BE + past participle + BY phrase – English Grammar Profiler
The structure “BE + past participle + BY” is commonly used in English to form passive voice sentences.
In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is acted upon by some other agent. The agent can be specified with a “by” phrase, but it’s not always necessary.
Here’s how it works:
BE: This is a form of the verb “to be”. It can be in any tense (am, is, are, was, were, been) and must agree with the subject of the sentence.
Past Participle: This is the past participle form of the main verb in the sentence. The past participle of a verb is typically formed in English by adding “-ed” to the end of the regular verbs, but many common verbs are irregular and have special forms.
BY: This preposition introduces the agent – the person or thing that performs the action.
For example, in the sentence “The cake was eaten by John”, “was” is a form of “to be”, “eaten” is the past participle of “eat”, and “by John” tells us who performed the action.
This structure allows us to focus on the action and its impact, rather than on who or what performed the action.
A search in iWeb corpus for
_VB _VVN by
gives us the following most common results:
1 BE USED BY 82353
C2 treat someone badly in order to get what you want
I knew he wouldn’t take it well,
that he‘d be angry with me,
but why is he allowing himself
to be used by them?
A United Kingdom
2 IS CAUSED BY 64234
3 IS DETERMINED BY 56481 C1
Eighty percent of what we are and what we do
is determined by our genetic expression.
listen
4 BE CAUSED BY 56024 5 IS USED BY 49239 6 BE MADE BY 46933 7 IS SUPPORTED BY 42840 8 BE AFFECTED BY 42289
9 WAS CREATED BY 41260 B1
Did you know
Voltaire was the first to suggest
that the universe was created by a gigantic explosion?
listen
10 WAS INSPIRED BY 39816 11 IS PROVIDED BY 37101 12 BE ACCOMPANIED BY 36372 13 IS OWNED BY 36154 14 BE DETERMINED BY 35479 15 IS SURROUNDED BY 32678 16 WAS FOLLOWED BY 32285 17 WAS WRITTEN BY 32118 18 IS MADE BY 31331 19 BE REPLACED BY 30939 20 IS CHARACTERIZED BY 30790
21 ARE CAUSED BY 29597 B2
I just think that
so many of the major problems and conflicts in the world
are caused by a lack of communication,
you know?
listen
22 IS POWERED BY 28370 23 WAS MADE BY 28067
24 IS SURVIVED BY 27822 UNLISTED
He is survived by his wife and son.
listen
25 BE FOLLOWED BY 27513 26 IS FOLLOWED BY 26088 27 WAS DESIGNED BY 25649 28 ARE USED BY 25630 29 BE COMPLETED BY 25204 30 IS CONTROLLED BY 24377 31 WAS FOUNDED BY 23931 32 WAS DEVELOPED BY 23877 33 BE SEEN BY 23750 34 ARE MADE BY 23423 35 IS DRIVEN BY 22846 36 IS INSPIRED BY 22759 37 BE APPROVED BY 22308 38 WAS CAUSED BY 22258 39 IS COVERED BY 22032 40 IS DEFINED BY 22026 41 ARE AFFECTED BY 21807 42 BE PROVIDED BY 21750 43 BEING USED BY 21614 44 IS PRODUCED BY 21167 45 BE COVERED BY 20956 46 WAS TOLD BY 20828 47 IS REQUIRED BY 20751 48 IS ACCOMPANIED BY 20723 49 IS REPRESENTED BY 20710 50 IS RUN BY 20431 51 BE ACHIEVED BY 20136 52 WAS REPLACED BY 20063 53 IS GIVEN BY 19813 54 ARE COVERED BY 19645 55 IS SPONSORED BY 19387 56 IS GOVERNED BY 18820 57 BE SUPPORTED BY 18592 58 IS AFFECTED BY 18575 59 BEEN REPLACED BY 18518 60 BE OBTAINED BY 18382 61 ARE SUPPORTED BY 18200 62 BE FOUND BY 17533 63 BE ACCESSED BY 17512 64 BE BOUND BY 17379 65 IS CREATED BY 17360 66 BEEN USED BY 17038 67 IS PROTECTED BY 16910 68 WAS STRUCK BY 16876 69 BE RECEIVED BY 16786 70 IS LED BY 16629 71 IS ACCREDITED BY 16425 72 WAS KILLED BY 16398 73 BE PAID BY 16273 74 WAS HIT BY 16124 75 WAS USED BY 15965 76 ARE PROVIDED BY 15861 77 WAS BUILT BY 15798 78 ARE DETERMINED BY 15686 79 BE JOINED BY 15609
80 BEEN APPROVED BY 15466 B2
None of those drugs have been approved by the FDA.
