The following is a summary of active and passive forms of all verb tenses. Remember that in active forms the subject of the sentence is the person or thing that does the action. In passive constructions, the verb is performed by someone or something other than the subject; often, the action is done to the subject by someone else.

PRESENT
I. Simple Present: Generalization or habitual current action
			Active	Passive
			base (no ending) or base + -s/-es for third person singular	am/ is/ are + -ed/-en
General			Prof. Brown teaches at Hunter	Peter is taught by Prof. Brown
Habitual			Maria eats with Peter in the cafeteria every day.	More food is eaten by Peter than by Maria
Timeless Facts			All humans are equal	All humans are created equal
II. Present Progressive: Ongoing activity or action of a temporary nature
			Active	Passive
			am/is/are + -ing	am/is/are + being + -ed/-en
Ongoing			The students are learning Spanish.	Classes are being conducted in Spanish only.
Temporary			I am working at McDonald's until I finish school.
III. Present Perfect: Action occurring in the past but relevant to the present, or extending to the present
			Active	Passive
			has/have + -ed/-en	has/have+been + -ed/-en
Indefinite time before now:			Hunter has opened a language institute in East Harlem.	The language institute has been opened to relocate students off the main campus.
Action beginning before now and still relevant			Hunter has offered E.S.L courses for twenty years.	E.S.L. courses have been offered since the beginning of Open Admissions
IV. Present Perfect Progressive: Ongoing action beginning before now and still relevant
			Active	Passive
			has/have + been + -ing	has/have + been + being + -ed/-en
			Hunter has been awarding BA and MA diplomas for over one hundred years.	* Note Because of the awkward construction of been + this verb form is rarely used. Instead, an adverb may be used to show continuing action (eg. We have been repeatedly scolded for being late).
PAST
I. Simple Past: Action occurring in the past either of a general or habitual nature or at a specific time in the past
			Active	Passive
			base + -ed or irregular form	was/were + -ed/-en
General past time			Our family bought all our clothes at Sears when I was young.	The clothes were bought by my mother
Specific past time			On my fifteenth birthday, my uncle gave me one hundred dollars.	The money was given to me to buy new clothes.
Habitual activity in past time			When I was in high school, my friends and I drove to the mall on weekends.	We were always driven to the mall by my friend's older brother.
Ib. Habitual Past with Would In informal conversation, speakers of English often express habitual behavior in the past using the modal would
			Active	Passive
			would + base	would + be + -ed/-en
			We would usually eat burgers in the food court.	Most of the french fries would be eaten before we got to the table.
II. Past Progressive: Ongoing action in the past, or action continuing through a specific past time
			Active	Passive
			was/were + -ing	was/were + being + -ed/-en
Ongoing			Mary and Paul were dating in those days.
Continuing throuh a specific time.				One afternoon, Mary was being kissed by Paul when her mother passed by. Admissions
III. Past Perfect: Action completed prior to a particular time or before another action in the past
			Active	Passive
			had + -ed/-en	had + been + -ed/-en
Completed			Mary's mother was shocked because she had forbidden her daughter to date.
Occuring before another action				Mary had been kissed many times before that day.
IV. Past Perfect Progressive: Continuing action that began before a past action or time
			Active	Passive
			had + been + -ing	had + been + being + -ed/-en
			Mary had been trying to tell her mother about Paul for a long time.	*Note: Awkward construction, rarely used.
FUTURE
I. Future: Action that is expected to take place at a future time
			Active	Passive
			will + base	will + be + -ed/-en
			Paul and Mary will marry in June. or am/is/are going to + base	They will be married by a priest and a rabbi. or am/is/are + going to be + -ed/-en
			Mary is going to wear her grandmother's gown.	The gown is going to be adjusted to fit Mary.
II. Future Progressive: Action in future with emphasis on continuing action
			Active	Passive
			will + base + -ing	will + be + being + -ed/en
			Mary and Paul will be spending lots of time on the beach.	*Note: Awkward construction, rarely used.
III. Future Perfect: Future action expected to be completed before another future action or time
			Active	Passive
			will + have + -ed/-en	will + have + been + -ed/en
			By their wedding date, they will have saved enough money to buy a house.	The money will have been saved through careful economy.
IV. Future Perfect Progressive: Action projected to have been going on for a while before a time in the future
			Active	Passive
			will + have + been + -ing	will + have + been + being + -ed/-en
			When they celebrate their first anniversary, they will have been living together for a full year	* Note: Awkward construction, rarely used.