Past perfect passive is used to talk about actions or events that happened before some moment in the past:

 

The concert had been rescheduled, so the spectators had to wait for another week.

 

All tickets had been sold out before we even heard about the concert.

 

The dinner had been cooked already when Jeffrey came home.    

 

To make statements with the Past perfect passive, use:

 

had been + the past participle form of the verb

 

Singular	Plural
I had been promoted You had been promoted He/she/it had been promoted	We had been promoted You had been promoted They had been promoted

 

Peter had been fined for speeding twice during the last month, and his driving manner became more careful.

 

Our neighbors moved out last week. How long had they lived there?

 

The fish hadn’t been cooked properly, so we sent it back to the kitchen.

Past continuous passive is used to talk about actions that were ongoing at a particular moment the past. The emphasis is on the process.

 

When Jack arrived to the workshop his car  was still being repaired.

 

The students were being taught grammar all day long.

 

The dancers were being watched by a jury of experts.

 

To make statements with the past continuous passive, use:

 

was/were + being + the past participle form of the verb

 

Singular	Plural
I was being listened You were being listened He/she/it was being listened	We were being listened You were being listened They were being listened

 

The new operator was being shown how to use the processing machine.

 

What music was being played when we came to the park?

 

The streets were not being cleaned throughout the whole last week.

 

Past simple passive is normally used to talk about some completed actions in the past, with emphasis on the effect of such actions.

 

This fortress was built 120 year ago.

 

Two people were taken to hospital after the accident.

 

The railroad was damaged by the storm.

 

To make statements with the past simple passive, use:

 

was/were + the past participle form of the verb

 

Singular	Plural
I was heard You were heard He/she/it was heard	We were heard You were heard They were heard

 

I was bitten by a dog a few days ago.

 

Where were you born?

 

Mary wasn’t invited to the party.

 

We use the Present perfect passive to talk about actions in the past that still have an effect on the present moment.

 

My new bicycle has been delivered already, so now I can ride it all day long.

 

Your dog looks sad, has it been fed today?

 

Old chairs in the hall have been replaced with the new ones.   

To make statements with the Present perfect passive, use:

 

have/has been + the past participle form of the verb

 

Singular	Plural
I have been seen You have been seen He/she/it has been seen	We have been seen You have been seen They have been seen

 

This house has been sold to some foreigners.

 

What actor has been chosen for the leading role in your new movie?

 

This old violin hasn’t been played for ages.

 

Present continuous passive is used to talk about some ongoing actions performed at the moment of speaking or around it.

 

Nick’s order is being delivered to the nearest store.

 

Our dinner is being cooked as we speak.

 

Visitors are being checked in at the hotel.

 

To make statements with the present continuous passive, use:

 

am/is/are + being + the past participle form of the verb

 

Singular	Plural
I am being taught You are being taught He/she/it is being taught	We are being taught You are being taught They are being taught

 

My car is at the garage, it is being repaired.

 

What houses are being built opposite the park?

 

The work is not being performed at the moment because the customer did not pay in time.

 

Present simple passive is used to talk about some actions that are performed at the present moment or repeatedly, simple statements of fact or universal truth.  

The agents of such actions may be denoted with ‘by’:

 

This work is performed by a new company.

 

The beach is cleaned every morning.

 

Oranges are imported from Paraguay.  

 

To make statements with the present simple passive, use:

 

am/is/are + the past participle form of the verb.

 

Singular	Plural
I am visited You are visited He/she/it is visited	We are visited You are visited They are visited

 

Glass is made from sand.

 

Spanish is not spoken in China.

 

Are US dollars accepted at Dubai airport?

 

Passive constructions are used when the speaker wants to focus not on the subject but on the action itself and the object receiving this action:

 

Millions of people play mobile games every day (focus on “millions of people”).

 

Mobile games are played by millions of people every day (focus on “mobile games are played”).

 

Butter is made from milk.

 

The telephone was invented by Alexander Bell.

 

Positive statements with passive constructions are built using various forms of ‘be’ (is, are, were, etc.) + the past participle form of the verb:

 

The office is cleaned every day.

 

I was born in 1980.

 

These castles were built by our ancestors.

