Past Simple Passive: Completed Actions

To understand this, we need to look at the "Active Voice" first. In the active voice, the subject does the action. "The chef (subject) cooked (verb) the meal (object)." The chef is the star of the show. But in the Past Simple Passive, we flip the script. The object moves to the front. "The meal (new subject) was cooked (passive verb) by the chef." Now, the meal is the star. We use this when the action is finished and completed in the past. It is like a grammar traffic light that tells the listener to look at the result, not the person. It is very useful when the person who did the action is a mystery. For example, if someone steals your bike, you say "My bike was stolen." You don't say "A thief stole my bike" because the bike is what you care about! It is also great for being polite. If your roommate breaks a plate, saying "The plate was broken" sounds much nicer than "You broke the plate!"

1. 1Building this grammar is like following a simple recipe. You only need three main ingredients.
2. 2The Subject: This is the thing that received the action (The car, the letter, the cake).
3. 3The Helper: Use was for singular subjects (I, he, she, it) and were for plural subjects (we, you, they).
4. 4The Main Verb: Use the Past Participle. We often call this "V3." For regular verbs, just add -ed. For irregular verbs, you need to check your list (like eaten, broken, or sold).
5. 5Here is the formula: [Subject] + [was/were] + [V3 Verb].
6. 6If you want to say who did it, just add by at the end. For example: "The song was sung by Adele." If you want to make it a question, just move the helper to the front: "Was the song sung by Adele?" To make it negative, add not: "The song was not sung by Adele." It is as easy as making toast, though hopefully less crumbly.

There are four main times you should reach for this grammar tool. First, use it for historical facts. "The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889." We care about the tower, not every single worker who held a hammer. Second, use it for news and crime reports. "A bank was robbed last night." The focus is on the crime. Third, use it when the person doing the action is unknown or obvious. "The trash was taken out." (We assume the trash collector did it). Fourth, use it in professional settings like job interviews or science reports. "I was given more responsibility in my last job." It sounds humble and focused on your experience. Think of it as your "professional mode" button. It helps you talk about results and achievements without sounding like you are bragging too much about yourself.

Don't use the passive voice for everything! If you use it too much, you will sound like a robot from a 1950s movie. Avoid it when you want to be direct and personal. For example, in a love letter, "I love you" is much better than "You are loved by me." That second one sounds like a legal document! Also, you cannot use this with "intransitive verbs." These are verbs that don't have an object, like sleep, happen, go, or die. You can't say "The accident was happened." That is a big grammar no-no. Finally, if the person doing the action is the most important part of the story, stick to the active voice. If your favorite celebrity gave you an autograph, say "Taylor Swift signed my book!" Don't say "My book was signed by Taylor Swift" unless you really love the book more than the singer.

One of the biggest traps is forgetting the verb to be. Many people say "The window broken yesterday." This is missing the was! You must have that helper verb to make it passive. Another mistake is using the wrong verb form. People often use the simple past instead of the past participle. They say "The letter was wrote" instead of "The letter was written." Remember, V3 is your best friend here. Also, watch out for subject-verb agreement. If you have two things, you must use were. "The keys was lost" is wrong. It should be "The keys were lost." It is like wearing two different shoes; people will notice the mistake! Lastly, don't forget that by is only for people or things that did the action. Don't use from or with when you mean the "doer."

Let's compare this to the Past Simple Active. Active: "The dog bit the man." (The dog is the focus). Passive: "The man was bitten by the dog." (The man is the focus). Now, let's look at the Present Simple Passive. Present: "The mail is delivered every day." (This is a routine). Past: "The mail was delivered at 9 AM." (This is a finished action in the past). It is also different from the Past Continuous Passive ("The house was being painted"), which describes an action that was in progress. The Past Simple Passive is all about the "Done Deal." The action is over, the result is here, and we are just talking about the facts. It is the "History Channel" of grammar.