Structures of past tense passive forms
| Past passive tenses | |
Past simple passiveI was told about it yesterday. |
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Present perfect passiveHe's (he has) been fired from the company. |
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Past perfect passiveI'd (I had) been given the money by a friend. |
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Past continuous passiveThe room was being decorated. |
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| Past passive forms – common mistakes | ||
| Common mistakes | Correct version | Why? |
| This problem solved last week. | This problem was solved last week. | To make a past passive form we use was/were + past participle of the verb. |
| This problem was solve last week. | This problem was solved last week. | To make a past passive form we use was/were + past participle of the verb. |
| My car was repairing at that time. | My car was being repaired at that time. | To make a past passive form of a continuous tense we use was/were + being + past participle of the verb. |
| She has already be invited. | She has already been invited. | To make a passive form of the perfect tense we use have/has/had + been + past participle of the verb. |