Sentence Structure & Word Order

Incorrect Passive Voice Usage

1 min read

The passive voice is used when the focus is on the action or the object, not the person doing the action. But it can cause confusion or sound unnatural when used incorrectly — especially if the sentence doesn’t need it or if the grammar is wrong.

Passive voice structure

The basic form is:

be (in the correct tense) + past participle of the main verb

Examples:

The email was sent yesterday.
The documents have been signed.

Common mistakes

❌ The letter was send on time. → ✅ The letter was sent on time. (past participle needed)
❌ The car was repaired by John yesterday. (wordy if we already know John is the subject)
❌ The books was returned late. → ✅ The books were returned late. (agreement with plural subject)

When to avoid passive voice

When the subject is clear and important → use active voice instead
When it makes the sentence too long or indirect
When it creates agreement errors (wrong form of “be” or verb)

💡 Tip

If your sentence sounds strange or too vague, try switching to active voice. If you use passive, make sure the verb agrees with the subject and the past participle is correct. Try saying the sentence aloud — if it feels awkward, it probably needs a fix.

Test your knowledge 📝

Question 1 sur 8Score: 0/8

The kitchen ___ before the guests arrived.

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Sentence Structure & Word Order

Incorrect Passive Voice Usage

1 min read

Passive voice structure

The basic form is:

be (in the correct tense) + past participle of the main verb

Examples:

The email was sent yesterday.
The documents have been signed.

Common mistakes

❌ The letter was send on time. → ✅ The letter was sent on time. (past participle needed)
❌ The car was repaired by John yesterday. (wordy if we already know John is the subject)
❌ The books was returned late. → ✅ The books were returned late. (agreement with plural subject)

When to avoid passive voice

When the subject is clear and important → use active voice instead
When it makes the sentence too long or indirect
When it creates agreement errors (wrong form of “be” or verb)

💡 Tip

Test your knowledge 📝

Question 1 sur 8Score: 0/8

The kitchen ___ before the guests arrived.

Discover the app: Shaky English

Join 100,000 people who are improving their English skills on the Shaky English app

Other similar rules

Common confusions

Me vs. I

Conjugation

Some vs. Any

Conjugation

Too vs. Enough

Vocabulary

Semicolons

Common confusions

Based off vs. Based on

Agreement rules

Tag Questions (You’re French, aren’t you?)

Common confusions

May vs. Might

Vocabulary