Study materials
Three sentences about one road. The action is the same; the chain in front of it differs every time.
The road is being repaired right now.
The road has been repaired.
The road must be repaired before winter.
The third form of the verb has not changed once. Only what stands before it changes, and that is where all the meaning sits.
The chain always ends the same way
However many words stand in front, the last of them is a form of be, followed by the third form of the verb. Tense, modality and aspect all sit in the chain before be.
| Meaning | Chain | Example |
|---|---|---|
| process now | is being | The road is being repaired. |
| result | has been | The form has been signed. |
| process in the past | was being | The car was being washed. |
| an earlier action | had been | The letter had been sent. |
| future | will be | The results will be announced. |
| modality | must be, can be | Glass can be recycled. |
Two neighbouring links are the usual source of confusion. Being shows a process, been shows completion, and they cannot swap places.
When by really is needed
The doer is named only when they add something: when they are the news, or when you are setting them against somebody else. Otherwise by is left out.
The proposal was rejected by the board, not by the client.
My bike was stolen.
If you find yourself adding by and naming the doer anyway, the sentence may simply want to be turned back into the active.
The passive after modals
The pattern here is the simplest: the modal, then a plain be, then the third form. This is the structure that makes instructions impersonal.
The form must be signed by both parties.
This should have been checked earlier.
The mistakes everyone makes
The first is confusing being with been.
The road has being repaired. → The road has been repaired.
The second is losing be after a modal.
The form must signed. → The form must be signed.
The third is taking the second form instead of the third.
The letters were wrote in May. → The letters were written in May.
All three are caught by one look at the end of the chain: the last functional link is be, and the third form follows it.
Try it right now
Describe one object in your office or home in three passive English sentences: what is being done to it, what has been done, and what must be done.
Do not name the doer once.