It WasBuilt in 1890
The passive — present & past simple
CEFR Pathway · You are here
Get talking · Section 1
5 minWarm up
Where have you seen English signs like 'Cars will be towed' or 'Made in Italy'? What do they have in common?
Explain in two sentences how coffee gets from the plant to your cup.
Name three famous buildings and guess when they were built.
Grammar focus · Section 2
8–10 minThe passive — when the action matters more than the person
In an ACTIVE sentence, the subject does the action: 'Somebody stole my bike.' In a PASSIVE sentence, the thing receiving the action becomes the subject: 'My bike was stolen.' FORM: be + past participle • Present simple passive: am / is / are + past participle → 'This bread is made every morning.' • Past simple passive: was / were + past participle → 'The bridge was built in 1890.' Add the doer only if it is interesting, using BY: 'The song was written BY a nineteen-year-old.' Often we leave it out because it is unknown, obvious or unimportant: 'My phone was repaired yesterday.' Remember: only the verb 'be' changes for tense and number.
→ Millions of these phones are sold every year.
→ The window was broken during the storm.
→ English is spoken in over fifty countries.
→ The paintings were discovered by a farmer in 1994.
→ Breakfast isn't served after ten.
More detail
The past participle NEVER changes: was made / were made / is made.
Object + be + past participle (+ by …)
e.g. The bridge was built in 1890 by a local engineer.
When to use
- The doer is unknown: 'My wallet was taken.'
- The doer is obvious: 'He was arrested.' (by the police)
- Processes and instructions: 'The beans are dried and roasted.'
- Formal or news English: 'A decision will be announced.'
| Active | Passive | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | They clean the room daily. | The room is cleaned daily. |
| Past | A Spanish architect designed it. | It was designed by a Spanish architect. |
| Negative | They don't sell tickets here. | Tickets aren't sold here. |
| Question | When did they build it? | When was it built? |
Don't forget 'be'
✗ 'The house built in 1900.' ✓ 'The house WAS built in 1900.' Without 'be' there is no passive.
Past participle, not past simple
✗ 'It was wrote by…' ✓ 'It was written by…'. Learn the third column of irregular verbs.
Drop 'by' most of the time
Around 80% of real passives have no 'by' phrase. Only add it when the doer is genuinely interesting.
Question 1.The letters ____ every morning.
Question 2.The castle ____ in the 14th century.
Question 3.Passive of 'They make these by hand.'
Question 4.Which is WRONG?
Question 5.Question form:
Build the sentence → spot the natural chunks → say it aloud → reply like a real conversation.
1.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
2.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
3.Rebuild the sentence — then say it aloud.
Quick check 1.Passive formula?
Quick check 2.'The doer' is introduced with…
Quick check 3.Past passive of 'they sell'?
Vocabulary · Section 3
5–7 minWords & phrases to own
Don't just read these — say one out loud, then use it about your life.
produce
make or grow something, usually in large amounts
"Most of the coffee is produced in Brazil."
Name something produced in your country.
invent
create something for the first time
"The telephone was invented in 1876."
Say when something famous was invented.
deliver
take something to a place or person
"Parcels are delivered before noon."
Describe how deliveries work where you live.
repair
fix something broken
"My laptop is being repaired."
Name the last thing you had repaired.
damage
harm something so it works less well
"The roof was damaged in the storm."
Describe some damage you've seen.
grown / harvested
raised as a crop / collected from the field
"Rice is grown here and harvested in autumn."
Describe a crop from your region.
Discuss with a partner
- →How is a typical dish from your country made?
- →What is produced or grown near where you live?
Finish the sentence about you
- It's made from… …
- They were built in… …
- It's usually served with… …
Tap an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.
Pronunciation · Section 4
3–4 minWeak 'was/were' + linked participle
- • It was built → /ɪt wəz ˈbɪlt/
- • They were invited → /ðeɪ wər ɪnˈvaɪtɪd/
- • It's made in Italy → /ɪts ˈmeɪd ɪn ˈɪtəli/
- • The road was closed → /ðə rəʊd wəz ˈkləʊzd/
How to say it
In passives the auxiliary is unstressed: 'was' → /wəz/, 'were' → /wə/. The stress lands on the past participle. Learners who stress 'WAS built' sound robotic; fluent English gives you /wəz ˈbɪlt/. Also link the final consonant into the next word: 'was_ _opened', 'were_ _invited'.
