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ESL Lesson Plan · CEFR B1

Passive in Different Tenses and with Modals ESL Lesson Plan (B1, 60 Minutes)

A complete 60-minute B1 lesson on Passive in Different Tenses and with Modals, built round the theme "Our Town Is Changing".

  • CEFR B1
  • 60 minutes
  • Teenagers and adults
  • Grammar
  • The Passive
  • Passive in Different Tenses and with Modals

About this lesson

Who it is for. Intermediate students who use the present and past simple passive accurately but avoid the passive in other tenses. They say The road is repairing or The bridge has built and avoid modal passives.

Everything the lesson needs is on this page: the language analysis, the timed stages with the teacher's own words and instruction-checking questions, the differentiation, the printable handouts and the answer key.

At a glance

Level
CEFR B1 (Intermediate)
Learners
Teenagers and adults
Length
60 minutes. For 45 minutes, run only "Spot the changes" of the two tasks in "Freer practice" and cut "Feedback and wrap-up" to board-based error correction.
Skills
Speaking and writing
Language focus
Grammar: Passive in Different Tenses and with Modals
Framework
PPP (presentation, practice, production)
Materials
Handout 1 (local news report), Handout 2 (discovery task), Handout 3 (practice), Handout 4 (before and after: two town descriptions).
Preparation
About 10 minutes: print Handouts 1 to 4, one per learner, and read the language analysis. The answer key is for you, not the class.

Aims

Main aim. To help students work out and use the passive in the present continuous, present perfect and future (will, going to), and with modals (can, must, should), to describe changes and rules.

Learning outcome. By the end of the lesson, students can describe changes in their town and suggest improvements, e.g. A new park has been opened. The old market is being repaired. More trees should be planted.

  • Subsidiary aim. To read a local news report for specific information.
  • Subsidiary aim. To develop fluency in describing changes and making suggestions.

Language analysis

What to know before the lesson: the meaning, form and pronunciation of the target language, and the problems learners usually have with it.

Form: be + past participle (the tense is shown by be)

TenseActivePassive
Present simpleThey clean the streets every day.The streets are cleaned every day.
Present continuousThey are repairing the road.The road is being repaired.
Past simpleThey opened the park in May.The park was opened in May.
Present perfectThey have built a new bridge.A new bridge has been built.
Future (will)They will finish the work soon.The work will be finished soon.
going toThey are going to close the road.The road is going to be closed.
ModalYou must wear a helmet.Helmets must be worn.

Meaning and use

  • The passive focuses on the thing or the change, not the person: A new bridge has been built.
  • It is common in news, notices and rules: Dogs must be kept on a lead.
  • Present continuous passive = a change in progress now; present perfect passive = a recent result.

Pronunciation

  • Weak forms: has been /həz bɪn/; is being /ɪz ˈbiːɪŋ/; will be /wɪl bi/ or 'll be.
  • Stress falls on the participle: It's being rePAIRED. It's been OPENED.

Concept-checking questions

  • The road is being repaired. Is the work finished? (No, it's happening now.) · Do we know who is repairing it? (No, and it isn't important.)
  • A new bridge has been built. Is the bridge finished? (Yes.) · Is it new or old news? (New, recent.)

Anticipated problems and solutions

ProblemSolution
Missing being or been (The road is repaired now; The bridge has built).Tense table on the board; highlight the form of be in colour.
Active form with passive meaning (The road is repairing).Ask: "Does the road repair itself?"
Modal + to (must to be worn).Board modal + be + pp, no to.
Too many forms at once.Teach one rule: choose the tense, then change be.

Board plan

Left: vocabularyCentre: tense tableRight: pronunciation
repair · demolish · build · widen · plant · ban · replace · open · close · renovate
is cleaned · is being repaired · was opened · has been built · will be finished · is going to be closed · must / should / can be + pp · RULE: choose the tense → change be → add pp
has been /həz bɪn/ · is being /ɪz ˈbiːɪŋ/ · It's been OPENED.

CEFR B1 · 60 minutes · Teenagers and adults

Procedure: Passive in Different Tenses and with Modals, step by step

Warm-up5 minutes · Pairs, then whole class

Aim: To personalise the topic.

Ask: "How has your town changed in the last five years? What's new? What's being built now?"

