When the action matters more than who does it — or you don't know (or don't care) who does it — turn the sentence around: the thing comes first, then is / are + the past participle. This is called the passive.
is / are + the past participle
People speak English here. → English is spoken here.
They make these cars in Japan. → These cars are made in Japan.
They deliver the post every morning. → The post is delivered every morning.
Not "English is speaking here." — say "English is spoken here.". Use is + the past participle (spoken), not the -ing form (speaking).
Try it: Farmers grow rice in many countries. Turn this around so the rice comes first. (Leave out the word you don't need.) Answer: Rice is grown in many countries. — The rice comes first, then is + the past participle: Rice is grown. "Growing" is the -ing form and would make it sound like the rice is doing the growing, so leave it out, the passive is is/are + the past participle.
the same past participle, now after be
You already built the past participle for the past perfect: add -ed for most verbs (clean → cleaned, open → opened), and learn the common irregular ones by heart (make → made, build → built, write → written, break → broken, take → taken). It is built exactly the same way here. What is new is where it goes: the passive puts it after a the verb be instead of after had.
clean → cleaned: This room is cleaned every day.
build → built: The bridge was built last year.
write → written: The report was written in English.
Not "The bridge was build last year." — say "The bridge was built last year.". build is the base verb; the passive needs the past participle built (an irregular one).
Try it: Someone broke the window. Build the passive with the past participle of "break". (Leave out the word you don't need.) Answer: The window was broken yesterday. — break is irregular: its past participle is broken (not broked, not broke). "broke" is the plain past you use with a doer (someone broke it), so leave it out here: The window was broken.
was / were + the past participle
For the past, use was / were + the past participle. (was for one thing, were for more than one.)
Someone built this house in 1920. → This house was built in 1920.
She wrote the book. → The book was written.
They painted the walls. → The walls were painted.
Try it: They opened the museum in 1850. Turn this around so the museum comes first. (Leave out the word you don't need.) Answer: The museum was opened in 1850. — It's the past and one thing, so was + the past participle: The museum was opened. "Open" is the base verb and the passive needs the past participle opened, so leave it out.
who did it? by + the doer
We often choose the passive because the doer is unknown or not important, so we simply leave them out: The shop was robbed. But when the doer is important, we add them at the end with by — that's by + the doer.
The book was written by a famous author.
This song was recorded by the band in 2019.
My car was scratched. (No by — nobody knows who did it.)
Try it: Shakespeare wrote this play. Turn it around and keep the doer with by. (Leave out the word you don't need.) Answer: This play was written by Shakespeare. — Here the doer matters, so we keep it with by: This play was written by Shakespeare. "wrote" is the plain past for a doer sentence (Shakespeare wrote it); the passive uses the past participle written, so leave wrote out.
negatives & questions
To make the passive negative, put not straight after the verb be: is / are + not + past participle, was / were + not + past participle. To make a question, put the verb be first: Is / Are ... + past participle?, Was / Were ... + past participle? The verb still keeps its past participle.
This room is not cleaned on Sundays.
The letters were not sent yesterday.
Is English spoken here?
Was the museum opened in 1850?
Not "Does English spoken here?" — say "Is English spoken here?". The passive makes questions with the verb be (is/are/was/were), not with do / does / did.
Try it: They don't clean this room on Sundays. Make the passive negative: put not after the verb be. Answer: This room is not cleaned on Sundays. — For a negative passive, not goes straight after the verb be: is not cleaned. We don't use doesn't — the verb be already carries the negative, and the verb keeps its past participle cleaned.
Try it: Someone spoke English at the meeting. Make a passive question: put the verb be first. Answer: Was English spoken at the meeting? — A passive question starts with the verb be: Was English spoken...? We don't use did — the verb be (was) already does that job, and the verb keeps its past participle spoken.
never drop the verb be
The passive is two parts: a form of be (is / are / was / were) plus the past participle. The past participle on its own is not a passive — if you drop the verb be, the sentence breaks.
The house was built in 1920. (NOT: The house built in 1920.)
These cars are made in Japan. (NOT: These cars made in Japan.)
My bike was stolen. (NOT: My bike stolen.)
Not "English spoken here." — say "English is spoken here.". Keep the verb be: is + spoken. The past participle can't stand alone.
Try it: Someone stole my bike. Build the passive. Don't forget the verb be. (Leave out the word you don't need.) Answer: My bike was stolen last night. — The passive always needs the verb be: My bike was stolen. Without was it isn't a full sentence, and "stole" is the plain past you'd use with a doer (someone stole it), so leave it out here.