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Passive 2
be done / been done / being done — All Tenses & Infinitive Forms — Complete Guide
Passif 2
be done / been done / being done — Tous les Temps & Formes Infinitives — Guide Complet

Master the passive across all tenses: present perfect, past perfect, present & past continuous, plus the passive infinitive and perfect infinitive

Maîtrisez le passif dans tous les temps : présent perfect, past perfect, continus présent & passé, ainsi que l'infinitif passif et l'infinitif parfait passif

B1 – B2 4 Rules · 3 Exercises · 200-Q Quiz · PDF 4 Règles · 3 Exercices · Quiz 200 Q · PDF 🇬🇧 EN / 🇫🇷 FR

In Unit 42 you learned the passive in the present and past simple. This unit extends the passive to all tenses and modal structures. The key pattern stays the same — be + past participle — but the form of be changes to match the tense or modal needed.

Dans l'unité 42, vous avez appris le passif au présent et au passé simples. Cette unité étend le passif à tous les temps et structures modales. Le schéma clé reste le même — be + participe passé — mais la forme de be change pour correspondre au temps ou au modal requis.

A

Passive Infinitive — (to) be done

Infinitif passif — (to) be done

When the passive follows a modal verb (will, must, can, could, should, might, going to…) or the infinitive marker to, use (to) be + past participle.

Quand le passif suit un verbe modal (will, must, can, could, should, might, going to…) ou la marque de l'infinitif to, on utilise (to) be + participe passé.

Active: Somebody will clean this room later.
Passive: This room will be cleaned later.

modal / going to + be + past participle
The situation is serious. Something must be done before it's too late.
→ must + be + past participle
→ must + be + participe passé
A mystery is something that can't be explained.
→ can't + be + past participle
→ can't + be + participe passé
The music was very loud and could be heard from a long way away.
→ could + be + past participle
→ could + be + participe passé
A new supermarket is going to be built next year.
→ going to + be + past participle
→ going to + be + participe passé
Please go away. I want to be left alone.
→ want + to be + past participle
→ want + to be + participe passé

B

Perfect Passive Infinitive — (to) have been done

Infinitif parfait passif — (to) have been done

When a modal refers to a past action in the passive, use (to) have been + past participle. This combines the perfect infinitive with the passive.

Quand un modal renvoie à une action passée au passif, on utilise (to) have been + participe passé. Cela combine l'infinitif parfait et le passif.

Active: Somebody should have cleaned the room.
Passive: The room should have been cleaned.

modal + have been + past participle
I haven't received the letter yet. It might have been sent to the wrong address.
→ might + have been + past participle (uncertain past)
→ might + have been + participe passé (passé incertain)
If you had locked the car, it wouldn't have been stolen.
→ wouldn't + have been + past participle (past conditional)
→ wouldn't + have been + participe passé (conditionnel passé)
There were some problems at first, but they seem to have been solved.
→ seem + to have been + past participle
→ seem + to have been + participe passé
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Active vs Passive perfect infinitive:Infinitif parfait actif vs passif : Active: She should have cleaned the room. (she = the doer) → Passive: The room should have been cleaned. (the room = the receiver). The passive adds been between the modal-perfect structure and the past participle. Actif : She should have cleaned the room. (elle = l'agent) → Passif : The room should have been cleaned. (la chambre = le destinataire). Le passif ajoute been entre la structure modale-parfaite et le participe passé.

C

Present Perfect & Past Perfect Passive

Present Perfect & Past Perfect Passifs

Present perfect passive: have/has been + past participle. Used when a past action has a connection to the present.

Present perfect passif : have/has been + participe passé. Utilisé quand une action passée a un lien avec le présent.

Past perfect passive: had been + past participle. Used for a past action that happened before another past event.

Past perfect passif : had been + participe passé. Utilisé pour une action passée antérieure à un autre événement passé.

Present perfect — active

Present perfect — actif

have/has + past participle
have/has + participe passé
The room looks nice. Somebody has cleaned it.
Have you heard? They have cancelled the trip.
'Are you going to the party?' 'No, I haven't been invited.'