Pairs discuss for 2 minutes. Take two or three ideas without correcting.

Presentation20 minutes · Individual, pairs, whole class

Aim: To present the passive in different tenses and with modals in context and help students work out the form.

Part A: Reading (6 minutes)

Give out Handout 1. Say: "Read the news report. Which changes are finished? Which are happening now? Which are in the future? Three minutes."

ICQs: "How many kinds of change are you looking for?" (Three: finished, now, future.)

Pairs compare. Students answer the four questions. Check as a class.

Part B: Finding the rules (7 minutes)

Give out Handout 2. Say: "Look at the sentences from the report. Complete the table and answer the questions with your partner."

ICQs: "Alone or in pairs?" (Pairs.)

Monitor. Ask stuck pairs: "Which word shows the tense?"

Part C: Clarification (7 minutes)

Elicit answers and build the tense table on the board.

Ask the CCQs from the Language analysis.

Highlight the rule: choose the tense → change be → add the past participle.

Show modal passives: Dogs must be kept on a lead. More trees should be planted. No to after the modal.

Pronunciation. Drill: The road's being repaired. A new bridge has been built. The work'll be finished in May.

Controlled practice10 minutes · Individual, then pairs, then whole class

Aim: To practise the forms accurately.

Give out Handout 3. Say: "Exercise A: complete the sentences with the passive. Exercise B: rewrite the signs as passive rules. Seven minutes."

Pairs compare. Check as a class.

Freer practice18 minutes · Pairs, then groups, then whole class

Aim: To use the passive in different tenses fluently in describing change and making suggestions.

Spot the changes (7 minutes). Give out Handout 4. Student A reads the description of Kotagama ten years ago; Student B reads the description of Kotagama today. They describe their town to each other and list as many changes as they can: "The old cinema has been demolished. A supermarket has been built."

ICQs: "Can you show your description?" (No.) "Which tense for changes from then to now?" (Present perfect passive.)

Our town plan (8 minutes). Groups discuss their own town and write five sentences: two changes that have been made, one that is being made now and two suggestions (More bus stops should be built.).

Groups share their best suggestion (3 minutes).

Monitor and note errors.

Feedback and wrap-up7 minutes · Whole class

Aim: To give feedback and consolidate.

Board sentences from Stage 4 (correct and incorrect). Students correct the errors.

Ask: "Which word changes to show the tense?" (be.)

Set the homework.

Homework Write a short news report (120 words) about changes at your school or in your town. Use at least five different passive forms.

PPP (presentation, practice, production). Stage times add up to 60 minutes.

Differentiation

Support
Give weaker students the tense table on a card. In the spot-the-changes task, they can use only the present perfect passive.
Stretch
Stronger students add time expressions and by + agent where useful: The park was opened last month by the mayor. They use need to be + pp and could be + pp in suggestions.

Adapting the lesson

ForWhat to change
A large class (40 or more)Keep the pairwork in "Freer practice" in fixed pairs rather than a mingle, and take feedback from four or five pairs instead of the whole room. Run "Spot the changes" once, with two pairs reporting, rather than hearing every pair. Monitor one half of the room during "Controlled practice" and the other half during "Freer practice".
A class with no photocopierPut the exercises from Handout 3: Practice on the board for learners to copy into their notebooks, and read any text aloud twice instead of printing it. The board plan above is this lesson's minimum - with that on the board, it runs on no paper at all.
An online classSend Handouts 1 to 4 in the chat before the lesson and put the board plan on a shared slide. Use breakout rooms for "Spot the changes" and visit each room once. Have learners type the controlled answers in the chat, so you see every answer at once instead of nominating.
A different age groupWith teenagers, shorten the analysis and get to the task sooner. With adults in a work context, keep the forms exactly as they are and swap the lesson's theme for one from their own field.

Checking learning

7 out of 8 or better on Handout 3, Exercise A. In the spot-the-changes task, students use the present perfect passive accurately. Students produce at least one modal passive in the group suggestions.

Teacher's reflection

Which tense caused the most problems? Did the "change be" rule help students?

Handout 1: Local News Report

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

KOTAGAMA: A TOWN ON THE MOVE

Kotagama has changed a lot in the last two years. A new bridge has been built over the river, and the main road has been widened. The old cinema was demolished last year, and a modern library has been opened in its place.

