Passive Voice and Reported Speech in English

Introduction to the Passive Voice

In English, the passive voice is used to emphasize the action itself or the receiver of the action, rather than the one performing it.

To form a sentence in the passive voice, use:
be (conjugated) + past participle of the main verb.

Example:

Active: My father builds a wall. → Passive: A wall is built by my father.

Notice that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject in the passive, and the original subject becomes the agent, introduced with by.

General structure:
Subject + be + past participle (+ by + agent)

💡 Key points to remember

Use the passive voice when the actor is unknown, unimportant, or implied.
The verb be is conjugated in the same tense as in the active sentence.

The Passive Voice in the Present Simple

When an active sentence is in the present simple, the passive is formed with:
am / is / are + past participle of the main verb.

Structure:
Object + am/is/are + past participle + by + subject

Examples:

Active: They tell a story.
Passive: A story is told by them.
Active: Rebecca calls Malika.
Passive: Malika is called by Rebecca.

📝 Exercise – Turn these into the passive voice:

1. John cleans the room.
2. They eat apples.
3. The teacher explains the lesson.

✅ Answers

1. The room is cleaned by John.
2. Apples are eaten by them.
3. The lesson is explained by the teacher.

The Passive Voice in the Present Continuous

When the active sentence is in the present continuous, the passive voice is formed with:
am / is / are + being + past participle of the main verb.

Structure:
Object + am/is/are + being + past participle + by + subject

Examples:

Active: They are telling a new story.
→ This means they are in the process of sharing a new story.
Passive: A new story is being told by them.
→ This means the story is currently being shared by them.
Active: Rebecca is calling Malika.
→ This means Rebecca is in the process of making a phone call to Malika.
Passive: Malika is being called by Rebecca.
→ This means Malika is receiving a phone call from Rebecca right now.

📝 Exercise – Turn these into the passive voice:

1. They are writing a letter. → This means they are in the process of writing a letter.
2. Peter is painting the door. → This means Peter is currently painting the door.
3. The students are reading the book. → This means the students are reading the book at this moment.

✅ Answers

A letter is being written by them. → This means the letter is currently being written by them.
The door is being painted by Peter. → This means the door is in the process of being painted by Peter.
The book is being read by the students. → This means the book is currently being read by the students.

The Passive Voice in the Past Simple

When the active sentence is in the past simple, the passive voice is formed with:
was / were + past participle.

Structure:
Object + was/were + past participle + by + subject

Examples:

Active: They told a story.
→ This means they shared a story with someone in the past.
Passive: A story was told by them.
→ This means the story was shared by them in the past.
Active: Rebecca called Malika.
→ This means Rebecca made a phone call to Malika in the past.
Passive: Malika was called by Rebecca.
→ This means Malika received a phone call from Rebecca in the past.

📝 Exercise – Turn these into the passive voice:

1. John closed the window. → This means John shut the window in the past.
2. The cat broke the vase. → This means the cat caused the vase to break in the past.
3. They invited Paul. → This means they asked Paul to join or attend something in the past.

✅ Answers

The window was closed by John. → This means the window was shut by John in the past.
The vase was broken by the cat. → This means the cat caused the vase to be broken in the past.
Paul was invited by them. → This means Paul received an invitation from them in the past.

The Passive Voice in the Simple Future

When a sentence is in the simple future, the passive voice is formed with:
will be + past participle.

Structure:
Object + will be + past participle + by + subject

Examples:

Active: They will finish the project.
→ This means they are going to complete the project in the future.
Passive: The project will be finished by them.
→ This means the project is going to be completed by them in the future.
Active: Lisa will send an email.
→ This means Lisa is going to send an email in the future.
Passive: An email will be sent by Lisa.
→ This means the email is going to be sent by Lisa in the future.

📝 Exercise – Turn these into the passive voice:

1. Tom will write a book. → This means Tom is going to write a book in the future.
2. They will clean the house. → This means they are going to make the house clean in the future.
3. The chef will cook the meal. → This means the chef is going to prepare the food in the future.

✅ Answers

A book will be written by Tom. → This means the book is going to be written by Tom in the future.
The house will be cleaned by them. → This means the house is going to be made clean by them in the future.
The meal will be cooked by the chef. → This means the food is going to be prepared by the chef in the future.

The Passive Voice in the Near Future

When using the near future in English (with be going to), the passive form is built with:
am / is / are + going to be + past participle.

