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,
but why is he allowing himself
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.
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
Voltaire was the first to suggest
that the universe was created by a gigantic explosion?
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
so many of the major problems and conflicts in the world
are caused by a lack of communication,
you know?
22 IS POWERED BY 28370
23 WAS MADE BY 28067
24 IS SURVIVED BY 27822 UNLISTED
He is survived by his wife and son.
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.
81 IS BACKED BY 15279
82 BE GOVERNED BY 15239
83 WAS ACQUIRED BY 15220
84 WERE MADE BY 15156 A2
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.
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
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