Writing About the News: How to Use the Past Passive

Past passive grammar lesson using March 2026 news

In English journalism, we often use the passive voice when we want to focus on what happened rather than who did it. This is especially common in news writing.

Let us practice with real news from this week. Active sentence: 'The G7 agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must be secured.'

Passive sentence: 'It was agreed by the G7 that the Strait of Hormuz must be secured.' The passive often sounds more formal and objective.

Here are more examples from this week's news. 'France beat Brazil 2-1.'

→ 'Brazil was beaten by France 2-1.' 'Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz.'

→ 'The Strait of Hormuz was blocked by Iran.' 'A French zoo announced the birth of a golden snub-nosed monkey.'

→ 'The birth of a golden snub-nosed monkey was announced by a French zoo.' Form: Subject + WAS/WERE + Past Participle (+ by + agent).

Practice: change these active sentences to passive: 1. Trump postponed the Iran deadline.

2. The EU sent €80 million to Lebanon.

3. Scotland qualified for the World Cup.