Why You Can’t Use the Passive Voice in Some Aspects

You can’t do this for the same reason you can’t use the verb to be in the Perfect-Progressive aspect:

Past – Perfect-Progressive

He had been being happy. [Active]

To be is a stative verb, meaning it is expressing a state of being, and these words cannot be used in the Progressive or the Perfect-Progressive aspect. For example, know is a stative verb:

Present – Simple

He knows the answer. [Active] ✔

Present – Perfect

He has known the answer. [Active] ✔

Present – Progressive

He is knowing the answer. [Active] ✖

Present – Perfect-Progressive

He has been knowing the answer. [Active] ✖

However, to be is confusing because it can sometimes be used in the Progressive aspect. Normally to be refers to something existing, like:

I am alive.

You are a student.

He is from Cambodia.

But the phrase is/was being can refer to how someone is behaving. Because of this, it can sometimes be used in the Progressive aspect. For example:

Past – Progressive

He was being very rude yesterday. [Active] ✔

Present – Progressive

He is being very rude today. [Active] ✔

This is okay, because it is talking about how someone is behaving. It is the same thing as saying:

Past – Progressive

He was acting very rudely yesterday. [Active] ✔

He was behaving very rudely yesterday. [Active] ✔

Present – Progressive

He is acting very rudely today. [Active] ✔

He is behaving very rudely today. [Active] ✔

But when to be is talking about existence, it can’t be used in the progressive aspect. For example:

Present – Progressive

I am being alive. [Active] ✖

You are being a student. [Active] ✖

He is being from Cambodia. [Active] ✖

To be can never be used in the Progressive aspect with any additional auxiliary verbs.

This means:

1. That To be can never be used in the Perfect-Progressive aspect because the that aspect adds the auxiliary verb to have to the Progressive aspect.

Present – Perfect-Progressive

He has been being very rude today. [Active] ✖

2. That to be can never be used in the future tense of the progressive aspect, because it adds the modal verb will:

Future – Progressive

He will be being very rude tomorrow. [Active] ✖

3. That to be can never be used in the progressive aspect with any modal verbs:

Past – Progressive

He could have been being very rude yesterday. [Active] ✖

He may have been being very rude yesterday. [Active] ✖

He should have been being very rude yesterday. [Active] ✖

Present – Progressive

He could be being very rude today. [Active] ✖

He may be being very rude today. [Active] ✖

He should be being very rude today. [Active] ✖