The Grammar Lab: Passive Voice
Focus on the Receiver
We use Passive Voice when the action or the object is more important than who did it. The main verb always stays in V3 (Past Participle). Only the "BE" verb changes to show time.
[Object] + BE (Tense) + V3 (+ by Person)
ចំណាំ៖ In Khmer, this is often expressed using "ត្រូវ" or "ត្រូវបាន" (e.g., ត្រូវបានគេធ្វើ).
Simple Tenses
| Present: The room is cleaned daily. | ត្រូវបានសម្អាត |
| Past: The room was cleaned yesterday. | ត្រូវបានសម្អាត (ពីម្សិលមិញ) |
| Future: The room will be cleaned tomorrow. | នឹងត្រូវបានសម្អាត |
Advanced Forms
| Present Cont: The car is being repaired. | កំពុងត្រូវបានជួសជុល |
| Past Cont: The car was being repaired. | កំពុងត្រូវបានជួសជុល (អតីត) |
| Perfect: The car has been repaired. | ត្រូវបានជួសជុលរួចរាល់ |
The "By" Agent
Only use "by [Person]" if it is important specific information. If it is obvious or unknown, delete it.
✅ "Harry Potter" was written by J.K. Rowling. (Important)
❌ The thief was arrested by the police. (Obvious)
✅ "Harry Potter" was written by J.K. Rowling. (Important)
❌ The thief was arrested by the police. (Obvious)
Active ↔ Passive Switch
Click to flip the sentence structure.
Someone cleans the office.Active
They built this house in 1990.Active
Someone stole my phone.Active
They will deliver the pizza.Active
Quick Check
1. English _____ in many countries.
2. The cake _____ by my mom yesterday.
3. The work _____ yet.