Voz pasiva en inglés: formación, usos y ejemplos
La voz pasiva desplaza el foco de quién realiza la acción a qué ocurre o qué se ve afectado. Aparece en la escritura académica, el periodismo, las instrucciones formales y el habla cotidiana. Esta guía cubre todas las formas de tiempo, las pasivas modales y la pregunta clave: ¿cuándo deberías usarla realmente? Explora los 48 ejemplos o filtra por categoría.
48 items · 6 topics
"The report is written every week"
Someone writes the report weekly (present simple passive)
"The report is written every week by the marketing team."
"Mistakes are made"
People make mistakes — a general truth in passive
"Mistakes are made, but the important thing is to learn from them."
"The car is being repaired"
Someone is repairing the car right now (present continuous passive)
"The car is being repaired at the garage — it will be ready tomorrow."
"English is spoken here"
People speak English in this place
"English is spoken here, so you don't need a translator."
"The windows are cleaned every month"
Someone cleans the windows monthly
"The windows are cleaned every month by a professional service."
"The data is being processed"
A system or person is processing the data at this moment
"Please wait — the data is being processed by the server."
"New employees are trained online"
The company trains new employees via online courses
"New employees are trained online during their first two weeks."
"The package is delivered to the door"
A courier delivers the package directly to the door
"The package is delivered to the door within 24 hours of ordering."
"The letter was signed by the manager"
The manager signed the letter (past simple passive)
"The letter was signed by the manager before it was sent."
"The bridge was built in 1920"
Workers built the bridge in 1920
"The bridge was built in 1920 and is still in use today."
"The meeting was cancelled"
Someone cancelled the meeting
"The meeting was cancelled due to a scheduling conflict."
"The files were being uploaded"
Someone was uploading the files at a specific past moment (past continuous passive)
"The files were being uploaded when the connection dropped."
"He was arrested last night"
Police arrested him last night
"He was arrested last night and released this morning."
"The invoice was sent on Monday"
Someone sent the invoice on Monday
"The invoice was sent on Monday, but payment has not arrived yet."
"The rules were changed without notice"
Someone changed the rules without informing anyone
"The rules were changed without notice, which frustrated many employees."
"The project was completed on time"
The team finished the project by the deadline
"Despite the challenges, the project was completed on time and within budget."
"The problem has been fixed"
Someone has fixed the problem (present perfect passive)
"The problem has been fixed — you can log in again now."
"Three emails have been sent"
Someone has sent three emails so far
"Three emails have been sent, but we haven't received a reply."
"The report had been submitted before the deadline"
Someone submitted the report before the deadline (past perfect passive)
"The report had been submitted before the deadline, so we were not penalised."
"The decision has been made"
Someone has made the decision (finality implied)
"The decision has been made — we are moving to the new office in January."
"The contract has been reviewed by legal"
The legal team has reviewed the contract
"The contract has been reviewed by legal and is ready to sign."
"All tickets have been sold"
Buyers have purchased every available ticket
"All tickets have been sold — the concert is fully booked."
"The evidence had been destroyed"
Someone had destroyed the evidence before a later point
"By the time the police arrived, the evidence had been destroyed."
"The app has been updated to version 3.0"
The development team has released version 3.0
"The app has been updated to version 3.0 with several new features."
"This must be done today"
It is necessary for someone to do this today
"This must be done today — the deadline cannot be moved."
"The form should be completed in full"
It is advisable or required to fill in every part of the form
"The form should be completed in full before submission."
"The package can be collected at reception"
It is possible to pick up the package at reception
"The package can be collected at reception between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m."
"Mistakes could be avoided"
It was possible to prevent the mistakes
"With better planning, these mistakes could be avoided."
"The results may be published next month"
There is a possibility the results will be published next month
"The results may be published next month if the review is completed."
"This issue might be caused by the update"
The update is possibly the cause of the issue
"This issue might be caused by the latest update — we are investigating."
"The fee will be refunded within 5 days"
Someone will return the fee to you within 5 days
"The fee will be refunded within 5 days of your cancellation request."
"Your request cannot be processed"
It is not possible to process your request
"Your request cannot be processed without a valid ID number."
"It is said that prices will rise"
People say that prices will increase (impersonal reporting)
"It is said that prices will rise significantly next year."