 

To make negative statements with passive constructions, use:

 

subject + form of ‘be’ + not + the past participle form of the verb.

 

I was not offered any job.

 

That bird is not usually seen in our region.

 

They weren’t invited to the party last Saturday.

 

To make questions with passive constructions, use:

 

(Question word) + form of ‘be’ + subject + the past participle form of the verb

 

Where were you born?

 

Was anybody injured in the accident?

 

Were you paid when you finished your work?

 

We can use modal verbs to talk about possibility or to express uncertainty, and ‘might’ is the most common modal verb for such cases.

 

Statements with ‘might’ can refer to past, present, or future possibilities.

 

To refer to past possibility, use:

 

Might + have + past participle

 

I can’t find my pen. I might have dropped it earlier.

 

We are lost. We might have taken a wrong turn at the river.

 

To refer to present possibility, use:

 

Might + the base form of the verb

 

Look at Jack! He might be in a hurry to meet with Catherine.

 

The clouds cover the top of the mountain. It might be windy there.

 

To refer to future possibility, use:

 

Might + the base form of the verb + future time marker

 

It’s cold outside. It might snow later on.

 

Joe might not come to our party next weekend.

 

We can use modal verbs to talk about probability or improbability of something, as well as to make deductions about some facts or events.

 

To talk about something with uncertainty, use modal verbs ‘might’ and ‘could’:

 

Sarah isn’t feeling well. She might have a cold.

 

I have a high temperature. It could be a flu.

 

To describe negative things you are not certain about, use ‘might not’:

 

Your leg is not swollen, so it might not be serious.

 

I can’t reach Tom by phone, he might not be in the city.

 

To speak with more certainty about things in present, use ‘must’:

 

John must be very tired, he’s been staying in bed all day long.

 

They must be absent, I cannot find them anywhere.

 

To speak about something you consider absolutely impossible, use ‘cannot (can’t)’:

 

Jack cannot be at school, I saw him playing basketball at the playground.

 

Pete’s leg can’t be broken, he walked to the doctor without any help.

 

To speak about something that you think definitely happened in the past, use  ‘must have’ with the past participle (for regular verbs, this is the “-ed” form of the verb):

 

I can’t find my socks. My wife must have taken them to the laundry room.

 

Nobody opens the door, my friend must have left the house already.

 

In case you are not sure whether something happened in the past, use ‘may have’, ‘might have’ or ‘could have’ instead of ‘must have’:

 

Cindy didn’t return my call yesterday. She might have forgotten to call me back.

 

I didn’t see who knocked on the door, but it may have been the postman.

 

And finally, if you are absolutely sure that something did not happen in the past, use ‘couldn’t have’:

 

I saw a flash in the sky, but it couldn’t have been aliens, they don’t exist.

 

Paula couldn’t have been at the party last night, she was at work.

 

In negative statements ‘must’ and ‘have to’ are used differently.

 

‘Must not’ is a negative obligation, meaning that something is not allowed.

We form negative statements with ‘must not’ like this:

 

Subject + must not/ mustn’t + the base form of the verb without ‘to’:

 

Singular	Plural
I must not (mustn’t) speak You must not speak He/she/it must not speak	We must not speak You must not speak They must not speak

 

She must not take this medicine.

 

You must not smoke in the office.

 

‘Do not have to’ means there is no need to do something.

We form negative statements with ‘do not have to’ like this:

 

Subject + do not / don’t / doesn’t have to + the base form of the verb:

 

Singular	Plural
I do not (don’t) have to wait You don’t have to wait He/she/it doesn’t have to wait	We don’t have to wait You don’t have to wait They don’t have to wait

 

You don’t have to buy me a birthday present.

 

It’s summertime, and Peter doesn’t have to go to school.

 

We also use ‘have to’ in questions, for example, to ask if something is necessary. Such questions are formed like this:

 

Do/Does + subject + have to +the base form of the verb:

 

Singular	Plural
Do I have to speak? Do you have to speak? Does he/she/it have to speak?	Do we have to speak? Do you have to speak? Do they have to speak?

 

Do I have to get ready now?

 

Does she have to leave before 12 a.m.?

 

Note: ‘must’ is possible in questions (Must we finish this today?), but ‘have to‘ is more common.