Verbs not used in the Passive
Intransitive verbs
Not all verbs have a passive form, Intransitive verbs (verbs that do not take an object) cannot be passive because there is nothing to become the subject of a passive sentence.
For this reason, the following sentences have no passive equivalents:
- We arrived home.
- Did you sleep well?
- He was running too fast.
- He died in a car accident
Certain state verbs
Certain state verbs are not used in the passive even if they are transitive. Examples of such verbs are: belong, have (own), lack, resemble, suit etc. The following sentences cannot be made passive:
- Susan has a brother.
- Does this book belong to you?
- Unfortunately, Monday doesn’t suit me.