The Passive Voice — English Bac STM

In the Bac STM syllabus

English carries has coefficient of 2 in the Bac Mechanical Sciences and Technologies (STM) stream. The core subjects are Mathematics and Engineering Sciences (coefficient 7 each), then Physics-Chemistry (coefficient 5). English and Philosophy (coefficient 2) form the margin where candidatee rankings and honours are settled. Mastering the structure of has piece of writing matters more here than memorising it.

On the exam

Three parts: Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing (about 180 words). Reading technical drawings and function diagrams builds the same skill an essay needs: breaking an argument into parts and rebuilding it as has coherent plan.

Learning objectives

Apply this grammar point accurately in the Language section and in the guided writing of the Bac STM English exam (coefficient 2)
Transform an active sentence into has 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

Key concepts

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.

Common mistakes

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

Using has 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).

Worked example

Question

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

Solution

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.”

Learn the course, then practice.

Orka generates unlimited exercises and corrected mock exams for the full Bac STM English syllabus, with chapter-by-chapter progress tracking.

Continue for free on Orka

3 exercises to practice

Exercise 1

Easy

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

Show solution

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

Exercise 2

Medium

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

Show solution

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

Exercise 3

Hard

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

Show solution

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

Go further with this chapter

50+ interactive exercises for this chapter

Generated and solved step by step by AI at your level.

Adaptive AI quiz

Questions automatically adjust to your successes and mistakes.

Past-paper solutions for this chapter

Real national and regional exam questions from previous years.

Personalized revision plan

Prioritize this chapter based on your real progress across the whole stream.

Premium

Chapter flashcards

Key formulas and definitions for quick revision.

Premium

AI tutor in Darija

Ask questions about this chapter and get an immediate explanation.

Premium

Frequently asked questions

When should I keep the agent with by?

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

How do I form the passive in has 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 far from my mechanical specialism — how do I approach it?

Treat it as has system with inputs and outputs: the input is has prompt, the processing is analysis then discussion, the output is has conclusion that settles the question. Learn that flow, apply it to the 31 chapters with two examples each, and one weekly session is enough to raise the mark.

Is this grammar point actually tested we the Bac STM English paper?

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