Structure:
Object + am/is/are going to be + past participle + by + subject

Examples:

Active: They are going to build a house.
→ This means they plan to construct a house soon.
Passive: A house is going to be built by them.
→ This means the house will be constructed by them.
Active: My mom is going to prepare lunch.
→ This means my mom plans to make lunch.
Passive: Lunch is going to be prepared by my mom.
→ This means lunch will be made by my mom.

📝 Exercise – Turn these into the passive voice:

1. They are going to deliver the package. → This means they will bring and hand over the package soon.
2. She is going to organize a party. → This means she is planning to prepare and manage a party.
3. We are going to paint the wall. → This means we are planning to put paint on the wall.

✅ Answers

The package is going to be delivered by them. → This means the package will be brought and handed over by them.
A party is going to be organized by her. → This means the party will be planned and managed by her.
The wall is going to be painted by us. → This means the wall will be covered with paint by us.

The Passive Voice in the Present Perfect

When the sentence is in the present perfect, the passive form is made with:
have / has been + past participle.

Structure:
Object + have/has been + past participle + by + subject

Examples:

Active: They have completed the task.
→ This means they have finished the work.
Passive: The task has been completed by them.
→ This means the work has been finished by them.
Active: John has written a letter.
→ This means John has created a written message.
Passive: A letter has been written by John.
→ This means a written message has been created by John.

📝 Exercise – Turn these into the passive voice:

1. Lisa has cleaned the room. → This means Lisa has made the room clean.
2. They have broken the window. → This means they caused the window to be damaged.
3. My friend has found the keys. → This means my friend has discovered the keys.

✅ Answers

The room has been cleaned by Lisa. → This means the room was made clean by Lisa.
The window has been broken by them. → This means the window was damaged by them.
The keys have been found by my friend. → This means the keys were discovered by my friend.

The Passive Voice in the Past Perfect

When the active sentence is in the past perfect, the passive voice is formed with:
had been + past participle.

Structure:
Object + had been + past participle + by + subject

Examples:

Active: They had completed the mission.
→ This means they had finished the important task.
Passive: The mission had been completed by them.
→ This means the important task had been finished by them.
Active: Emma had lost the phone.
→ This means Emma no longer had the phone.
Passive: The phone had been lost by Emma.
→ This means the phone was no longer with Emma.

📝 Exercise – Turn these into the passive voice:

1. Tom had broken the glass. → This means Tom caused the glass to be damaged.
2. We had visited the museum. → This means we had gone to see the museum.
3. She had written the report. → This means she had created the report in writing.

✅ Answers

The glass had been broken by Tom. → This means the glass was damaged by Tom.
The museum had been visited by us. → This means the museum was seen by us.
The report had been written by her. → This means the report was created by her.

The Passive Voice in the Future Perfect

When a sentence is in the future perfect, the passive form is built with:
will have been + past participle.

Structure:
Object + will have been + past participle + by + subject

Examples:

Active: They will have completed the task.
→ This means they will have finished the important work by a certain time.
Passive: The task will have been completed by them.
→ This means the important work will have been finished by them by a certain time.
Active: Emma will have written the report.
→ This means Emma will have finished creating the report by a certain time.
Passive: The report will have been written by Emma.
→ This means the report will have been completed by Emma by a certain time.

📝 Exercise – Turn these into the passive voice:

1. They will have painted the house. → This means they will have finished applying paint to the house by a certain time.
2. Sarah will have baked the cake. → This means Sarah will have finished making the cake by a certain time.
3. The team will have won the match. → This means the team will have achieved victory in the game by a certain time.

✅ Answers

The house will have been painted by them. → This means the house will have been covered with paint by them by a certain time.
The cake will have been baked by Sarah. → This means the cake will have been made by Sarah by a certain time.
The match will have been won by the team. → This means victory in the game will have been achieved by the team by a certain time.

The Passive Voice in the Present Perfect Continuous

This form is grammatically possible but very rarely used in English.
It is mainly used when the action is more important than the person doing it.

The passive is built with: has/have been being + past participle.

Structure:
Object + has/have been being + past participle + by + subject

Examples:

Active: The team has been repairing the road.
→ This means the team started fixing the road in the past and is still working on it now.
Passive: The road has been being repaired by the team.
→ This means the road is currently being fixed by the team and the work began earlier.
Active: They have been cleaning the office.
→ This means they started cleaning the office earlier and are still cleaning it now.
Passive: The office has been being cleaned by them.
→ This means the office is currently being cleaned by them.

