La regla principal
Pasiva en cualquier tiempo: sujeto + be + participio. Solo cambia be: has / have been, had been, is / are being, will be, was / were being, can / must / should be. El participio nunca cambia. Añadimos el agente con by solo cuando aporta información nueva.
Formas
| Forma | Afirmativa | Negativa | Pregunta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present perfect: has / have been + participio | The bridge has been repaired. | The bridge hasn't been repaired yet. | Has the bridge been repaired? |
| Past perfect: had been + participio | The tickets had been sold before we arrived. | The tickets hadn't been sold by noon. | Had the tickets been sold before you arrived? |
| Futuro: will be + participio | The results will be announced on Monday. | The results won't be announced on Monday. | Will the results be announced on Monday? |
| Futuro: be going to be + participio | The new library is going to be opened in May. | The new library isn't going to be opened in May. | Is the new library going to be opened in May? |
| Present continuous: is / are being + participio | The bridge is being repaired. | The bridge isn't being repaired at the moment. | Is the bridge being repaired? |
| Past continuous: was / were being + participio | The car was being repaired when I called. | The car wasn't being repaired when I called. | Was the car being repaired when you called? |
| Modales: can / must / should be + participio | The form should be signed today. | The form shouldn't be signed in pencil. | Should the form be signed today? |
| have / has to be + participio | The room has to be cleaned today. | The room doesn't have to be cleaned today. | Does the room have to be cleaned today? |
| Infinitivo pasivo: need to be + participio | The report needs to be checked. | The report doesn't need to be checked. | Does the report need to be checked? |
El presente simple y el pasado simple pasivos (is made, was built) ya los conoces del tema «Passive Voice» de B1. Aquí la regla es la misma, pero be toma formas más largas. En los verbos regulares el participio coincide con el pasado (repaired); en los irregulares hay que saberlo: written, chosen, stolen, built, sent, found, held, paid, taken, given, sold, broken, hidden.
En español la pasiva refleja es mucho más frecuente que ser + participio: «Se venden entradas», «Se anunciarán los resultados el lunes». El inglés no tiene ese «se»: necesita un sujeto y el verbo be. Por eso no se puede copiar «Se han vendido todas las entradas» como *Have been sold all the tickets; la forma correcta es All the tickets have been sold. La buena noticia es que los tiempos se corresponden casi uno a uno con la pasiva con ser: «ha sido reparado» = has been repaired, «había sido vendido» = had been sold, «será anunciado» = will be announced, «estaba siendo reparado» = was being repaired. Fíjate en la pareja que más se confunde: been corresponde a «sido» y being a «siendo». Y recuerda que el participio inglés no concuerda: «reparado, reparada, reparados, reparadas» es siempre repaired. Tampoco existe el «se»: no digas *Here is sold tickets, sino Tickets are sold here.
Ejemplos
- The bridge has just been repaired. Acaban de reparar el puente.
- The tickets had all been sold before we arrived. Todas las entradas se habían vendido antes de que llegáramos.
- The results will be announced on Monday. Los resultados se anunciarán el lunes.
- The new library is going to be opened next spring. La nueva biblioteca se inaugurará la próxima primavera.
- The old theatre is being repaired at the moment. Ahora mismo están reparando el viejo teatro.
- The car was being repaired when I called. Estaban reparando el coche cuando llamé.
- The form must be signed in blue ink. El formulario debe firmarse con tinta azul.
- The room has to be cleaned before the guests come. Hay que limpiar la habitación antes de que lleguen los invitados.
- The report needs to be checked again. Hay que revisar el informe otra vez.
- Has the parcel been sent yet? ¿Ya han enviado el paquete?
- The house hasn't been painted since 2019. No han pintado la casa desde 2019.
- This song has been recorded by hundreds of singers. Cientos de cantantes han grabado esta canción.
Cómo formar la pasiva en cada tiempo
Usa be en el mismo tiempo que tendría la oración activa y añade el participio. Present perfect: has / have been + participio (The bridge has been repaired). Past perfect: had been + participio (The tickets had been sold before we arrived). Futuro: will be + participio (The results will be announced on Monday); be going to be + participio se oye más al hablar de planes e intenciones (The library is going to be opened in May). Present continuous: am / is / are being + participio (The bridge is being repaired): la acción está en curso ahora o en este periodo. Past continuous: was / were being + participio (The car was being repaired when I called). La negación y la pregunta se forman igual que en la oración activa, es decir, solo cambia el primer auxiliar: hasn't been, Has ... been, won't be, Will ... be, wasn't being, Was ... being.
