Why You Can’t Use the Passive Voice in Some Aspects

Why You Can’t Use the Passive Voice in Some Aspects

You can’t do this for the same reason you can’t use the verb to be in the Perfect-Progressive aspect:

Past – Perfect-Progressive

He had been being happy. [Active]

To be is a stative verb, meaning it is expressing a state of being, and these words cannot be used in the Progressive or the Perfect-Progressive aspect. For example, know is a stative verb:

Present – Simple

He knows the answer. [Active] ✔

Present – Perfect

He has known the answer. [Active] ✔

Present – Progressive

He is knowing the answer. [Active] ✖

Present – Perfect-Progressive

He has been knowing the answer. [Active] ✖

However, to be is confusing because it can sometimes be used in the Progressive aspect. Normally to be refers to something existing, like:

I am alive.

You are a student.

He is from Cambodia.

But the phrase is/was being can refer to how someone is behaving. Because of this, it can sometimes be used in the Progressive aspect. For example:

Past – Progressive

He was being very rude yesterday. [Active] ✔

Present – Progressive

He is being very rude today. [Active] ✔

This is okay, because it is talking about how someone is behaving. It is the same thing as saying:

Past – Progressive

He was acting very rudely yesterday. [Active] ✔

He was behaving very rudely yesterday. [Active] ✔

Present – Progressive

He is acting very rudely today. [Active] ✔

He is behaving very rudely today. [Active] ✔

But when to be is talking about existence, it can’t be used in the progressive aspect. For example:

Present – Progressive

I am being alive. [Active] ✖

You are being a student. [Active] ✖

He is being from Cambodia. [Active] ✖

To be can never be used in the Progressive aspect with any additional auxiliary verbs.

This means:

1) That To be can never be used in the Perfect-Progressive aspect because the that aspect adds the auxiliary verb to have to the Progressive aspect.

Present – Perfect-Progressive

He has been being very rude today. [Active] ✖

2) That to be can never be used in the future tense of the progressive aspect, because it adds the modal verb will:

Future – Progressive

He will be being very rude tomorrow. [Active] ✖

3) That to be can never be used in the progressive aspect with any modal verbs:

Past – Progressive

He could have been being very rude yesterday. [Active] ✖

He may have been being very rude yesterday. [Active] ✖

He should have been being very rude yesterday. [Active] ✖

Present – Progressive

He could be being very rude today. [Active] ✖

He may be being very rude today. [Active] ✖

He should be being very rude today. [Active] ✖