At the moment, the bus station is being renovated, and new trees are being planted in the park. Residents say the town looks much greener.

More changes are planned. A sports centre will be built next year, and the old market is going to be replaced by a covered shopping area. The mayor says that cars will be banned from the town centre on weekends.

However, not everyone is happy. "The town is changing too fast," says Mrs Silva, 72. "More benches should be put in the park for older people, and the bus service must be improved."

Answer the questions.

  • What has been built over the river? ______________________________
  • What is being done at the bus station now? ______________________________
  • What will happen to the old market? ______________________________
  • What does Mrs Silva think should be done? ______________________________

Handout 2: Language Focus

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

Look at these sentences from the report. Complete the table.

Answer the questions with your partner.

  • In every passive sentence, which verb always comes last? ______________________________
  • Which word changes to show the tense? ______________________________
  • In sentence 2, is the work finished? ______________________________
  • In sentence 6, is there to after must? ______________________________
SentenceTenseForm of be
1. A new bridge has been built.present perfecthas been
2. The bus station is being renovated.
3. The old cinema was demolished.
4. A sports centre will be built.
5. The market is going to be replaced.
6. The bus service must be improved.modal (must)

Handout 3: Practice

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

A. Complete with the correct passive form of the verb in brackets.

B. Rewrite the signs as passive rules.

  • Look! The school gate ______________________ (paint) at the moment.
  • Three new classrooms ______________________ (build) since January.
  • The results ______________________ (announce) next Friday.
  • My phone ______________________ (steal) last week.
  • The streets ______________________ (clean) every morning.
  • The old trees ______________________ (cut down) next month. (going to)
  • Our house ______________________ (not / repair) yet.
  • ______ the new library ______________________ (open) yet?
  • YOU MUST WEAR A HELMET. → Helmets ______________________________
  • YOU CAN'T USE PHONES IN THE EXAM. → Phones ______________________________
  • YOU SHOULD KEEP DOGS ON A LEAD. → Dogs ______________________________

Handout 4: Kotagama: Then and Now

Student A: Kotagama ten years ago

There was an old cinema on Main Street. The road was very narrow, and there was no bridge over the river; people crossed by boat. The market was in an old building with no roof. There were no trees in the park, and the bus station was small and dirty. There was no library.

Student B: Kotagama today

There is a modern library on Main Street. The road is wide, and there is a new bridge over the river. The market has a new roof. There are many trees in the park, and the bus station is clean and modern. There is a big supermarket next to the school.

List the changes. Use the present perfect passive.

Our town plan: 2 changes that have been made · 1 change that is being made now · 2 suggestions (should / must / could be + pp)

..........................................................................................

..........................................................................................

..........................................................................................

Answer Key

Handout 1

Handout 2

Handout 3, Exercise A

Handout 3, Exercise B

Handout 4 (examples)

The old cinema has been demolished / replaced. · A library has been opened / built. · The road has been widened. · A bridge has been built over the river. · A roof has been put on the market. · Trees have been planted in the park. · The bus station has been renovated / cleaned. · A supermarket has been built next to the school.

Common errors to watch for

  • A new bridge · 2. It is being renovated. · 3. It is going to be replaced by a covered shopping area. · 4. More benches should be put in the park, and the bus service must be improved.
  • present continuous · is being · 3. past simple · was · 4. future (will) · will be · 5. going to · is going to be · 6. must be
  • The past participle · 2. be · 3. No · 4. No
  • is being painted · 2. have been built · 3. will be announced · 4. was stolen · 5. are cleaned · 6. are going to be cut down · 7. hasn't been repaired · 8. Has ... been opened
  • Helmets must be worn. · 2. Phones can't be used in the exam. · 3. Dogs should be kept on a lead.
ErrorCorrection
The road is repairing.The road is being repaired.
The bridge has built.The bridge has been built.
Helmets must to be worn.Helmets must be worn.
The work will finished soon.The work will be finished soon.

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About this lesson plan

Written by RCF English to the RCF English international standard: levelled by the CEFR, original throughout, and suitable for classrooms in any country. Last reviewed 22 September 2026.

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