The Passive Voice — English Bac Agro

Dans le programme du Bac Agro

English carries a coefficient of 2 in the Bac Sciences Agronomiques stream, level with Philosophy. The stream is built on Mathematics (coefficient 7), then Physics-Chemistry, Life & Earth Sciences and Plant & Animal Sciences (coefficient 5 each). English plays the role of a mark-mover in the average rather than a make-or-break subject, but its themes on the environment and development connect naturally to the stream's science content.

À l'épreuve

Three parts: Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing (about 180 words). The habit of thinking in systems — soil, plant, animal, climate — helps Agro candidates handle essay prompts on sustainable development and the environment, where a concrete, well-chosen example beats a list of vague ones.

Objectifs d'apprentissage

Apply this grammar point accurately in the Language section and in the guided writing of the Bac Agro English exam (coefficient 2)
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

Notions clés

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.

Erreurs fréquentes

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).

Exemple corrigé

Énoncé

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

Correction

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.”

Le cours, puis l'entraînement.

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3 exercices pour t'entraîner

Exercice 1

Easy

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

Voir la correction

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

Exercice 2

Medium

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

Voir la correction

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

Exercice 3

Hard

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

Voir la correction

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

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Questions fréquentes

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 only coefficient 2 in my stream — is it worth revision time?

Yes. A mark in English weighs in the average exactly like a mark in a science subject at coefficient 2, and it is usually easier to raise because it rests on method, not on accumulated knowledge. One organised weekly session — chapter, rule or words, example, short paragraph — is enough.

Is this grammar point actually tested on the Bac Agro 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.