"He is believed to be innocent"
People believe he is innocent
"He is believed to be innocent, and his lawyers are confident of an acquittal."
"It is reported that ten people were injured"
News sources report that ten people were hurt
"It is reported that ten people were injured in the accident on the motorway."
"The CEO is known to prefer email"
People know that the CEO prefers to communicate by email
"The CEO is known to prefer email over phone calls for formal decisions."
"It is thought that the policy will change"
Many people think the policy will be changed
"It is thought that the policy will change after the upcoming election."
"The suspect is alleged to have fled the country"
Authorities allege that the suspect has left the country
"The suspect is alleged to have fled the country on a private flight."
"It is estimated that 2 million people watched the broadcast"
Analysts estimate that 2 million viewers watched
"It is estimated that 2 million people watched the live broadcast."
"The drug is claimed to reduce cholesterol"
The manufacturer claims the drug lowers cholesterol
"The drug is claimed to reduce cholesterol by up to 30% within three months."
"The thief was caught (actor unknown)"
Use passive when you do not know or need not mention the agent
"The thief was caught late last night — police have not released a name."
"The vaccine was developed in record time"
Use passive to put emphasis on the result, not who did it
"The vaccine was developed in record time and approved by regulators."
"Visitors are asked to sign in at reception"
Use passive in formal instructions to sound impersonal and authoritative
"Visitors are asked to sign in at reception and wear a visitor badge at all times."
"The samples were heated to 200°C"
Use passive in scientific writing to focus on method, not researcher
"The samples were heated to 200°C and held at that temperature for one hour."
"Twelve people were made redundant"
Use passive when the speaker wants to avoid naming the responsible party
"Twelve people were made redundant as part of the restructuring programme."
"The policy is reviewed annually"
Use passive for ongoing institutional processes where no single agent is highlighted
"The policy is reviewed annually by the compliance committee."
"This tower was constructed in 1890"
Use passive in historical writing when the doer is less important than the object
"This tower was constructed in 1890 and remains the tallest building in the city."
"The active voice is preferred in most writing"
Know when to choose active — passive should be deliberate, not default
"The active voice is preferred in most writing because it is clearer and more direct."
Preguntas frecuentes
¿Cómo se forma la voz pasiva en inglés?
La voz pasiva se forma con el tiempo correcto del verbo "be" más el participio pasado del verbo principal. Por ejemplo: presente simple — "is written"; pasado simple — "was written"; presente perfecto — "has been written"; futuro — "will be written"; modal — "should be written". El agente (quien realiza la acción) puede añadirse con "by", pero suele omitirse.
¿Cuándo deberías usar la voz pasiva?
Usa la voz pasiva cuando (1) el agente es desconocido ("the window was broken"), (2) el agente es obvio o no es importante ("the suspect was arrested"), (3) quieres enfatizar el resultado en lugar del autor ("the vaccine was approved"), o (4) escribes en un registro formal o científico donde se espera impersonalidad.
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre "was done" y "has been done"?
"Was done" es la pasiva en pasado simple: se refiere a una acción completada en un momento específico del pasado ("The report was sent yesterday"). "Has been done" es la pasiva en presente perfecto: enfatiza que la acción tiene relevancia en el presente ("The report has been sent — we can proceed"). Usa "has been" cuando la acción pasada todavía importa ahora.
¿Qué son las pasivas de reporte como "it is said that"?
Las pasivas de reporte (también llamadas pasivas impersonales) se usan en el periodismo, la escritura académica y el discurso formal para presentar información sin atribuirla a una fuente específica. Patrones comunes: "It is said/reported/believed/thought/estimated/known/alleged that + cláusula" o "He is said/believed/known to + infinitivo". Crean un tono objetivo y distante.
¿Debo evitar la voz pasiva en mis textos?
No: evita la "pasivafobia". La pasiva es una herramienta valiosa cuando se usa de forma deliberada. El problema es abusar de ella como opción por defecto. En la mayoría de los textos cotidianos y empresariales, prefiere la voz activa por claridad. Cambia a la pasiva cuando genuinamente sirva a uno de los cuatro propósitos: agente desconocido, énfasis en el resultado, tono formal o registro científico.
Escuchar la voz pasiva usada de forma natural en conversaciones auténticas y noticias es la forma más rápida de interiorizar cuándo y cómo la utilizan realmente los hablantes nativos.
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