Present perfect — passive

Present perfect — passif

have/has been + past participle
have/has been + participe passé
The room looks nice. It has been cleaned.
Have you heard? The trip has been cancelled.
Have you ever been bitten by a dog?

Past perfect — active

Past perfect — actif

had + past participle
had + participe passé
The room looked nice. Somebody had cleaned it.
The vegetables didn't taste good. They had cooked them too long.

Past perfect — passive

Past perfect — passif

had been + past participle
had been + participe passé
The room looked nice. It had been cleaned.
The vegetables didn't taste good. They had been cooked too long.
The car was three years old, but hadn't been used very much.
→ past perfect passive: hadn't been + past participle
→ past perfect passif : hadn't been + participe passé

D

Present & Past Continuous Passive

Passif continu présent & passé

Present continuous passive: am/is/are + being + past participle. Used for actions happening right now.

Passif continu présent : am/is/are + being + participe passé. Utilisé pour des actions en cours en ce moment.

Past continuous passive: was/were + being + past participle. Used for actions that were in progress at a past moment.

Passif continu passé : was/were + being + participe passé. Utilisé pour des actions en cours à un moment passé.

Present continuous — active

Présent continu — actif

am/is/are + -ing
am/is/are + -ing
Somebody is cleaning the room at the moment.
They are following us!

Present continuous — passive

Présent continu — passif

am/is/are + being + past participle
am/is/are + being + participe passé
The room is being cleaned at the moment.
I think we are being followed!

Past continuous — active

Passé continu — actif

was/were + -ing
was/were + -ing
Somebody was cleaning the room when I arrived.
They were following us.

Past continuous — passive

Passé continu — passif

was/were + being + past participle
was/were + being + participe passé
The room was being cleaned when I arrived.
I think we were being followed.
A new bridge is being built across the river. It will be finished next year.
→ present continuous passive: is being built (in progress now)
→ passif continu présent : is being built (en cours maintenant)
📌
Summary of all passive forms:Résumé de toutes les formes passives : Present simple: is/are done · Past simple: was/were done · Present perfect: has/have been done · Past perfect: had been done · Present continuous: is/are being done · Past continuous: was/were being done · Modal / future: will/must/can etc. be done · Modal perfect: must/should etc. have been done Présent simple : is/are done · Passé simple : was/were done · Present perfect : has/have been done · Past perfect : had been done · Présent continu : is/are being done · Passé continu : was/were being done · Modal/futur : will/must/can etc. be done · Modal parfait : must/should etc. have been done

Passive 2 — Exercises with AnswersPassif 2 — Exercices avec Corrigé

Put each rule into practice — check your answers instantly

Mettez chaque règle en pratique — vérifiez vos réponses instantanément

EX 1

Exercise 1 — Complete using the verbs in the passive (sometimes with modal + have)

Exercice 1 — Complétez en utilisant les verbes au passif (parfois avec modal + have)

Use: arrest · carry · cause · delay · do · forget · keep · knock · know · make · repair · send

Utilisez : arrest · carry · cause · delay · do · forget · keep · knock · know · make · repair · send

Verb box:Boîte de verbes : arrest  ·  carry  ·  cause  ·  delay  ·  do  ·  forget  ·  keep  ·  knock  ·  know  ·  make  ·  repair  ·  send
Sometimes you need: might have been / would have been / will be / should have been / seems to have been Parfois nécessaire : might have been / would have been / will be / should have been / seems to have been
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Answers:Réponses : 1. must be done  ·  2. might have been sent  ·  3. will not be made (won't be made / will not be delayed)  ·  4. be kept  ·  5. have been repaired  ·  6. be carried  ·  7. have been arrested  ·  8. be delayed  ·  9. have been caused  ·  10. be knocked  ·  11. will be known  ·  12. to have been forgotten / solved
EX 2

Exercise 2 — Make sentences. Sometimes active, sometimes passive

Exercice 2 — Construisez des phrases. Parfois actives, parfois passives

Use the verb form shown in brackets. Decide whether active or passive is needed.

Utilisez la forme verbale indiquée entre parenthèses. Décidez si l'actif ou le passif est nécessaire.