⚠️ In daily English, people usually say:
The road has been repaired. (present perfect simple)

📝 Exercise – Turn these into the passive voice:

1. They have been watching the movie. → This means they started watching the movie some time ago and are still watching it now.
2. She has been writing the article. → This means she began writing the article earlier and is still writing it now.
3. We have been studying this lesson. → This means we started learning this lesson some time ago and are still learning it now.

✅ Answers

The movie has been being watched by them. → This means the movie is currently being watched by them and the watching started earlier.
The article has been being written by her. → This means the article is currently being written by her and the writing started earlier.
The lesson has been being studied by us. → This means the lesson is currently being studied by us and the study started earlier.
Note: All these forms are grammatically correct but sound unnatural in spoken English.

The Passive Voice in the Past Perfect Continuous

This tense is grammatically correct but extremely rare in passive voice.
It emphasizes that an action had been ongoing before another moment in the past.

Passive form: had been being + past participle

Structure:
Object + had been being + past participle + by + subject

Examples:

Active: They had been cleaning the house.
→ This means they were cleaning the house continuously over a period before another past event.
Passive: The house had been being cleaned by them.
→ This means the house was in the process of being cleaned by them before another past event.
Active: The workers had been repairing the road.
→ This means the workers were fixing the road continuously before another event in the past.
Passive: The road had been being repaired by the workers.
→ This means the road was in the process of being fixed by the workers before another past event.

⚠️ In real conversations, most speakers would prefer the past perfect simple passive:
The house had been cleaned. (This means the cleaning was completely finished before another past event.)

📝 Exercise – Turn these into the passive voice:

1. She had been writing a novel. → This means she was writing a novel continuously before a certain time in the past.
2. They had been fixing the car. → This means they were repairing the car over a period before another past event.
3. The chef had been preparing the meal. → This means the chef was cooking the meal continuously before a past moment.

✅ Answers

A novel had been being written by her. → This means the novel was in the process of being written by her before a certain time in the past.
The car had been being fixed by them. → This means the car was being repaired by them before another past event.
The meal had been being prepared by the chef. → This means the meal was in the process of being cooked by the chef before a past moment.
Note: These are very formal and rare forms. Prefer simpler tenses when possible.

The Passive Voice in the Present Conditional

The present conditional in the passive voice is used to talk about hypothetical or imaginary actions in the present or future.
It is formed with: would be + past participle.

Structure:
Object + would be + past participle + by + subject

Examples:

Active: He would repair the car.
→ This means he is likely to fix the car in a hypothetical or future situation.
Passive: The car would be repaired by him.
→ This means the car is likely to be fixed by him in a hypothetical or future situation.
Active: We would invite her.
→ This means we are likely to ask her to come in a hypothetical or future situation.
Passive: She would be invited by us.
→ This means she is likely to be asked to come by us in a hypothetical or future situation.

📝 Exercise – Turn these into the passive voice:

1. He would finish the job. → This means he is likely to complete the work in a hypothetical or future situation.
2. They would help the children. → This means they are likely to assist the children in a hypothetical or future situation.
3. She would paint the wall. → This means she is likely to color the wall in a hypothetical or future situation.

✅ Answers

The job would be finished by him. → This means the work is likely to be completed by him in a hypothetical or future situation.
The children would be helped by them. → This means the children are likely to be assisted by them in a hypothetical or future situation.
The wall would be painted by her. → This means the wall is likely to be colored by her in a hypothetical or future situation.

The Passive Voice in the Past Conditional

The past conditional expresses an unreal or hypothetical situation in the past.
The passive form is: would have been + past participle.

Structure:
Object + would have been + past participle + by + subject

Examples:

Active: He would have repaired the car.
→ This means he probably fixed the car, but in a hypothetical or imagined past situation.
Passive: The car would have been repaired by him.
→ This means the car was probably fixed by him in a hypothetical or imagined past situation.
Active: They would have invited Paul.
→ This means they probably asked Paul to come in a hypothetical or imagined past situation.
Passive: Paul would have been invited by them.
→ This means Paul was probably asked to come by them in a hypothetical or imagined past situation.

📝 Exercise – Turn these into the passive voice:

1. She would have written a novel. → This means she probably completed writing a story in a hypothetical or imagined past situation.
2. We would have delivered the package. → This means we probably gave the package to someone in a hypothetical or imagined past situation.
3. The teacher would have corrected the exams. → This means the teacher probably checked the tests in a hypothetical or imagined past situation.

