subject + be + past participleUse simple be plus past participle to name the current state. No by-phrase, no continuous form.
Stative Passive
B2Be + past participle often names a current state, not an action. The window is broken talks about how the window is now, not about who broke it.
What you'll learn
- Read be + past participle as a state when there is no agent and no action focus.
- Use be + past participle to describe the result of an event as a state.
- Drop by + doer when the focus is the state, not the action.
- Keep simple be, not is being, when you mean a state that already exists.
- Switch to get + past participle when you mean the change into the state.
Structure
subject + be + being + past participleUse being only when the action is in progress. The door is being closed names the action, not the state.
When to use
Objects and places
Describe the present state of an object or place after an event. The window is broken. The shop is closed. The road is blocked.
People as states
Use stative passive for personal states that come from an earlier event. She is married. He is retired. They are divorced.
Tasks and meetings
Signal that a task or process is finished and the state holds now. We are done. The report is finished. Dinner is ready.
Markers
stillalreadynowcompletelytotallyno by-phrase
In contrast
vs passive-present-past
Dynamic passive names the action and usually carries a by-phrase or a clear time: The door was closed by Anna at 6. Stative passive names the result state: The door is closed.
vs ed-ing-adjectives
Ed-ing adjectives pair feelings with their cause: I am bored vs the lesson is boring. Stative passive is broader: any past participle can name a state, not only feelings.
vs get-passive
Get + past participle marks the change into a state. Be + past participle marks the state itself. We got tired during the hike; now we are tired.
Common mistakes
Wrong
The store is closed by the owner every evening.
Correct
The store closes every evening.
A by-phrase with a doer points to an action. For a repeated action use active. Keep stative passive for the state itself: The store is closed now.
Wrong
The window is being broken since yesterday.
Correct
The window has been broken since yesterday.
Continuous passive means the action is in progress. For an existing state lasting some time, use Present Perfect of be.
Wrong
Anna is married by Tom.
Correct
Anna is married to Tom.
Married as a state takes to + partner, not by + doer. By would describe the priest performing the ceremony.
Wrong
After climbing the hill we were tired in one minute.
Correct
After climbing the hill we got tired very quickly.
For the moment of becoming tired use get + past participle. We were tired names the resulting state, not the change.
Common misconceptions
❝ Be + past participle is always passive voice with a hidden doer. ❞
Many cases are stative: the past participle behaves like an adjective and names the current state. There is no implied ongoing action.
❝ If there is no by + doer, the sentence is not passive at all. ❞
Most stative passives have no by-phrase. The doer is often unknown, irrelevant, or already part of the resulting state.
❝ You can always add being to make a passive talk about right now. ❞
Continuous passive describes an action in progress. A current state needs simple be plus the past participle.
Skills in this rule (5)
READ_BE_PP_AS_STATEw5Read be + past participle as a current state
Recognize that be + past participle often describes a present state, not an action. The window is broken means it is in a broken state now, not that someone is breaking it.
DESCRIBE_RESULT_AS_STATEw5Describe the result of an event as a current state
Use be + past participle to talk about the current state that an earlier action has left. Focus on how things are now, not on who did what.
DROP_BY_AGENT_WHEN_STATEw4Drop by + doer in stative passive
When you mean a state, leave out by + doer. Adding it pushes the sentence toward an action reading, which usually needs a past tense.
AVOID_CONTINUOUS_FOR_STATEw4Avoid continuous for a state, keep simple be
Do not use is being + past participle when you mean a state. Continuous passive describes an action in progress, not a result that already exists.
CONTRAST_BE_VS_GETw4Tell be + past participle from get + past participle
Be + past participle names a state that holds now. Get + past participle names the change into that state. We are tired is a state; we got tired is the moment it happened.