English Level: Intermediate, Advanced
Language Focus: A review of the passive voice in contrast to the active voice
Grammar Worksheet: active-passive-voice-worksheet.docx (scroll down to study the exercises online)
Jump to: Intermediate Exercises, Advanced Exercises
Note: For a detailed explanation of why we use the passive voice, please read this lesson.
Review of the Passive Voice
Only sentences that have the object of a verb can be changed to the passive voice.
Active voice: I invited John.
[subject] + [verb] + [object]
Passive voice: John was invited by me.
In a passive sentence, the object of the verb (in the active sentence) becomes the subject. This is the structure for the passive voice:
John was invited (by me).
[subject] + [BE + Past Participle] (by actor)
The (by actor) part of the sentence is optional.
Reminder #1
An active sentence that does not have an object cannot be made into the passive voice.
Active voice: She cried. (The verb has no object, so you cannot make a passive sentence)
Active voice: An accident happened. (Again, no object, so you cannot form a passive sentence)
Intransitive verbs, verbs that never have an object, like be, die, happen, exist, appear can never be made into the passive voice. Only transitive verbs (enjoy, kill, catch, show) can be used in the passive voice. (Hint: They are called transitive because you can transfer an object to them.)
A ghost appeared. (The intransitive verb 'appear' has no object.)
Distinguishing between Passive and Active Voice
Guideline 1: If the sentence does not contain BE + Past Participle, then it cannot be a passive sentence.
John was eating a snack. (Not passive — no BE + Past Participle)
Guideline 2: Look at the subject of the sentence and then the verb. Then ask yourself if the subject is the actor of the verb (did John eat?) or was the subject the object of the verb (Did someone eat John?). If the subject is the actor, then it's an active sentence. If the subject is the object of the verb, then it's a passive sentence.
Intermediate Exercise #1 — Distinguishing between Active or Passive Voice
- I have never been to Wichita.
- I have never been arrested.
- The tower was built in 1802 by a French Artist.
- Nothing happened.
- No one was injured by the fire.
- The award was given to the top student.
- We decided not to hire anyone.
- The pizza was delicious.
- The pizza was ordered.
- The pizza made me sick.
- I was made sick by the pizza.
Intermediate Exercise #2 — Change Active sentences to Passive (Present Simple and Past Simple)
- I didn't fix the problem.
Show Answer
- Police protect the town.
Show Answer
- John's mother raised him in a small town.
Show Answer
- Someone painted the building last year.
Show Answer
- Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928.
Show Answer
- Some students study grammar on the Internet.
Show Answer
Intermediate Exercise #3 — Add the Appropriate Verb in the Past Simple
Look at the subject and verb to determine if it is an active or passive sentence. Then add the appropriate verb. Use the Past Simple tense for this exercise.
- Many people (buy) tickets for last night's concert. All the tickets (sell).
- The child (help) by his father. His toys (pick up) and put into a drawer.
- Scientists (discover) a new species of frog.
- The students (not/raise) their hands.
- Last night's dinner (prepare) by my wife.
- The safety rules (not/follow), so an accident (happen).
- Because the printer (damage), we couldn't print.
- The house (have) a swimming pool when I lived there.
- I (not/allow) to drink alcohol when I was young.
Let's try some more advanced structures.
Advanced Exercise #1 — Distinguishing between Active or Passive Voice
Mark if the sentence is in the active or passive voice. (Remember to look for the BE + Past Participle structure.)
- The company was shut down by the police.
- We had been given the wrong tickets.
- She wishes she had been there.
- He might not have been paying attention.
- He should not have been asked to pay.
- Chemicals can be toxic.
- New regulations will be introduced next spring.
Advanced Exercise #2 — Change Active sentences to Passive
- Someone had broken the window by 3:00 p.m.
Show Answer
- A strange man was watching us.
Show Answer
- Tokyo will hold the Olympics in 2020.
Show Answer
- We are working on the report right now.
Show Answer
- My manager has told him to arrive earlier.
Show Answer
- They could not have made the mistake.
Show Answer
- I hope they are going to hire me soon.
Show Answer
Advanced Exercise #3 — All Verb Tenses
Look at the subject and verb to determine if it is an active or passive sentence. Then add the appropriate verb. Be careful with intransitive verbs (verbs that do not have an object — they cannot be used in the passive voice.)
- That car looks like it has never (wash).
- If I were you, I would (contact) a lawyer.
- Have you (inform) yet about the new policy?
- Unfortunately, the budget has (not/approve) yet.
- A smile (appear) on her face.
- We (wait) for 30 minutes. Where is the bus?
- The performance (happen) right now. Let's go.
- I'll be happy if our plan (succeed).
- The server (order) to clean up the mess he had made.
- The judge ordered that smoking (prohibit) in restaurants.
- His grandfather (pass away) years ago.
- Janet rode an airplane yesterday for the first time. The airplane, which (operate) by Singapore Airlines, (fly) by an experienced pilot.
- I wouldn't have complained if the food (not/be) overcooked.
I hope these passive voice exercises have been useful. Find a mistake? Have a question? Leave a comment below.
-- Created by Matthew Barton of Englishcurrent.com (copyright)
Related Pages
- Ergative Verbs and the Passive Voice
- The Passive Voice in Newspaper Headlines
- When to Use the Passive Voice
- Irregular Verb Exercises
Hello. It is very interesting your didactic and I really appreciate it!
