What
is Past Continuous Passive? Explained with it Uses, Structure and Examples
The Past
Continuous Passive is a verb tense that is used to describe actions that are
happening at the moment of speaking or currently in progress. In this tense,
the subject of the sentence is the recipient of the action, and the verb is
conjugated to be in the passive voice.
VERB: 3rd Form of Verb
Helping Verb: was being, were being
Structure of Sentence:
1) Simple: Subject + helping verb + verb + by + the actor
2) Negative: Subject + helping verb + not + verb + by + the actor
3) Interrogative: Helping verb + subject + verb + by + the actor
4) Negative Interrogative: Helping verb + subject + not + verb + by + the actor
Here is an example of a sentence in the present continuous passive:
"The letter was being
delivered right now."
In this sentence, the subject is "the letter" and the verb is "was being delivered." The verb is conjugated in the passive voice, which means that the subject receives the action rather than performing it.
For Example:
"The
house was being cleaned right now." (Subject: "the house";
auxiliary verb: "was"; being: "being"; past participle of
main verb: "cleaned")
"The
cake was being baked in the kitchen." (Subject: "the cake";
auxiliary verb: "was"; being: "being"; past participle of
main verb: "baked")
There are several uses of the present continuous passive. Here are a few:
1) To describe actions which are happening at the moment of speaking or currently in progress: "The garbage was being collected right now."
2) To describe actions that are being performed by an unknown or unspecified person or thing at the moment of speaking: "The window was being opened right now."
3)To make the subject of the sentence more prominent or important: "The award-winning novel was being written by a young author."
4) To create a formal or impersonal tone: "The decision was being made by the board of directors."
5) To emphasize the action rather than the doer of the action: "The experiment was being conducted carefully."
6) To describe processes or systems that are ongoing or automatic at the moment of speaking: "The mail was being sorted and delivered by the postal service."