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Answers:Réponses : 1. We're being followed.  ·  2. Have you painted it?  ·  3. It's been stolen!  ·  4. Somebody has taken it.  ·  5. He hasn't been seen since then.  ·  6. I haven't seen her for ages.  ·  7. Have you ever been stung by a bee?  ·  8. It's being repaired at the moment.  ·  9. It hasn't been found yet.  ·  10. The furniture had been moved.
🎯

Exercise 3 — Rewrite using the passive instead of somebody/they/people

Exercice 3 — Réécrivez au passif au lieu de somebody/they/people

Write a full passive sentence for each prompt.

Écrivez une phrase passive complète pour chaque indication.

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7.
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Answers:Réponses : 1. The room has been cleaned.  ·  2. A new road is being built around the city.  ·  3. Two new hotels have been built near the airport.  ·  4. When I last visited, some new houses were being built here.  ·  5. The date of the meeting has been changed.  ·  6. I didn't know that our conversation was being recorded.  ·  7. Is anything being done about the problem?  ·  8. They hadn't been cleaned for ages.

Frequently Asked Questions — Passive 2

Questions fréquentes — Passif 2

Was done (past simple passive) refers to a completed past action with no connection to now: The house was built in 1981. Has been done (present perfect passive) connects a past action to the present: Have you heard? The trip has been cancelled. (the cancellation affects us now). The choice mirrors the active: I did it vs I have done it.

Was done (passif au passé simple) renvoie à une action passée accomplie sans lien avec le présent : The house was built in 1981. Has been done (passif au present perfect) relie une action passée au présent : Have you heard? The trip has been cancelled. (l'annulation nous affecte maintenant). Le choix est le même qu'à l'actif : I did it vs I have done it.

The continuous passive is be + being + past participle. The active continuous is am/is/are cleaning. To make it passive, the object becomes the subject, and we replace the active -ing verb with being + past participle: Somebody is cleaning the roomThe room is being cleaned. The word being is the passive form of the -ing marker.

Le passif continu est be + being + participe passé. Le continu actif est am/is/are cleaning. Pour le mettre au passif, le complément devient le sujet et on remplace le verbe actif en -ing par being + participe passé : Somebody is cleaning the roomThe room is being cleaned.

Must be done = passive infinitive, referring to the present or future: Something must be done now. Must have been done = perfect passive infinitive, referring to the past: This room is clean — it must have been cleaned this morning. The pattern applies to all modals: should be done / should have been done, might be done / might have been done, etc.

Must be done = infinitif passif, renvoie au présent ou futur : Something must be done now. Must have been done = infinitif parfait passif, renvoie au passé : This room is clean — it must have been cleaned this morning. Le schéma s'applique à tous les modaux : should be done / should have been done, might be done / might have been done, etc.

Yes. Going to be + past participle is the passive form of going to + verb. It expresses a planned or intended future action in the passive: A new supermarket is going to be built next year. Compare the active: They are going to build a new supermarket next year.

Oui. Going to be + participe passé est la forme passive de going to + verbe. Elle exprime une action future planifiée ou prévue au passif : A new supermarket is going to be built next year. Comparez avec l'actif : They are going to build a new supermarket next year.

Seem is followed by to + infinitive. When referring to something that happened in the past, we use the perfect infinitive: They seem to have solved the problem. (active) → The problem seems to have been solved. (passive). The passive perfect infinitive to have been + past participle signals that the event happened before the moment of speaking.

Seem est suivi de to + infinitif. Pour renvoyer à quelque chose qui s'est passé dans le passé, on utilise l'infinitif parfait : They seem to have solved the problem. (actif) → The problem seems to have been solved. (passif). L'infinitif parfait passif to have been + participe passé indique que l'événement a eu lieu avant le moment où l'on parle.

🎯 Unit 43 · MCQ QuizUnité 43 · Quiz QCM

Passive 2 — Quiz

Passif 2 — Quiz

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Banque de 200 questions · 10 à 40 questions par session · correction immédiate · PDF

200 Questions 6 Topics B1 · B2 PDF ✓

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Passive 2 Quiz

Quiz — Passif 2

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