QuickenBrain

Passive voice

VerbsRule 9 of 10

The rule

The passive is be + past participle: "The email was sent." Only verbs that take an object can go passive; happen, occur, appear, and sleep cannot, so "was happened" is always wrong. When you know who did the action, the active form is usually clearer: "I made a mistake", not "A mistake was made by me." One case runs the other way: "born" needs the passive: "I was born in Seoul."

Wrong and right

  1. Wrong The accident was happened last night.

    Right The accident happened last night.

  2. Wrong The error was appeared again this morning.

    Right The error appeared again this morning.

  3. Wrong I was slept only four hours.

    Right I slept only four hours.

  4. Wrong The problem was occurred during the update.

    Right The problem occurred during the update.

  5. Wrong I borned in Seoul in 1990.

    Right I was born in Seoul in 1990.