The Passive Voice in English. English ESL Worksheets. English grammar with exercises. Free eBook and Free printable PDF
The Passive Voice in English
Exercises
The Passive Voice in English
Transitive verbs have both active and passive forms:
| active | passive | |
|---|---|---|
| The man washed the car. | > | The car was washed by the man. |
| Someone has cleaned the house. | > | The house has been cleaned. |
We make the passive by putting the verb ‘to be’ into the tense we need and then adding the past participle.
| Tense | Active | Passive |
| present simple | I make a cake. | A cake is made (by me). |
| present continuous | I am making a cake. | A cake is being made (by me). |
| past simple | I made a cake. | A cake was made (by me). |
| past continuous | I was making a cake. | A cake was being made (by me). |
| present perfect | I have made a cake. | A cake has been made (by me). |
| pres. perf. continuous | I have been making a cake. | A cake has been being made (by me). |
| past perfect | I had made a cake. | A cake had been made (by me). |
| future simple | I will make a cake. | A cake will be made (by me). |
| future perfect | I will have made a cake. | A cake will have been made (by me). |
If we want to show the person or thing doing the action, we use by:
She was attacked by a dangerous dog.
The money was stolen by her husband.
THE PASSIVE VOICE
EXERCISE 1.
Fill in the gaps with the correct passive voice of the verb given.
e.g. My car ___________(to borrow) by Jim.
My car was borrowed by Jim.
The cake (to eat) ______________________________ by the children.
The book (to read) _____________________________ in class.
The house (to destroy)________________________by the flames.
The children (to watch) _______________________by Suzy.
The invalid (to cure)___________________________by Dr. Hayes.
The treasure (to steal) __________________________ by the pirates.
The sailor (to rescue)____________________________ by a surfer.
The park (to close)_______________________ by the guardian at 8 o’clock.
An important jewel (to find)____________________on the underground.
The door(to shut)____________________________by the wind.
The ballroom (to clean)______________________every night.
The bank (to rob)____________________________ at noon.
She (to frighten) __________________________by the snake.
The suspect (to interrogate) ___________________by the policeman.
The tram (to suspend) ________________________at night.
The ferry (to delay) _____________________because of the storm.
The sportsman (to hit)________________________on the playing field.
The first prize in the lottery (to win)_______________by a child.
The film (to shoot) ___________________________in England.
The tourists (to take)________________________to visit the Tate Gallery.
EXERCISE 2.
Re-write the following sentences in the correct passive form.
e.g. Mr. White teaches maths.
Maths. is taught by Mr. White.
His parents took him to the museum.
The train station opens at 6 o’clock every morning.
The baker makes fabulous chocolate cakes.
The guide always gives a map to the tourists.
S. King wrote Dolores Clairbone.
The police asked each witness what happened.
The jury judges suspected criminals.
Janet always finds her cat under her bed.
Someone told him to go to Nice on holiday.
Scientists find cures for diseases.
The builders built more than 10,000 houses last year.
The tornado destroyed the bridge.
They offered a meal to the homeless man.
The students sent him a Christmas gift.
The postman leaves the mail in the mailbox.
Nobody drives on this road because it is dangerous.
EXERCISE 3.
Are the following sentences passive or active?
e.g. The boy dropped the ball. ACTIVE
The sky is covered by clouds. PASSIVE
Who was arrested?_______
The Smiths are out of the country. _______
The train has been delayed. _______
The tourists got lost in the park. _______
Today, buses are on strike. _______
You will burn your hands if you play with fire. _______
Will the entire workforce be punished for this? _______
I booked a single room for tonight. _______
The old paintings will be transported to the museum. _______
Yesterday, my English teacher helped me with some exercises. _______
The baby-sitter takes care of Tom. _______
Tom and Mary are building a new house. _______
The luggage was found in the laundry room. _______
Letters of protest are being sent to the director. _______
The king will be crowned in the cathedral. _______
The town centre is hidden by Mount Rainer. _______
The baker bakes the bread every morning at 4 o’clock. _______
The children covered the cake with cream. _______
PRESENT PASSIVE
The passive verb is used to say what happens to the subject.
EXERCISE 1.
Put the verb into the simple present passive (subject + verb to be + past participle).
e.g. The porter opens the door every day.
The door is opened by the porter every day.
The school ________ (open) at 8 o’ clock every morning.
That old airport ________ (close) on Mondays.
My husband is very important. He _______ (invite/always) to congresses.
Our receptionist _______ (call/often) by our students.
The kitchen _________ (usually/clean) by the chef in the evening.
The princess ______ (given) a royal welcome wherever she goes.
The bell ______ (ring) by the porter when a person arrives.
The exams _______ (prepare) by all the teachers.
The sky _____ (cover) by many clouds.
Governments __________ (vote) for by the electors.
Dinner ________ (serve) at 7.30 p.m..
My car __________ (service) by the mechanic who works down the road.
Flowers ____________ (grow) especially for the Chelsea Flower Show.
Budget calculations __________ (make) before the end of April for the new fiscal year.
All the men in our office __________ (tell) to wear ties to work. It’s obligatory.
Many people___________ (say) to believe in the new revolution.
Fiona ___________ (write) to every day by her boyfriend!
Michelle ______________ (buy) flowers by a mystery man.
PAST PASSIVE
EXERCISE 1.
Make sentences in the past passive tense using the prompts.
e.g. My grandfather / raise / his grandmother.
My grandfather was raised by his grandmother.