✅ Answers

A novel would have been written by her. → This means the story was probably completed by her in a hypothetical or imagined past situation.
The package would have been delivered by us. → This means the package was probably given by us in a hypothetical or imagined past situation.
The exams would have been corrected by the teacher. → This means the tests were probably checked by the teacher in a hypothetical or imagined past situation.

The Passive Voice – Final Summary & Revision

Here is a complete summary of how to form the passive voice in English:

Tense	Passive Form	Example	Meaning
Present simple	am / is / are + past participle	The book is read by John.	This means the book is read by John regularly or as a fact.
Past simple	was / were + past participle	The book was read by John.	This means the book was read by John at a specific time in the past.
Future simple	will be + past participle	The book will be read by John.	This means the book will be read by John at some time in the future.
Present perfect	has / have been + past participle	The book has been read by John.	This means John has read the book at an unspecified time before now.
Past perfect	had been + past participle	The book had been read by John.	This means John had already read the book before another past event.
Future perfect	will have been + past participle	The book will have been read by John.	This means John will have finished reading the book before a certain time in the future.
Conditional present	would be + past participle	The book would be read by John.	This means the book might be read by John in a possible or imagined situation.
Conditional past	would have been + past participle	The book would have been read by John.	This means the book might have been read by John in a possible or imagined past situation.

📝 Final exercise – Transform these active sentences into the passive voice:

1. They are watching a film. → This means they are currently watching a movie.
2. She has broken the glass. → This means she caused the glass to break recently.
3. The chef will cook the meal. → This means the chef is going to prepare the food in the future.
4. Tom had written a letter. → This means Tom finished writing a letter before another past event.
5. They would invite Paul. → This means they might invite Paul in a possible situation.

✅ Answers

A film is being watched by them. → This means the movie is currently being watched by them.
The glass has been broken by her. → This means the glass has recently been broken by her.
The meal will be cooked by the chef. → This means the food will be prepared by the chef in the future.
A letter had been written by Tom. → This means the letter was already written by Tom before another past event.
Paul would be invited by them. → This means Paul might be invited by them in a possible situation.

Reported Speech in English

Introduction to Reported Speech

Reported speech is used when we want to tell someone what another person said, without quoting their exact words. Instead of repeating the original sentence with quotation marks, we reformulate it indirectly.

In reported speech, we often change:

The verb tense (backshift)
The pronouns
Time and place expressions (e.g. now → then, here → there)

Example:
Direct speech: She said, “I am tired.”
Reported speech: She said (that) she was tired.
→ Elle a dit qu’elle était fatiguée.

💡 Key points to remember

No quotation marks in reported speech.
The verb in the reported speech usually shifts one tense back.
The structure becomes a normal declarative sentence.

Tense Shifts in Reported Speech

When the reporting verb (e.g. said, told, asked) is in the past, we usually change the verb tense of the original statement. This is called a backshift.

Here's a table showing how tenses change when moving from direct to reported speech:

Direct Speech	Reported Speech	Meaning
Present simple He said, “I work.”	Past simple He said he worked.	This means he told someone that he does his job regularly or generally.
Present continuous She said, “I am reading.”	Past continuous She said she was reading.	This means she told someone that she is currently in the process of reading.
Present perfect He said, “I have done it.”	Past perfect He said he had done it.	This means he told someone that he completed the action before now.
Past simple He said, “I saw her.”	Past perfect He said he had seen her.	This means he told someone that he saw her at a specific time in the past before another event.
Future (will) He said, “I will call you.”	would He said he would call me.	This means he told someone that he plans or promises to call in the future.

💡 Note: No tense change if reporting verb is in present

If the reporting verb is in the present (e.g. He says), the tense usually stays the same:
He says, “I am happy.” → He says (that) he is happy.

Changes in Pronouns, Time and Place

When moving from direct to reported speech, we often have to adjust:

👤 Personal pronouns
🕒 Time expressions
📍 Place expressions

👤 Pronoun Changes

Direct	Reported
I	he / she
we	they
my	his / her
me	him / her
us	them

🕒 Time Changes

Direct	Reported
today	that day
tomorrow	the next day
yesterday	the day before
now	then
this week	that week

📍 Place Changes

Direct	Reported
here	there
this	that
these	those

💡 Helpful Tip

Make sure you always change pronouns and context when reporting speech.
Use that day, then, there instead of today, now, here.
These changes help the listener understand the new perspective.

Introductory Verbs: Say, Tell & More

In reported speech, certain verbs are used to introduce what someone said. The most common are say and tell, but they are not used the same way.