I would like to ask about the sentence:
The judge ordered that smoking
be prohibited
(prohibit) in restaurants.
Why this sentence is in this way?
My very thanks.
Hello. The verb ‘ordered’ is a verb that can be used in the subjunctive mood. This mood is formal. For example, the verb ‘suggest’ can be used in the subjunctive, e.g. ‘I suggest he be fired’. See here for more details: https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/subjunctive.htm
I also had some confusion but now everything is right thanks to you
i agree with you but don”t you think there are more wrong sentences?I think this is a little wired . ;)
We decided anyone was not to be hired
Good job, my teacher gave me and my class this exercises at today’s lesson! Great!
Hello Jennifer, I was ill all the weekend, so i forgot to do the activities. And y was absent because went to the doctor.Sorry for not doing it at time
Why is it ‘The judge ordered that smoking be prohibited’ and not The judge ordered that smoking will be prohibited’ ?
Hello. ‘Melina’ asked the same question in March. Look up about 5 comments and you’ll see my answer.
hello, I have 2 questions, I didn’t understand what tense to use in the senteneces 4. The judge ordered that smoking … (prohibit) in restaurants. 6. The airplane, which … (operate) by Singapore Airlines, … (fly) by an experienced pilot. Could you help me?
4. be prohibited. For help with this, see the comment from Melina above.
6. was operated, was flown. I can see that for this question, it’s not clear why the past tense should be used instead of the present or future. I will make the question clearer.
Which sentence is wrong? Provide a specific example.
no-one was decided to hire
Thanks the exercises are very didactics.
Very good. Now I’m 100% sure I will do good in my test tomorrow.
It was decided that no one would be hired ;)
Very interesting questions are their i enjoyed it very much ✌️
His song has affected the royal family on the appearance of king
Thank you for these exercises
The exercises are very helpful :)
Thanks for Share i learnd a lot of things.
decision for not hiring anyone was made by us.
It will be helpful for those who are willing to practice grammar properly.
It is a blessing to practice grammar in such god company! YAY
Thank you so much. It helped me so much, it’s unbelievable! Plus I could fill it in good company :-)
superb explanation and perfect solving questions to understand thank you
Thanks teacher for those exercises
Thank you so much I solve many question
This is very helpful for me
Chemicals can be toxic..
Please change it into active
This is not a passive sentence, so it cannot be transformed into active ♀️
It cannot be made into the passive voice because the verb “BE” does not have an object (the verb BE uses a complement, not an object).
Sorry, that’s not it
Great set of exercises for practice. Thank you.
it was decided that no one shall be hired
To determine the passive voice you will have to focus on this words :- Be,been,being,let,,have,has,had, and passive voice always consists of verb in 3rd form which means past participle.
The format is. : OBJECT + AUXILIARY VERBS + V³ (VERB IN 3rd FORM) + … by S² ( he changes to him,she to her,they to them, we by us , etc )
We decided anyone not to be hired.
Hi, this is Hiya Bhattacharya, a standard 7 student of ICSE board. I just clicked on the website and found such AMAZING exercises which are really helpful for my tests. It would be more effective if it had Quasi-Passive sentences so that we could have a clear idea of Active and Passive.
Overall, the wide range of exercises is surely going to be helpful for all the students.
Thank you!
Transitive verbs are used in regular sentences when a verb has an object, e.g. “I hired a worker.” < This is 'transitive' because the verb, hired, is transferred an object (a worker).
No one was decided not to be hired
sorry I mean, No one was decided to be hired
Kristal Quintana – ENGL102 section 05
Thank you Professor for this tool. It helps a lot to improve my skills in writing.
Anyone was decided not to be hired
The decision not to hire anyone was made by us.
No one was decided to be hired by us.
I had the same answers as the corrections, but it was still marked as wrong.
Very good I liked it a lot, I am going to get 10 in my exam, thank you
I really like it thank you
The exercise was very easy.
We are hoping more difficult exercise.
By the thanks.
I appreciate this exercises thanks
I appreciate this exercises, thanks
Good job.
Great exercises ! Helped my students. However Exercise 3 answers tough correct are showing errors could you please rectify them?
What are the precise answers that you wrote that were marked as incorrect?
This exercise has been really helpful , I still have to practice more.
It helped thanks to miss tina suggesting it to me
It is very useful for my exam and for self-study thank you
This exercise was much more challenging than previous exercise.
This exercise was much more challenging.
This exercise was much more challenging for me than previous exercise.
The exercises are very good. It was a blast solving these. Thank u for providing such questions!
Good day,
is it possible to have corrections for Exercise 3 All verb tenses as when I finished them and I knew they were correct all of them were marked as red.
thank you
Olena
Can you provide your answers here? I will check them.
yes sure
1. That car looks like it has never been washed.
3. Have you been informed about the new policy yet?
5. A smile appeared on her face.
In the following one:
1. the performance is happening now.
3. The server was ordered to clean up the mess he had made.
6. was operated, was flown
7. if the food hadn’t been overcooked (third conditional)
Thank you
Olena
Hello. Yes, those are correct. Normally I’d say ‘Oh well, I’m not sure what the problem is’. but with the help of ChatGPT, I’ve added a few lines of code to sanitize the inputted text in case it’s a problem with a language IME . Can you try it again? Thanks!
It was tough for me.
Wow it is amazing lesson and it should be useful for me