Reading · Section 5
8–10 minHow a pencil is made
A pencil looks simple, but it is put together from materials collected on three continents. The wood is usually taken from cedar trees, which are cut, dried and sliced into thin flat boards. Eight narrow grooves are cut into each board. The 'lead' is not lead at all. Graphite is mixed with clay and water, pressed into long thin rods and baked in an oven at over a thousand degrees. The rods are then laid into the grooves, a second board is glued on top, and the sandwich is cut into individual pencils. Finally each pencil is painted — most are yellow, a tradition that was started in the 1890s to suggest that the graphite inside came from China. The eraser is added last, held by a small metal ring. Around fourteen billion pencils are produced every year, and almost none of them are made by hand.
Read carefully, then answer the detail questions. Underline the words in the text that gave you each answer.
Question 1.What is the 'lead' actually made of?
Question 2.Why are most pencils yellow?
Question 3.How many are produced yearly?
Q1.The wood is usually taken from cedar trees.
Q2.The rods are baked at a low temperature.
Q3.Most pencils are made by hand.
Listening · Section 6
8–10 minA guided tour of the old factory
Listening audio
Tap play to listen. Replay as many times as you need.
Show transcript
Guide:This building was opened in 1902 and it was used as a textile factory for almost eighty years.
Visitor:And when was it closed?
Guide:In 1981. It was left empty for nearly twenty years before the city bought it.
Visitor:So the whole thing was rebuilt?
Guide:Only partly. The brick walls were kept, but the roof was completely replaced.
Visitor:What's it used for now?
Guide:Concerts are held here most weekends, and the upper floor is rented to small businesses.
Visitor:It's beautiful. Are photographs allowed?
Guide:Of course — as long as no flash is used.
Listen once for the whole picture, then again for the details before you answer.
Question 1.What was the building used for originally?
Question 2.What was completely replaced?
Question 3.What happens there now?
Exam skills · Section 7
5 minCambridge PET Reading & Writing — passives in factual texts
Task
Read a short factual text and rewrite three active sentences as passives.
Strategy
PET reading texts about places, products and history are full of passives, and Part 5 (word choice) often tests 'was/were + participle'. Two habits help: (1) when you meet 'was/were + -ed/-en', ask 'who or what received the action?'; (2) in your own writing about a place or process, use two or three passives — it instantly sounds more formal and accurate.
Example
'The museum was opened in 1954 and is visited by half a million people every year. Most of the objects were donated by local families, and the building itself was designed by an architect who lived on the same street.'
Practice · Section 8
8–10 minFill in the blank
Question 1.This cheese ____ in the mountains.
Question 2.The road ____ after the accident.
Question 3.Thousands of tickets ____ every day.
Question 4.The photos ____ by a famous journalist.
Question 5.Breakfast ____ between seven and ten.
Q1.Make passive: 'Someone stole my bag.'
Q2.Make passive: 'They grow rice here.'
Q3.Make passive: 'A Spanish company built the stadium.'
Writing · Section 9
5 minPut it in writing
Write your own version first, then open the model and compare — what would you change?
Your task
Write 80–100 words describing a well-known building, dish or product from your country. Use at least four passive sentences (two present, two past) and one 'by' phrase.
Compare with the model
The Old Market in my city was built in 1908 and was used as a fish market for sixty years. It was damaged badly in a fire in 1972, but the iron roof was saved and later restored by a group of volunteers. Today the building is used for food stalls and small concerts. Fresh bread is baked on site every morning, and the whole square is closed to traffic at weekends, so families are often seen there until late.
Speaking · Section 10
10–15 minMake it a real conversation
MUSEUM GUIDE · Pairs. Student A is a guide, Student B is a tourist. Choose a famous building or object. The guide must use at least six passives (when it was built / what it is used for / what was changed). The tourist asks passive questions: 'When was it…?', 'What is it made of?'
Useful phrases
- • It was built in…
- • It's still used for…
- • It was designed by…
- • The whole thing was restored in…
- • Photographs aren't allowed.
Role-play & swap
Role-play the scenario once. Then swap roles and change two details so the second run is not a repeat.
- AWhat happened to your car?
- B_______________
- AIs this jacket handmade?
- B_______________
Optional · Teacher-led
Teacher Activities
Irregular past participles are the real barrier. Drill them before the production stage. ~28 min total
Homework · Section 11
Take-homeTake it home
Find five passive sentences in an English news article and write who the missing 'doer' probably is.
Write a short 'how it's made' paragraph about your favourite food, using six passives.
Learn the past participles of 20 irregular verbs and test yourself in passive sentences.
Recap · Section 12
2–3 minWhat you've learned
- Passive = be + past participle.
- Present: is/are + participle · Past: was/were + participle.
- Use it when the doer is unknown, obvious or unimportant.
- Add the doer with 'by' only when it's interesting.
- The participle never changes — only 'be' does.
Extra Practice
Grammar · Vocabulary · Speaking · Review
Found this lesson tricky? Practise the language from Lesson 45 again.
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