What you'll learn
By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to describe past events with was/were + past participle when the person who did the action is unknown, obvious, or not important.
When do I use it?
Use the past passive when you talk about things that happened to a person or thing in the past, and the doer is not the focus. Typical cases: accidents ("The window was broken"), history ("The pyramids were built thousands of years ago"), and news ("The suspect was arrested yesterday"). You can leave out the doer, or add it with "by": "The cake was eaten by my brother."
How do I form it?
was / were + past participle
- The letter was sent yesterday. (send → sent)
- The rooms were cleaned this morning. (clean → cleaned)
| I / He / She / It | was told |
|---|---|
| You / We / They | were told |
Match was/were to the subject. In the past the participle stays the same: told, built, written.
subject + was/were + past participle (+ by + agent)
The bridge was built in 1995.
The tickets were sold out in an hour.
Common mistakes for Spanish speakers
- Using the base form instead of the past participle. Spanish "La carta fue escribir" makes no sense, but English learners often copy the dictionary verb: "The letter was write" is wrong; it is "The letter was written."
- Confusing "was" and "were". Verb agreement carries over from Spanish: "The doors was closed" is wrong; use "The doors were closed." Match "were" to plural subjects.
- Adding "by" when the doer is unknown. Spanish can suggest an agent even when you do not know it. Saying "The window was broken by someone" sounds odd in English — simply drop the agent: "The window was broken."
Ask yourself: "Was or were?" The subject decides — singular gets "was", plural gets "were". The action word is always the past participle, the third column of irregular verbs: write → wrote → written.
Practice
Multiple Choice
B1Choose the correct form: The tickets ______ sold out quickly.
Fill in the Blank
B1The Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo da Vinci.
Hint: 'The Mona Lisa' is one painting, a singular subject.
Sentence Transformation
B1Task: Rewrite the sentence in the past passive to focus on the bridge.
Hint: Put the bridge first, then was + the past participle of 'build' (built).
Find the Error
B1Practice Speaking
Apply what you've learned in a real conversation with AI feedback.
Level: B1