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.

Exercises