listen
81 IS BACKED BY 15279 82 BE GOVERNED BY 15239 83 WAS ACQUIRED BY 15220
84 WERE MADE BY 15156 A2
Whatever mistakes were made,
were made by the boy.
listen
85 IS DOMINATED BY 14775 86 WAS LED BY 14693 87 WAS TAKEN BY 14434 88 BE REDUCED BY 14257 89 BE TAKEN BY 13925 90 BE EXPLAINED BY 13897 91 ARE OWNED BY 13790 92 ARE REQUIRED BY 13789 93 BEEN AFFECTED BY 13768 94 BE CONTROLLED BY 13639 95 IS ACHIEVED BY 13570 96 ARE SURROUNDED BY 13489 97 ARE PROTECTED BY 13444 98 IS MANAGED BY 13062 99 IS REPLACED BY 12742 100 BE PERFORMED BY 12681 101 BE INFLUENCED BY 12636 102 WAS APPROVED BY 12626 103 WAS SUPPORTED BY 12590 104 IS FUNDED BY 12497 105 BE NOTIFIED BY 12423 106 BE REACHED BY 12202 107 WAS PRODUCED BY 12111 108 WAS ESTABLISHED BY 11911 109 WAS PROVIDED BY 11897 110 IS AMENDED BY 11744 111 BE CONTACTED BY 11507 112 BE SIGNED BY 11379 113 BEEN MADE BY 11326 114 ARE DRIVEN BY 11252 115 IS CALCULATED BY 11250 116 IS INFLUENCED BY 11248 117 WAS JOINED BY 11226 118 BE INSPIRED BY 11211 119 BE REVIEWED BY 11122 120 IS APPROVED BY 11119 121 BE SURROUNDED BY 11110 122 WAS ACCOMPANIED BY 11094 123 BEEN TOLD BY 10916 124 IS OPERATED BY 10901 125 ARE GOVERNED BY 10837 126 BE LED BY 10806 127 ARE CREATED BY 10766 128 BE REMOVED BY 10763 129 BE SURPRISED BY 10734 130 IS ACCOMPLISHED BY 10649 131 BE REPRESENTED BY 10552 132 IS WRITTEN BY 10494 133 IS MEANT BY 10370 134 WAS PUBLISHED BY 10234 135 BE FOOLED BY 10183 136 IS CONSIDERED BY 10134 137 IS LIMITED BY 10080 138 BE DRIVEN BY 10041 139 ARE INSPIRED BY 10018 140 IS MARKED BY 9988 141 ARE CHARACTERIZED BY 9984 142 BE HANDLED BY 9975 143 BE SUBMITTED BY 9941 144 ARE CONTROLLED BY 9892 145 WAS SURROUNDED BY 9891 146 BE ACCOMPLISHED BY 9827 147 BE ACCEPTED BY 9780 148 WAS DRIVEN BY 9729 149 BE IDENTIFIED BY 9704 150 WERE CREATED BY 9608 151 BE READ BY 9527 152 BE MET BY 9489 153 WAS CONDUCTED BY 9488 154 ARE REPRESENTED BY 9405 155 IS HELD BY 9385 156 BE CREATED BY 9347 157 BEEN CAUSED BY 9336 158 BE CONSIDERED BY 9302 159 ARE SEPARATED BY 9283 160 WAS DISCOVERED BY 9182 161 WAS ATTENDED BY 9147 162 WERE INSPIRED BY 9140 163 IS JOINED BY 9086 164 ARE ACCOMPANIED BY 9070 165 WAS DESTROYED BY 9063 166 WAS PURCHASED BY 9034 167 ARE PRODUCED BY 8989 168 WAS FUNDED BY 8808 169 BE CHANGED BY 8683 170 BE SOLVED BY 8625 171 IS FORMED BY 8603 172 ARE DEFINED BY 8600 173 BEEN INSPIRED BY 8591 174 WAS IMPRESSED BY 8576 175 WAS ASKED BY 8551 176 WAS STARTED BY 8488 177 WAS OWNED BY 8476 178 WERE JOINED BY 8453 179 IS PERFORMED BY 8432 180 ARE BACKED BY 8424 181 BE VIEWED BY 8403 182 IS ADMINISTERED BY 8338
183 BEING REPLACED BY 8310 B2
They are being replaced by new ones.
