Modal passive: rules and examples

Choose a modal passive when the person receiving the action or the action itself matters most. In everyday notices, you often care about what happens to an object rather than who handles it. Active sentences name the worker first. Modal passives put the object first, so your listener immediately hears what needs attention.

Build the verb phrase with three parts in a fixed order. Start with a modal verb like can, should, or will. Add the base form be immediately after the modal. Finish the phrase with a past participle. Never insert extra words like to, and never change be to is, are, or been.

Punctuation Marks: Rules and Everyday Examples과 Reflexive Pronouns: Rules and Examples에서 다시 연습할 수 있어요.

Use must be when an action is compulsory. Safety instructions and official policies rely on this form to show necessity. When you want to give helpful guidance or polite recommendations instead of a strict command, use should be. Choosing the right modal tells the reader how urgent or flexible the action is.

Use can be or could be to explain what is possible or allowed. Can shows realistic choices or standard permissions. Could suggests a possible option that depends on other decisions. When you discuss an event that might happen but remains uncertain, use may be or might be to show that possibility.

To form a negative statement, put not directly after the modal verb. Keep be and the past participle together after the negative word. With must not, you express a clear prohibition. With cannot, you show that an action is impossible. Never put not after be in a modal passive sentence.

When asking a question, move the modal verb to the front of the clause, before the subject. The subject stays between the modal and be. Follow be with the past participle as usual. This structure lets you ask whether a service is possible, required, or planned without mentioning who does it.

Most modal passives leave out the person doing the action because the actor is obvious, unknown, or unimportant. However, you can add by at the end of the clause when the specific person or group adds valuable information. If the name does not help the listener take action, leave it out.

In natural speech, speakers emphasize the modal verb or the main participle, while be is unstressed and short. Because be sounds very brief, listeners sometimes miss it completely and confuse passive sentences with active ones. Listening for the -ed or irregular ending on the participle helps you recognize that someone receives the action.