De la oración activa a la pasiva y al revés
| Forma | Oración activa | Oración pasiva |
|---|---|---|
| Present perfect | They have repaired the bridge. | The bridge has been repaired. |
| Past perfect | They had sold all the tickets. | All the tickets had been sold. |
| Futuro | They will announce the results on Monday. | The results will be announced on Monday. |
| Present continuous | They are repairing the bridge now. | The bridge is being repaired now. |
| Past continuous | They were repairing the car when I called. | The car was being repaired when I called. |
| Modal | You must sign the form. | The form must be signed. |
El complemento directo de la activa pasa a ser el sujeto de la pasiva, el tiempo se mantiene y el sujeto de la activa («ellos», «alguien», «la gente») normalmente desaparece. Si hace falta nombrar al agente, va al final con by: The bridge has been repaired by a local company.
Pasiva con modales e infinitivo pasivo
Después de un modal pon be y el participio: can be done, must be signed, should be checked, might be delayed, may be changed. El significado del modal no cambia: must expresa obligación, should consejo, can y could posibilidad, might y may probabilidad. Have to be y has to be también piden be y participio: The room has to be cleaned. Lo mismo después de need to, want ... to y be going to: It needs to be checked, I want this to be done today. Donde en español dices «hay que limpiar» o «hay que revisar», en inglés se suele usar esta estructura. Después del modal y después de to, be va en forma base: no *must signed, no *needs to checked.
Cuándo se mantiene by
Nombramos al agente con by solo si resulta interesante o importante: The bridge was designed by a student, This song has been recorded by hundreds of singers. Si el agente es desconocido, obvio o irrelevante, se omite by: My bike has been stolen, The results will be announced on Monday. La pasiva encaja cuando importa el resultado o lo que recibe la acción, no quién la hace.
Consejo
Para pasar una oración activa a la pasiva, sigue cuatro pasos: 1) identifica el tiempo (have repaired: present perfect); 2) convierte el complemento directo en sujeto (the bridge); 3) pon be en el mismo tiempo (has been); 4) añade el participio (repaired). Si dudas entre been y being: been va en las formas perfectas (has / have / had been) y being en is / are being y was / were being, cuando la acción está en curso ahora o en un momento del pasado.
Errores típicos
The results will announced on Monday.The results will be announced on Monday. después de will va be: will be announcedThe parcel has sent already.The parcel has already been sent. en el present perfect la pasiva lleva been: has already been sentThe form has been wrote by Anna.The form has been written by Anna. el participio de write es written, no wroteThe car was been repaired when I called.The car was being repaired when I called. en el past continuous va being, no been: was being repairedThe bridge has being closed since Monday.The bridge has been closed since Monday. has being no existe: después de has / have va beenThe road is repairing now.The road is being repaired now. la carretera recibe la acción, no repara nada: hace falta la pasiva is being repairedThe form must signed in blue ink.The form must be signed in blue ink. después de un modal va be: must be signedThe report needs to checked again.The report needs to be checked again. después de to va be: needs to be checkedHas been the parcel sent yet?Has the parcel been sent yet? en la pregunta el auxiliar va antes del sujeto: Has the parcel been sent?The accident was happened yesterday.The accident happened yesterday. happen, arrive y die no tienen pasiva porque no llevan complemento directoHave been sold all the tickets.All the tickets have been sold. no copies «se han vendido»: el inglés necesita un sujeto
Preguntas frecuentes
¿Cómo se forma la pasiva en inglés en todos los tiempos?
Toma el sujeto, be en el tiempo adecuado y el participio: has been repaired, had been sold, will be announced, was being repaired, must be signed. Solo cambia be; el participio siempre es el mismo.
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre been y being?
Been aparece en las formas perfectas (has been repaired, had been sold) y habla de una acción terminada. Being se usa cuando la acción está en curso en un momento concreto: The car was being repaired when I called.
¿Hay que poner by siempre?
No. Se añade by solo cuando el agente aporta información nueva (written by a famous author). Si es desconocido u obvio, se omite: My bike has been stolen.
¿Qué diferencia hay entre must be done y has to be done?
Must suele expresar una obligación impuesta por quien habla o por una norma: The form must be signed. Has to be done es más natural cuando la obligación viene de las circunstancias: The room has to be cleaned before the guests come.
¿Existe la pasiva con is / are being?
Sí. Is / are being + participio se usa cuando la acción que recibe el sujeto está en curso ahora o en este periodo: The bridge is being repaired. Negativa: isn't being repaired; pregunta: Is the bridge being repaired? Compárala con el present perfect: The bridge has been repaired indica que la reparación ya terminó.
¿Se puede poner cualquier verbo en pasiva?
No, solo los transitivos, los que llevan complemento directo (repair, sell, announce). Los verbos sin complemento directo (happen, arrive, die, go) no tienen pasiva: The accident happened, no The accident was happened.