These questions ask you to build or recognise a present simple passive for a routine, schedule or regular process. You need to confirm that the subject receives the action, choose the agreeing present form of be, and finish the phrase with a past participle.
Choose the form in three decisions
Start with meaning and time. Words such as every, daily, weekly, regularly and under the current schedule point to a repeated or standing situation, so use the present simple rather than a form for an action in progress. Next ask whether the grammatical subject performs the action or receives it. If it receives the action, or the instruction asks for a be-passive, build the phrase with be plus a past participle. Finally, match be to the subject itself, not to a nearby noun or to the doer mentioned later.
| Signal or subject | Decision |
|---|---|
| A routine, timetable, repeated process or general arrangement | Use the simple present time frame. |
| I | Begin the passive phrase with am. |
| One thing, a singular noun, or a phrase beginning with each or every | Begin the passive phrase with is. Each and every keep the grammatical subject singular. |
| Two or more things, a plural noun, we, they or you | Begin the passive phrase with are. |
| The lexical verb after am, is or are | Use its past participle, including the usual -ed form for a regular verb. |
Use a quick final check: subject, be, participle. All three parts must fit. Agreement alone is not enough if the lexical verb has the wrong shape, and a participle alone does not create a finite passive without be.
The traps
- Choosing is or are by habit instead of reading the subject creates a number mismatch. Reduce the subject to its head first: a plural head needs are, while a singular head, including one introduced by each or every, needs is. Remember that I follows its own pattern with am.
- Putting a base verb after am, is or are leaves the passive unfinished. Once be carries tense and agreement, the lexical verb must be a past participle, not its dictionary form.
- Dropping be may leave an active-looking verb or a non-finite fragment. If the subject receives the action, check that an agreeing form of be stands before the participle.
- Using an -ing form after be changes the construction towards the continuous. A standing routine in the present simple needs the past participle directly after am, is or are; it does not use an -ing ending.
Try it
Use the be-passive form of the verb in brackets: The observatory dome ___ after sunset as part of a nightly routine. (close)
Use the be-passive form of the verb in brackets: The soil samples ___ by code before testing as part of a regular process. (mark)
Use the be-passive form of the verb in brackets: Under the standing reminder system, I ___ one day before every dental appointment. (remind)