Introduction

In many real-life situations, the action matters more than the person who did it. Think about news reports, museum descriptions, and stories about past events: we often focus on what happened, not on who performed the action. In this unit, you will learn how to use the passive in the past to describe events clearly and naturally, especially when the agent (the doer) is unknown, unimportant, or intentionally not mentioned.

Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives
By the end of this unit, you will be able to form the passive in the past (Past Simple Passive and Past Continuous Passive), choose when to include or omit the agent, and use passive past forms to describe past events in a neutral, formal, and accurate way.

1) Why we use the passive in the past

When we use the passive, the object of an active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. This is useful when the agent is not known, not important, or when we want to sound more objective.

Active: The police arrested the suspect yesterday.
Passive: The suspect was arrested yesterday.

In the passive version, the focus moves to “the suspect” and the event itself.

Important concept
In passive sentences, we often omit “by + agent” because it adds no real value: the listener either does not know the agent, or does not need to know it.

2) Past Simple Passive: form and use

Form: subject + was / were + past participle (+ by + agent)

Examples:
The tickets were sold online.
The window was broken during the storm.
The new bridge was opened in 2019.

We use the Past Simple Passive for completed actions in the past.

3) Past Continuous Passive: form and use

Form: subject + was / were being + past participle (+ by + agent)

Examples:
The road was being repaired when we arrived.
The documents were being checked at the entrance.
Dinner was being prepared while the guests were talking.

We use the Past Continuous Passive to describe an action in progress at a specific moment in the past, especially when it forms the background to another event.

4) When to include “by + agent”

Include the agent when it is important, surprising, or necessary for understanding.

Examples:
The novel was written by a teenager.
The decision was made by the manager, not the team.
The painting was stolen by two men wearing masks.

Omit the agent when it is obvious, unknown, or not relevant.

Examples:
My bike was stolen last night. (We do not know who did it.)
The email was sent yesterday. (The sender is not important here.)

Warning
Do not confuse the passive with adjectives. Some past participles describe a state, not an action. Compare: “The door was closed at 6 p.m.” (passive action) vs “The door was closed.” (state; it was not open). Context usually makes the meaning clear.

5) Active vs passive: choosing the best style

As a speaker or writer, you choose the structure that matches your purpose.

Use active when the agent is important and you want a direct, personal style:
We finished the project on time.

Use passive when you want a neutral, formal tone, or when the agent is not the focus:
The project was finished on time.

Practice

Practice section
Complete the tasks. Write the correct passive form in the past. Answers are provided for self-checking.