John / take care of / a baby-sitter.
The school / clean / a Chinese girl.
We / born / in India / but / we / bring up / in England.
Those dogs / look after / a dog-sitter.
Raul / bring up / a German nanny.
Dinner / make / by my husband.
EXERCISE 2.
Put the following sentences into the passive form.
e.g. My husband reserved a table for two yesterday.
A table for two was reserved by my husband yesterday.
My mother looked after my cat while I was on holiday.
The mechanic repaired my car in two days.
Pablo made all those cakes.
My tailor sewed all my clothes.
Frank Sinatra sang that song beautifully.
The receptionist contacted all the people on the waiting list.
The teacher corrected the students’ exercises.
My grandma brought up my little brothers.
Peter signed two blank cheques.
PRESENT PERFECT ACTIVE AND PASSIVE
EXERCISE 1.
Transform the following sentences into the passive form.
e.g. We have baked the bread
The bread has been baked
The mechanical has repaired my car.
The children have broken the window.
Janet has cooked a delicious cake.
Terrorists have killed a policeman.
A lion has attacked a tourist in the zoo.
I have sent my luggage to USA.
Meg and Julie have organised a party for my birthday.
The criminals have destroyed all the illegal documents.
Mercedes has produced a new car for sale.
They haven’t used the machine for ages.
They have stolen my car from the garage.
She has already given the message to me.
PAST CONTINUOUS PASSIVE
EXERCISE 1.
Put the following sentences into the past continuous passive.
Was/were being + participle.
Example:
Someone was looking at her.
She was being looked at by someone.
Someone was cleaning my shoes and brushing my suit.
While he was abroad the local hospital was looking after him.
The cat was catching a lot of mice.
Claudia Schiffer was wearing a red dress.
John was taking care of his grandmother while his wife was looking after their children.
EXERCISE 2
Re-write the following sentences in the active voice.
Example:
The floor was being cleaned.
Someone was cleaning the floor.
The results were being published by the newspaper.
The paintings were exhibited by the organisers till the end of the month.
The old theatre was being pulled down by the local council.
The old house was being guarded by the police to prevent it from being burgled.
It was being said that too much money was being spent by his wife.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS PASSIVE
EXERCISE 1.
Fill in the gaps with one of the following verbs: to repair to interview to tell to follow
E.g. I think, I’m being spied on! (to spy)
“Help! Please, help me! There’s a man! I _______________ !”
“Where are Mary and Laura?”
“They’re in the boss’ office. They_______________ about the results of yesterday’s meeting”.
“It’s 15:00 o’ clock, he _______________ in this exact moment”
“Hi dear! I’m at the garage, my car broke down this morning but now _______________, it will be ready for tonight, don’t worry! We’re going to the lake”.
EXERCISE 2.
Choose between active or passive form of the following verbs: to play to say to give to connect to annoy to open to lie to cut
“She is at the hairdresser’s, she _______________her hair _______________.”
“Finally, the telephone line _______________!”
“It’s 9:00 o’clock another Opening school _______________. In Bologna right now!”
In the classroom the students _______________examples by the teacher.
I _______________ in the park and I _________________ by mosquitoes.
“Listen! My favourite song _______________ on the radio”
PASSIVE TENSES REVIEW
EXERCISE 1.
Write sentences using the passive tenses.
e.g. The director solved the problem yesterday.
The problem was solved by the director yesterday.
1. My friend phoned while I was making a cake.
My boss gave me a new task.
Your parents have already invited their friends.
Will the children eat the cake?
Shakespeare wrote “The Tempest”.
My brother had already repaired the car when I arrived.
EXERCISE 2.
Write sentences using the passive voice.
e.g. The director told us to solve the problem.
We were told by the director to solve the problem.
People think that newspapers tell the truth.
My boss have already told me about the new task.
We always consider any different situation.
Our boss is telling them about our meeting.
My friends had already told you about the party when I arrived.
We are telling the students to do their exercises.
EXERCISE 3
Change the following active sentences into the passive using the following phrases: known / said / is claimed to be / believed / Thought / Considered etc..
e.g. People say that he was a millionaire until he lost it all at the casino.
It is said that he was a millionaire until he lost it all at the casino.
Doctors claim that if you drink two glasses of red wine a day, you may live longer.
It ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
They believe that the notorious cat burglar is a woman.
The notorious ……………………………………………………………………….… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Scientist expect global warming to worsen in the coming years. Global…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Everybody knows that Maradona handled the ball in the world cup against England. It………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. Police have reported that the level of violent crime is increasing. It………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. Many people believe that the Roman Catholic church is losing members.
The Roman ………………………………………………………………………………………………
7. Reports claim that by 2020 over half of the world’s population will be computer literate.
It……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
8. They say that the number of women in what used to be considered men’s jobs, is higher than ever.
The number ………………………………………………………………………………………
EXERCISE 4
As a quick review of the passive voice, complete the following sentences using the appropriate verbs in their correct form.e.g. JFK……………………………………….. by Lee Oswald.JFK was assassinated by Lee Oswald
I………………………………………..…………………….by my grandparents after my parents died.
Last week I was in the Supermarket and my bag ………………………………………………………. from my trolley. It was so embarrassing because I couldn’t pay for my food!
The court case…………………………………………due to a lack of sufficient evidence.
The actor……………………………………..a knighthood by the queen for his outstanding achievement in the movie industry.
It is claimed that Elvis is still alive and……………………………………… on many occasions.
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