English
Passive Voice in Simple Tenses
Updated Oct 28, 2026
Focus on what happens to a person or thing.
What you’ll learn
Focus on what happens to a person or thing.
សង្កត់លើអ្នកទទួលសកម្មភាពក្នុងកាលធម្មតា។
Meaning and use
The passive makes the receiver of an action the subject. Use be in the needed tense followed by a past participle. It is useful when the agent is unknown, unimportant, or already obvious. Add by only when identifying the agent contributes useful information.
Passive voice យកអ្នក ឬវត្ថុដែលទទួលសកម្មភាពជាប្រធាន។ ប្រើ be តាមកាល រួច past participle។ អាចលុបអ្នកធ្វើសកម្មភាពបើមិនសំខាន់ ឬមិនស្គាល់។
Grammar patterns
| Pattern | Example or form |
|---|---|
| Present passive | am/is/are + past participle |
| Past passive | was/were + past participle |
Examples
-
Rice is grown in this area.
ស្រូវត្រូវបានដាំនៅតំបន់នេះ។
-
The windows are cleaned every Friday.
បង្អួចត្រូវបានសម្អាតរាល់ថ្ងៃសុក្រ។
-
The bridge was built in 2010.
ស្ពាននេះត្រូវបានសាងសង់នៅឆ្នាំ២០១០។
-
My bag was found by a student.
កាបូបខ្ញុំត្រូវបានរកឃើញដោយសិស្សម្នាក់។
Everyday conversation
Dara: When was this school built?
Maly: It was built about twenty years ago.
Common mistakes
| Instead of | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The room cleaned every day. | The room is cleaned every day. | A finite passive needs a form of be. |
| The bridge was build in 2010. | The bridge was built in 2010. | Use the past participle built. |
Practice
Try these questions before opening the answers. Write or say each answer.
សាកល្បងឆ្លើយសំណួរទាំងនេះជាមុនសិន មុននឹងបើកមើលចម្លើយ។ អ្នកអាចសរសេរ ឬនិយាយចម្លើយរបស់អ្នក។
- Make passive: They deliver the mail every morning.
- Make passive: Someone repaired the door yesterday.
- Why omit by someone?
Answers and explanations
Show answers / បង្ហាញចម្លើយ
-
The mail is delivered every morning.
Mail becomes the subject; use present be + participle.
-
The door was repaired yesterday.
Use was for the past event; the unknown agent can be omitted.
-
It adds no useful information about the agent.
The passive can focus on the event or its receiver.
Quick recap
- Present passive: am/is/are + past participle
- Past passive: was/were + past participle