Active or Passive — by, with and Verbs with No Passive
Practice choosing between active and passive, using by for the doer and with for a tool, and verbs like happen and arrive that never take the passive.
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This song was written ___ my favourite singer.
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by
In a passive sentence, 'by' introduces the person who did the action. The singer wrote the song → 'written by my favourite singer'.
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The plane ___ late because of the snow.
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arrived
'Arrive' has no object — nobody 'arrives' a plane — so it has no passive form. Only verbs with an object (build, send, steal) can be passive.
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The birthday cake was cut ___ a big kitchen knife.
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with
'By' is for the person who does the action; 'with' is for the tool they use. A knife is a tool → 'cut with a knife'.
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Something strange ___ at work today.
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happened
'Happen' never takes an object — nobody 'happens' something — so it can't be passive. Just 'happened'.
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I love this dress — it was made ___ my grandmother.
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by
Your grandmother is the person who made it → 'by'. 'Made of' and 'made from' are for materials (made of cotton), 'with' for tools.
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Our new manager ___ the whole team to a meeting yesterday.
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invited
The manager did the inviting, and 'the whole team' is the object after the verb → active 'invited'. A passive verb can't be followed by its own object like this.
Active or Passive: Choosing the Voice and the Agent
Choosing between active and passive is a choice about what the sentence is about. If the doer is the point — Our new manager invited the whole team — the sentence stays active, and an object follows the verb. If the action or its result is the point, the passive moves the affected thing to the front. When a passive does mention the doer, it uses by: This song was written by my favourite singer. A tool takes with (cut with a knife) and a material takes made of or made from. Finally, some verbs have no passive at all. Happen, arrive, die and disappear never take an object, so there is nothing to turn into a passive subject: The plane arrived late, Something strange happened — never was arrived or was happened.