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.

Discover the app: Shaky English

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

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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

A bit of theory

The correct use of “anxious”

Common confusions

Historic vs. Historical

Common confusions

Compliment vs. Complement

Common confusions

More than vs. Over

Common mistakes

Participle Clauses (-ing / -ed / perfect clauses)

Common confusions

I.e. vs. E.g.

Conjugation

What is a Preposition?

A preposition is a small word that shows a relationship between other words in a sentence. It often describes direction, location, time, or introduces an object. Common Functions of Prepositions...

Agreement rules