When is our car being repaired?

Andy's bike has been stolen.

The director died when the film was being made.

You'll be picked up at the airport by one of our staff.

This bill must be paid tomorrow.

I love being given a massage.

1. We often use the passive (be + past participle) when it isn't said, known, or important who does an action.

Andy's bike has been stolen. (- somebody has stolen Andy's bike, but we don't know who). In passive sentences, the object of the verb becomes the new subject.

2. If we want to say who did the action, we use by.

• We can often say things in two ways, in the active or in the passive. Compare:

advance to advertise it

extra - a person who is employed to play a very small part in a film, usually as a member of a crowd
subtitle - the translation of the dialogue of a film on screen 
review - an article which gives an opinion about a new film 
set - the place where a film is being shot; the scenery used for a film or play
critic - a person who writes films reviews for the press

Tony's phone is switched off. He might be on the

plane now, or just boarding.

Laura might not ike that skirt. It's not really her style.

can't (when you are sure something is impossible / not true)

Nigel can't earn much money in his job. He's still living with his parents.

That woman can't be Jack's wife. Jack's wife has dark hair.

must (when you are sure something is true)

The neighbours must be out. There aren't any lights on in the house.

Your sister must have a lot of money if she drives a Porsche.

• We often use might, can't, or must to say how sure or certain we are about something (based on the information we have).

• In this context, the opposite of must is can't. Compare:

The neighbours must be out. There aren't any lights on in the

house.

The neighbours can't be out. All the lights are on in the house. NOT The neighbours mustn't be out.

• We can use may instead of might and we can use could in positive sentences.

• We don't use can instead of might / may. NOT He-can-be en the plane now.

• We often use be + gerund after might / must / can't.