Burnt Offerings
184 WAS APPROACHED BY 8284 185 WAS SIGNED BY 8274 186 BEEN CREATED BY 8242 187 WERE KILLED BY 8222 188 ARE INFLUENCED BY 8144 189 IS INDICATED BY 8106 190 WAS SPONSORED BY 8092 191 BE RECOGNIZED BY 8089 192 IS SET BY 8041 193 WAS ADOPTED BY 8037 194 WAS COMMISSIONED BY 7987 195 IS REDUCED BY 7984 196 WAS WON BY 7977 197 BE PRODUCED BY 7956 198 IS GENERATED BY 7921 199 BE AVOIDED BY 7914 200 IS RECEIVED BY 7881 201 BEING HIT BY 7874 202 BE REQUIRED BY 7864 203 WAS ATTACKED BY 7857 204 ARE LED BY 7833 205 IS MEASURED BY 7816 206 BEEN DEVELOPED BY 7762 207 BEEN RECOGNIZED BY 7733 208 BE ADDRESSED BY 7691 209 WAS SELECTED BY 7665 210 IS HOSTED BY 7664 211 WERE CAUSED BY 7631 212 IS SERVED BY 7595 213 IS REGULATED BY 7578 214 BEING DRIVEN BY 7570 215 BE GUIDED BY 7562 216 ARE JOINED BY 7472 217 BE GIVEN BY 7434 218 WAS INFLUENCED BY 7428 219 ARE POWERED BY 7422 220 BE SELECTED BY 7390 221 BE MANAGED BY 7382 222 BE SENT BY 7363 223 IS RECOGNIZED BY 7354 224 BEEN HIT BY 7340 225 BE JUDGED BY 7332 226 IS PUBLISHED BY 7323 227 BE TRIGGERED BY 7322 228 BE CONDUCTED BY 7302 229 IS OFFERED BY 7248 230 BE PROTECTED BY 7209 231 WAS RAISED BY 7172 232 BE RESOLVED BY 7099 233 BE POWERED BY 7054 234 IS DIRECTED BY 7039 235 WAS CAPTURED BY 7023 236 WAS RELEASED BY 6994 237 BE DECIDED BY 6986 238 ARE RUN BY 6950 239 IS PLAYED BY 6940 240 BE DELIVERED BY 6938 241 WAS INTRODUCED BY 6916 242 WAS FOUND BY 6912 243 BEING SURROUNDED BY 6906 244 WAS BOUGHT BY 6884 245 IS HANDLED BY 6863 246 BE ENJOYED BY 6856 247 IS MAINTAINED BY 6854 248 BEING MADE BY 6849 249 BE DEFINED BY 6817 250 WERE USED BY 6785 251 ARE OFFERED BY 6768 252 ARE TAUGHT BY 6768 253 WAS GIVEN BY 6766 254 IS CHARACTERISED BY 6764 255 IS ENHANCED BY 6741 256 ARE FOLLOWED BY 6717 257 WAS HIRED BY 6689 258 WAS DIRECTED BY 6638 259 BE LIMITED BY 6635 260 BEEN INFLUENCED BY 6635 261 IS DESCRIBED BY 6594 262 BE FIXED BY 6589 263 BEEN ADOPTED BY 6556 264 BE IMPACTED BY 6531 265 ARE MANAGED BY 6446 266 BE INCREASED BY 6429 267 WERE TAKEN BY 6406 268 ARE SET BY 6401 269 BE HELD BY 6398 270 BEING DEVELOPED BY 6398 271 WAS CONTACTED BY 6299 272 BE FILLED BY 6281 273 BE MEASURED BY 6212 274 IS SHARED BY 6164 275 BE TREATED BY 6148 276 BE PURCHASED BY 6137 277 ARE BOUND BY 6122 278 WAS DOMINATED BY 6077 279 WAS CONFIRMED BY 6066 280 BE HOSTED BY 6017 281 WAS APPOINTED BY 5995 282 BE GREETED BY 5956 283 BE PLAYED BY 5956 284 WAS ARRESTED BY 5952 285 WAS INVENTED BY 5939 286 IS SHOWN BY 5914 287 WERE WRITTEN BY 5898 288 BEEN WRITTEN BY 5892 289 WAS DESCRIBED BY 5884 290 WERE AFFECTED BY 5867 291 WAS REJECTED BY 5856 292 ARE REPLACED BY 5853 293 WERE REPLACED BY 5850 294 BE IMPROVED BY 5834 295 BE