Jun 21, 2026 · passive implies immobility or lack of normally expected response to an external force or influence and often suggests deliberate submissiveness or self-control.

We make the passive by putting the verb 'to be' into whatever tense we need and then adding the past participle. For regular verbs, we make the past participle by adding 'ed' to the infinitive.

PASSIVE definition: not reacting visibly to something that might be expected to produce manifestations of an emotion or feeling. See examples of passive used in a sentence.

'Catrin told me' is an active sentence, and 'I was told by Catrin' is passive. In a passive sentence, the subject is the person or thing affected by the action of the verb.

Jun 23, 2026 · Some common synonyms of passive are idle, inactive, inert, and supine. While all these words mean "not engaged in work or activity," passive implies immobility or lack of normally …

Do you know how to use the passive voice to change the focus of a sentence? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

If you describe someone as passive, you mean that they do not take action but instead let things happen to them.