The Passive Voice — English Bac Lettres

ضمن برنامج بكالوريا Lettres

English is a major subject in the Bac Lettres stream, with a coefficient of 4 — second only to Arabic Language (coefficient 7) and ahead of History-Geography and Philosophy (coefficient 3). There is no Mathematics in the stream. The high coefficient raises the bar: richer vocabulary, more developed argumentative writing, and firmer control of register and style are expected, and the English mark genuinely shapes the average.

في الامتحان

Three parts: Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing. In the Lettres stream the Writing task is longer and more demanding — a structured essay with a clear thesis, developed arguments on both sides, illustrative examples and a personal conclusion — and language accuracy and range are scored throughout.

أهداف التعلم

Apply this grammar point accurately in the Language section and in the guided writing of the Bac Lettres English exam (coefficient 4)
Transform an active sentence into a passive one, keeping the tense
Conjugate be in the tense of the original active verb, followed by the past participle
Decide when to add the agent with by and when to leave it out
Recognise the uses of the passive: action / result foregrounded, doer unknown, obvious or unimportant

المفاهيم الأساسية

Form and transformation

The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive one; be is conjugated in the same tense as the original active verb, followed by the past participle. E.g. Active “They built the bridge in 1990.” → Passive “The bridge was built in 1990.”

Use

The passive is preferred when the action or result matters more than the doer, or when the doer is unknown, obvious or unimportant. It is frequent in scientific and journalistic texts that report facts.

The agent with by

Add by + agent only if it gives useful information (“The letter was written by Shakespeare”). Otherwise leave it out, as in most passive sentences of an informative text.

الأخطاء الشائعة

Forgetting to put be in the same tense as the original active verb (keeping “was” for a present perfect passive, which must be “has been”).

Using a wrong irregular past participle (“was wrote” instead of “was written”).

Always adding by + agent even when it is useless or obvious (“The room was cleaned by someone” is clumsy with no precise information).

مثال محلول

نص السؤال

Put into the passive: “Shakespeare wrote Hamlet in the early 1600s.”

التصحيح

Identify the object. “Hamlet” is the direct object of the active sentence: it becomes the subject of the passive one.

Conjugate be in the same tense as wrote (past simple). was / were + past participle: Hamlet was written.

Add the agent if useful. The author (Shakespeare) is relevant information here, so keep it with by.

Result. “Hamlet was written by Shakespeare in the early 1600s.”

افهم الدرس، ثم تدرب.

ينشئ Orka تمارين غير محدودة وامتحانات تجريبية مصححة تغطي برنامج اللغة الإنجليزية في بكالوريا Lettres، مع تتبع تقدمك درساً بعد درس.

تابع مجاناً مع Orka

3 تمارين للتدرب

التمرين 1

Easy

Put into the passive: “They deliver the mail every morning.”

عرض التصحيح

“The mail is delivered every morning.” — active present simple → am / is / are + past participle.

التمرين 2

Medium

Put into the passive: “The government will announce the results tomorrow.”

عرض التصحيح

“The results will be announced tomorrow.” — active simple future (will + base form) → will be + past participle.

التمرين 3

Hard

Correct: “The cake was eating by the children.”

عرض التصحيح

The passive needs the past participle, not the -ing form: “The cake was eaten by the children.”

تعمق أكثر في هذا الدرس

أكثر من 50 تمريناً تفاعلياً في هذا الدرس

تمارين يولدها الذكاء الاصطناعي ويصححها خطوة بخطوة حسب مستواك.

تسجيل الدخول مطلوب

اختبار ذكي متكيف

أسئلة تتكيف تلقائياً مع إجاباتك الصحيحة وأخطائك.

تسجيل الدخول مطلوب

تصحيح امتحانات سابقة مرتبطة بالدرس

مواضيع من الامتحانات الوطنية والجهوية السابقة.

تسجيل الدخول مطلوب

خطة مراجعة شخصية

ترتب أولوية هذا الدرس حسب تقدمك الحقيقي في الشعبة.

Premium

بطاقات مراجعة الدرس

الصيغ والتعريفات الأساسية لمراجعة سريعة.

Premium

مدرس ذكي بالدارجة

اطرح أسئلتك حول الدرس واحصل على شرح فوري.

Premium

الأسئلة الشائعة

When should I keep the agent with by?

Only when it gives the reader new or useful information (a specific name, a source). If the doer is obvious, unknown or unimportant, leave it out — most passive sentences in a text have no by.

How do I form the passive in a perfect tense, like the present perfect?

Keep has / have (the tense of the active verb) and add been + past participle: “They have built the bridge.” → “The bridge has been built.”

Why use the passive rather than the active?

To stress the action or its result rather than the doer — very common in scientific texts, news headlines and reports where the doer is secondary.

English is coefficient 4 in the Lettres stream — how do I revise it seriously?

Treat it as a core subject. For each of the 31 chapters, fix the rule or the word field with two solid examples, and write at least one full essay a fortnight under timed conditions. Read short English articles to build argumentative vocabulary and sentence variety, since range and accuracy are marked directly.

Is this grammar point actually tested on the Bac Lettres English paper?

Yes — in the Language section as gap-fill, sentence-joining or error-correction, and indirectly in Writing, where the same structures decide whether a sentence is marked as accurate. One rule, two examples and one typical mistake per point is enough to cover both.