KILLED BY 5830 296 WAS RECOGNIZED BY 5815 297 WAS SUCCEEDED BY 5811 298 IS GUIDED BY 5789 299 BE HEARD BY 5741 300 WERE LED BY 5722 301 BE DETECTED BY 5711 302 IS INCREASED BY 5708 303 BE SERVED BY 5690 304 IS SEEN BY 5684 305 WAS SEEN BY 5674 306 IS ENABLED BY 5663 307 ARE HELD BY 5644 308 WAS FORMED BY 5643 309 BEING ATTACKED BY 5634 310 IS COMPLEMENTED BY 5626 311 IS PRESENTED BY 5613 312 ARE HANDLED BY 5612 313 IS OBTAINED BY 5607 314 WAS MARKED BY 5598 315 BEEN KILLED BY 5593 316 BE DESTROYED BY 5565 317 BE EVALUATED BY 5557 318 BE APPOINTED BY 5492 319 WAS SHOT BY 5482 320 IS KNOWN BY 5444 321 BE RUN BY 5429 322 WAS COVERED BY 5427 323 WAS CHOSEN BY 5427 324 ARE APPROVED BY 5425 325 BE ISSUED BY 5381 326 BE UNDERSTOOD BY 5353 327 WAS GREETED BY 5350 328 BE CONFIRMED BY 5289 329 BE AMAZED BY 5236 330 BE OWNED BY 5227 331 ARE REGULATED BY 5209 332 WAS HOSTED BY 5150 333 BE PREVENTED BY 5144 334 ARE CONNECTED BY 5115 335 IS ISSUED BY 5097 336 BE PUBLISHED BY 5072 337 BE ANSWERED BY 5070 338 BE IMPRESSED BY 5059 339 BEEN CONFIRMED BY 5042 340 BEEN DRIVEN BY 5026 341 ARE EMPLOYED BY 5021 342 IS CONFIRMED BY 4980 343 ARE IDENTIFIED BY 4979 344 IS ORGANIZED BY 4976 345 WAS EMPLOYED BY 4974 346 BE SET BY 4970 347 IS SUPPLIED BY 4960 348 IS STAFFED BY 4947 349 WAS FASCINATED BY 4942 350 BEEN CONTACTED BY 4932 351 BE DAMAGED BY 4925 352 BEEN TAKEN BY 4915 353 WAS DRAFTED BY 4907 354 IS TRIGGERED BY 4903 355 BE GAINED BY 4848 356 BEING LED BY 4843 357 WAS DETERMINED BY 4832 358 WAS HELD BY 4808 359 IS RULED BY 4802 360 BE RELEASED BY 4791 361 WAS ORGANIZED BY 4788 362 BE SHARED BY 4764 363 BE PROCESSED BY 4763 364 BEEN RECEIVED BY 4755 365 BEING AFFECTED BY 4753 366 BE ASSESSED BY 4751 367 BEEN PROVIDED BY 4750 368 BE CHOSEN BY 4725 369 IS SIGNED BY 4721 370 BE SAVED BY 4719 371 IS TAKEN BY 4687 372 WAS OCCUPIED BY 4685 373 WAS DEFEATED BY 4681 374 ARE APPOINTED BY 4671 375 IS DEVELOPED BY 4665 376 WERE FOLLOWED BY 4661 377 ARE WRITTEN BY 4658 378 ARE LIMITED BY 4648 379 ARE MOTIVATED BY 4647 380 WERE DESIGNED BY 4615 381 ARE FORMED BY 4571 382 BE GENERATED BY 4553 383 ARE ISSUED BY 4514 384 WAS REPORTED BY 4509 385 IS BORDERED BY 4488 386 BE WORN BY 4485 387 IS ABSORBED BY 4473 388 IS ACCEPTED BY 4468 389 WAS MET BY 4466 390 BE ABSORBED BY 4462 391 IS OCCUPIED BY 4461 392 BEEN FASCINATED BY 4458 393 BE ADMINISTERED BY 4454 394 ARE OPERATED BY 4449 395 BE OFFSET BY 4445 396 WERE GREETED BY 4443 397 ARE ACCREDITED BY 4437 398 WAS PASSED BY 4436 399 ARE PAID BY 4426 400 IS MANUFACTURED BY 4420 401 IS RECOMMENDED BY 4416 402 BE ADOPTED BY 4412 403 BE DIRECTED BY 4402
404 be overcome by 4391
But our disappointment must be overcome by our love of country.
