focus is on what the action affects, not on who does it: The museum was built in 1900. Pattern: be + V3 (the past participle).

Bring the pieces together

In this chapter

When do we use it?
When the doer is unknown, not important or obvious: Paper is made from wood. If we want to say who did it, we add by + the doer.
From active to passive
Active: Ali painted this picture. · Passive: This picture was painted by Ali.
Color-coded examples
Turkish makes the passive with an ending (yap-ıl-ır); English uses be + V3.
Example: Cheese is made from milk.
Example: This bridge was built in 1973.
The passive in different tenses
Present simple: English is spoken in many countries. · Present continuous: The road is being repaired. · Past simple: The letters were sent yesterday. · Present perfect: All the tickets have been sold. · Future (will): The winners will be announced tomorrow. · Modal: This game can be played by two people.
Turkish equivalents
Example: This book was written in 1950.
Example: The game has been postponed.
Tip
Never drop be in the passive; be shows the tense: The cake was eaten. (“The cake eaten” is wrong.) V3 stays the same: is made, was made, will be made.

Position 3 of 9 chapters at B1.