🔄 Difference between say and tell

Verb	Usage	Example	Meaning
say	Used without a direct object (person)	He said (that) he was tired.	He expressed something with words, but did not specify a person receiving it.
tell	Used with a direct object (person)	He told me (that) he was tired.	He communicated information directly to a specific person.

⚠️ Say cannot be followed directly by a person (❌ He said me...), but tell must be.

📚 Other common introductory verbs

Here are useful verbs often used in reported speech:

ask – to request information or something from someone
advise – to give a recommendation or suggestion
warn – to inform someone about a possible danger or problem
remind – to help someone remember something
promise – to say that you will definitely do something
order – to give a command or instruction
recommend – to suggest something as good or suitable
suggest – to mention an idea or plan for consideration
explain – to make something clear or easy to understand

📝 Examples with other verbs:

She asked me if I was ready. → She wanted to know if I was prepared.
They advised us to be careful. → They gave us a suggestion to be cautious.
My mom reminded me to lock the door. → My mother helped me remember to secure the door.

💡 Practical Tip

Use say for general facts, tell when someone is specified.
Use verbs like ask, advise, warn for commands and requests.
These verbs are often followed by that-clauses or to + verb.

Types of Reported Speech: Statements, Questions & Commands

In reported speech, how we transform the sentence depends on the type of statement:

✅ Statements → Keep normal word order (subject + verb)
❓ Questions → Remove inversion and use if / whether or question word
🗣️ Commands / Requests → Use to + verb or not to + verb

✅ Statements

Statements follow the standard pattern: Subject + verb (backshifted), and pronouns are changed.

Examples:

Direct: “I love music.”
Reported: She said (that) she loved music. → She told that she liked music.
Direct: “We are tired.”
Reported: They said (that) they were tired. → They expressed that they felt tired.

❓ Questions (yes/no & wh- questions)

➤ For yes/no questions: use if or whether.
➤ For wh- questions (who, what, where, when, why, how), keep the question word but use normal word order.

Yes/No Questions:

Direct: “Are you coming?”
Reported: He asked if I was coming. → He wanted to know whether I was going to come.
Direct: “Did she like it?”
Reported: He asked if she had liked it. → He questioned if she had enjoyed it.

Wh- Questions:

Direct: “Where do you live?”
Reported: She asked where I lived. → She wanted to know the place I live.
Direct: “What are you doing?”
Reported: He asked what I was doing. → He inquired about my current activity.

🗣️ Commands, Requests, Advice

➤ Use verbs like told / asked / advised / warned + person + to + verb ➤ Use not to for negative commands

Examples:

Direct: “Close the window.”
Reported: She told me to close the window. → She instructed me to shut the window.
Direct: “Don’t be late!”
Reported: He told us not to be late. → He ordered us to avoid being late.
Direct: “Please help me.”
Reported: She asked me to help her. → She requested my assistance.

💡 Tips to remember

❌ No question mark in reported questions
✅ Use normal sentence word order
✅ Always change pronouns and tenses accordingly

Final Summary & Global Exercises on Reported Speech

This is a complete overview to help you understand how to use reported speech correctly:

✔️ No quotation marks in reported speech
✔️ Change pronouns based on the context
✔️ Apply tense backshift if the introductory verb is in the past
✔️ Use if / whether for yes/no questions
✔️ Use wh- words (what, where, when…) without inversion
✔️ Use to + verb (or not to) for commands and requests

Example:
Direct: He said, “I will call you tomorrow.”
→ Reported: He said he would call me the next day.
→ This means he planned to phone me on the following day.

📝 Final Exercise – Transform into reported speech:

Peter said, “I am watching TV.” → Peter stated that he was watching TV.
They said, “We visited Paris last year.” → They mentioned that they had visited Paris the previous year.
Anna asked, “Do you like chocolate?” → Anna inquired whether I liked chocolate.
John asked, “Where is the bathroom?” → John asked about the location of the bathroom.
She said, “Close the door.” → She instructed to close the door.
Mom said, “Don’t touch that!” → Mom warned not to touch that.

✅ Answers

Peter said he was watching TV. → He explained that he was watching TV.
They said they had visited Paris the year before. → They told that they had been to Paris the previous year.
Anna asked if I liked chocolate. → She questioned if I liked chocolate.
John asked where the bathroom was. → He wanted to know the location of the bathroom.
She told me to close the door. → She requested that I close the door.
Mom told me not to touch that. → She warned me to avoid touching that.