405 WAS STOPPED BY 4374 406 ARE GENERATED BY 4373 407 IS BOUND BY 4373 408 IS IDENTIFIED BY 4367 409 WAS INITIATED BY 4360 410 IS EVIDENCED BY 4341 411 WAS PERFORMED BY 4333 412 BEEN SUPPORTED BY 4313 413 IS DESIGNED BY 4301 414 IS CERTIFIED BY 4295 415 BEEN SELECTED BY 4295 416 WAS INTERVIEWED BY 4276 417 WAS PLAYED BY 4273 418 WERE TOLD BY 4265 419 WAS SENT BY 4262 420 BE VERIFIED BY 4233 421 BEEN SEEN BY 4230 422 BE MODIFIED BY 4221 423 ARE SELECTED BY 4221 424 BE MISSED BY 4215 425 ARE FUNDED BY 4202 426 WAS PRESENTED BY 4195 427 BE TAUGHT BY 4191 428 WAS RUN BY 4174 429 WAS LAUNCHED BY 4133 430 BEING CAUSED BY 4114 431 IS COMPLETED BY 4106 432 BE HIT BY 4101 433 BE OPERATED BY 4091 434 IS DIVIDED BY 4087 435 IS ACTIVATED BY 4083 436 ARE GUIDED BY 4073 437 BEEN DESIGNED BY 4070 438 IS HEADED BY 4061 439 WERE DEVELOPED BY 4043 440 BE ESTABLISHED BY 4036 441 WAS COMPLETED BY 4024 442 WAS REPRESENTED BY 4018 443 WERE PROVIDED BY 4005 444 IS FOUND BY 4000 445 BEING CHASED BY 3974 446 BE ENHANCED BY 3945 447 BEING OFFERED BY 3937 448 WAS AFFECTED BY 3932 449 BE PUNISHED BY 3928 450 IS BLOCKED BY 3915 451 WAS INTRIGUED BY 3912 452 BEEN IDENTIFIED BY 3908 453 BEING INVESTIGATED BY 3903 454 IS PAID BY 3901 455 BE CALLED BY 3880 456 BE FUNDED BY 3879 457 BEEN ACCEPTED BY 3877 458 BEING STRUCK BY 3873 459 WERE SOLD BY 3873 460 WAS RECOMMENDED BY 3870 461 BEING SUPPORTED BY 3869 462 ARE GIVEN BY 3863 463 BE DOMINATED BY 3849 464 ARE DOMINATED BY 3848 465 IS SELECTED BY 3836 466 BE SEPARATED BY 3825 467 BE ATTACKED BY 3811 468 BEEN TOUCHED BY 3803 469 BEING HELD BY 3802 470 BEING RUN BY 3798 471 WAS ACCEPTED BY 3796 472 BE HELPED BY 3790 473 WAS MURDERED BY 3789 474 BE REQUESTED BY 3786 475 BE BORNE BY 3780 476 BE INTIMIDATED BY 3775 477 BE CALCULATED BY 3773 478 WAS POWERED BY 3772 479 IS CALLED BY 3771 480 WAS SAVED BY 3766 481 WAS ANNOUNCED BY 3766 482 IS TAUGHT BY 3763 483 BE ACQUIRED BY 3758 484 BE COLLECTED BY 3753 485 IS DELIVERED BY 3749 486 IS ILLUSTRATED BY 3745 487 BEEN PUBLISHED BY 3745 488 WAS SHOCKED BY 3742 489 IS MULTIPLIED BY 3738 490 BE CHECKED BY 3722 491 WAS NAMED BY 3700 492 BE CONSUMED BY 3697 493 IS HIGHLIGHTED BY 3686 494 IS CONDUCTED BY 3686 495 BEEN RELEASED BY 3681 496 BE OVERWHELMED BY 3679 497 WAS ISSUED BY 3674 498 IS MOTIVATED BY 3672 499 BE WRITTEN BY 3669
500 WAS MOTIVATED BY 3652