passive implies immobility or lack of normally expected response to an external force or influence and often suggests deliberate submissiveness or self-control.

PASSIVE definition: not reacting visibly to something that might be expected to produce manifestations of an emotion or feeling. See examples of passive used in a sentence.

'Catrin told me' is an active sentence, and 'I was told by Catrin' is passive. In a passive sentence, the subject is the person or thing affected by the action of the verb.

We make the passive by putting the verb 'to be' into whatever tense we need and then adding the past participle. For regular verbs, we make the past participle by adding 'ed' to the infinitive.

Used to describe a form of verb in which the grammatical subject is the object of the action, for example, the sentence “The government took steps.” in the passive would be Steps were …

Grammar (opposed to active) of, relating to, or being a voice, verb form, or construction that expresses an action that is done to rather than by the subject: In a passive sentence, the …

Do you know how to use the passive voice to change the focus of a sentence? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Passive definition: Receiving or subjected to an action without responding or initiating an action in return.

Dec 14, 2025 · (grammar) A form of a verb that is in the passive voice. (marketing) A customer who is satisfied with a product or service, but not keen enough to promote it by word of mouth.

The passive voice is a way of writing or speaking that uses passive verbs. The sentence “The house was destroyed by the tornado” is written in the passive voice.