English Exercises > passive voice exercises

Forming the Passive

Downloadable worksheets:

Introducing the "Passive Voice" (1) - Basic rules for Upper elementary and Intermediate students
Level: intermediate
Age: 10-14
Downloads: 5566

Active and Passive
Level: intermediate
Age: 10-17
Downloads: 4400

PASSIVE VOICE (PRESENT SIMPLE AND PAST SIMPLE)
Level: elementary
Age: 7-17
Downloads: 4138

Passive
Level: intermediate
Age: 14-17
Downloads: 3653

Passive Voice
Level: intermediate
Age: 14-17
Downloads: 2726

The American Dream
Level: advanced
Age: 15-17
Downloads: 24

Forming the Passive

The passive form of verbs is formed of BE + the past participle,
(example : Chocolate is eaten all over the world.)

◊ We use the ACTIVE form of a verb to say what a subject does.
Example : My mother cooks food every day.

◊ We use the PASSIVE form to say what happens to the subject.
Example : Food is cooked every day.

                                          ◊   The subject of a passive verb corresponds to the object of an active verb.
                                                 My mother cooks food every day. (Active)
                                                 Food is cooked every day. (Passive)

                                          ◊   We use the passive form of a verb when it is not important who does the action,
                                               or when we don't know who does it.

*This house was built in 1978.
(The identity of the person who built the house is unknown or unimportant.)

If we want to say who does the action, we use 'by' :
*Hamlet was written by Shakespeare.

FORM

OBJECT

VERB

SUBJECT

ACTIVE

Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.

PASSIVE

SUBJECT TO BE PARTICIPLE BY_ AGENT

Hamlet was written by sakespeare.

VERB CHANGES

ACTIVE

PASSIVE

PRESENT SIMPLE

I cook food in the kitchen.

(AM / IS / ARE) + PARTICIPLE

Food is cooked in the kitchen.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS

June is helping Su and Ling.

(AM / IS / ARE) + BEING + PARTICIPLE

Su and Ling are being helped by June.

PAST SIMPLE

The squirrel ate the nut.

(WAS / WERE) + PARTICIPLE

The nut was eaten by the squirrel.

PAST CONTINUOUS

The boys were mowing the lawn.

(WAS / WERE) + BEING +PARTICIPLE

The lawn was being mowed by the boys.

PRESENT PERFECT

Somebody has made a cake.

(HAVE / HAVE) + BEEN + PARTICIPLE

A cake has been baked.

PAST PERFECT

Rita had written that letter for too long.

HAD + BEEN + PARTICIPLE

That letter had been wtitten by Rita for too long

FUTURE “BE GOING TO”

Robert is going to bring the drinks.

(AM / IS / ARE) + GOING TO BE + PARTICIPLE

The drinks are going to be brought by Robert.

FUTURE “WILL”

The child will open the parcel.

WILL BE + PARTICIPLE

The parcel will be opened by the child.

MODAL VERBS

We must wash the dishes before we go.

(MODAL VERB) + BE + PARTICIPLE

The dishes must be washed before we go.

Which of these setences are passive?

1. These CDs were bought in New York.

2. Mary was very happy because she'd passed her exams.

3. The suspects were arrested at the airport.

4. My room has been painted blue.

5. She is believed to have millions in the bank.

6. A new block of apartments is being built.

7. The car was found by the police.

8. The soup was awful.

9. He was offered a lot of money to leave them alone.

10. Scientists believe they have discovered a new cure for HIV.

PASSIVE WITH PRESENT SIMPLE

Write passive sentences in the present.

1. The books/ read / not

2. The shoes / buy

3. The food / eat/ not

4. The songs / sing

5. The window/ open

6. The letter/ write

7. The car/ wash

8. The documents/ print/ not

9. The shops/ close

10. The music/ hear

PASSIVE WITH PAST SIMPLE

Read some information about the Tower of London(the most famous London's sight) and complete the sentences with the correct passive form of the verbs in brackets in the past simple.

1. The oldest part of the Tower of London (to build) by William the Conqueror.

2. The rest of the castle (to complete) by Edward II in 1068.

3. Last year it (to visit) by over 2.5 million people.

4. The castle (to use) as a palace and a prison until the 17th century.

5. Many famous prisioners (to keep) there, including Sir Thomas More and Princess Elizabeth.

6. The Pinces Edward II and the Duke of York (to murder) in the Bloody Tower by their uncle.

7. Anne Boleyn, the second wife of HenryVIII, (to execute) in the Tower.

Now make true setences using the information below.

The Olympic Games	build	the Greeks
The telephone	paint	Meg Cabot
Sunflowers	win	the Italians
The 2006 World Cup	write	Van Gogh
The Pyramids of Giza	invent	Alexander Graham Bell
Princess in Training	start	the Egyptians

PASSIVE WITH FUTURE

Change these sentences into passive.

1. They will sell oysters in the shop next door.	7. They will ask you lots of questions.
2. They will deliver the food as soon as possible.	8. Will they ask me to testify?
3. Someone will take this rubbish away.	9. The decorators are going to paint our house blue.
4. Someone rich will buy the Jaguar.	10. The secretary will prepare some documents for the manager.
5. Will you move the furniture?	11. The teacher will correct the student's tests.
6. Someone is going to offer Diana a good job.	12. Someone will send her some flowers.

Forming the Passive

Forming the Passive

The passive form of verbs is formed of BE + the past participle, (example : Chocolate is eaten all over the world.)

◊ We use the ACTIVE form of a verb to say what a subject does. Example : My mother cooks food every day.

◊ We use the PASSIVE form to say what happens to the subject. Example : Food is cooked every day.

◊ The subject of a passive verb corresponds to the object of an active verb. *My mother cooks food every day. (Active) *Food is cooked every day. (Passive) ◊ We use the passive form of a verb when it is not important who does the action, or when we don't know who does it.

*This house was built in 1978. (The identity of the person who built the house is unknown or unimportant.)

If we want to say who does the action, we use 'by' : *Hamlet was written by Shakespeare.

The passive form of verbs is formed of BE + the past participle,
(example : Chocolate is eaten all over the world.)

◊ We use the ACTIVE form of a verb to say what a subject does.
Example : My mother cooks food every day.

◊ We use the PASSIVE form to say what happens to the subject.
Example : Food is cooked every day.

◊ The subject of a passive verb corresponds to the object of an active verb.
My mother cooks food every day. (Active)
Food is cooked every day. (Passive)

◊ We use the passive form of a verb when it is not important who does the action,
or when we don't know who does it.

*This house was built in 1978.
(The identity of the person who built the house is unknown or unimportant.)

If we want to say who does the action, we use 'by' :
*Hamlet was written by Shakespeare.