Present Continuous Passive
Passive Use:
The same as mentioned before with the other passive verb forms, we use the passive form when the focus is on the object of the phrase and not the subject. It is often used in journalistic English, when we do not know who caused the action or it isn’t important. Transforming this verb into the passive voice, may cause some confusion due to the fact that the present continuous already contains the auxiliary verb to be. So in the passive form we add an extra particle to obtain this form. Therefore we transform as follows:
Active: bad driving is causing accidents.
Passive: accidents are being caused by bad driving.
According to the tense we are using we change the auxiliary of the verb to be Ex: Accidents are + being caused by bad driving Present Continuous.
Form
Auxiliary of the verb to be am/is/are + being + past participle
Affirmative form
| Active form | Passive form |
|---|---|
| I am cleaning the house every day. | The house is being cleaned everyday by me. |
| Triumph is making motorcycles. | Motorcycles are being made by Triumph. |
Negative form
| Active form | Passive form |
|---|---|
| I am not cleaning the house every day. | The house isn’t being cleaned by me every day. |
| Triumph is not making motorcycles. | Motorcycles aren’t being made by Triumph. |
Interrogative form
| Active form | Passsive form |
|---|---|
| Are you cleaning the house every day? | Is the house being cleaned by you every day? |
| Is Triumph making motorcycles? | Are motorcycles being made by Triumph? |
Note important! We can only form a passive sentence from an active sentence when there is an object in the active sentence.