ESL Inventory

The Passive Voice: Rules, Examples & Exercises

An article about the passive voice has been made. But if what you’re looking for is practice, here’s an exercise for you:

Was this too hard? Study the article below and do the exercises at the bottom of this page.

The most common form of passives, the passive voice is used to focus on the action or the person/thing receiving the action, not the one doing it.

Infographic

Infographic explaining the Passive Voice in English grammar. It shows when the passive is used to focus on the action rather than the person who does it, with the structure ‘to be + past participle’. The infographic compares active and passive sentences and provides examples in present simple, past simple, future simple, present continuous, past continuous, present perfect, past perfect, future perfect, and with modal verbs.
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The Passive Voice Structure

Subject + form of to be + past participle + (by + agent)

Active SentencePassive Sentence
The chef cooked the meal.The meal was cooked (by the chef).
Someone broke the window.The window was broken (by someone).

In the passive voice, the subject becomes the focus because it is affected by the action.

We use the Passive Voice when the doer is unknown or unimportant, or to emphasize the action or recipient, check the examples below:

The bridge was built in 2000. (We emphasize the action)

My wallet was stolen. (We don’t know who stole it.)

Passive Voice Tenses – Table

TenseActive VoicePassive VoiceStructure (Passive)
Present SimplePeople eat apples.Apples are eaten (by people).am / is / are + past participle
Past SimpleThey built a house.A house was built (by them).was / were + past participle
Future SimpleShe will clean the room.The room will be cleaned (by her).will be + past participle
Present ContinuousHe is writing a letter.A letter is being written (by him).am / is / are + being + past participle
Past ContinuousThey were watching a movie.A movie was being watched (by them).was / were + being + past participle
Present PerfectShe has made a cake.A cake has been made (by her).has / have been + past participle
Past PerfectThey had repaired the car.The car had been repaired (by them).had been + past participle
Future PerfectHe will have finished the job.The job will have been finished (by him).will have been + past participle
Modal + VerbYou must return the book.The book must be returned (by you).modal + be + past participle

Confused about Verb Tenses? Click here for more.

Exercises on the Passive Voice

EXERCISE: The Passive Voice

Rewrite the sentence in Passive Voice excluding the agent.

Example sentence: They deliver the packages.

Example answer: Packages are delivered.

1 / 10

Write the following sentence using the passive voice, exclude the agent (The company).

The company is building a new school there.

2 / 10

Write the following sentence using the passive voice, exclude the agent (she).

She writes a letter every week.

3 / 10

Write the following sentence using the passive voice, exclude the agent (People).

People have painted this picture many times.

4 / 10

Write the following sentence using the passive voice, exclude the agent (the bakery).

The bakery makes bread every day.

5 / 10

Write the following sentence using the passive voice, exclude the agents (people).

People are watching that movie right now.

6 / 10

Write the following sentence using the passive voice, exclude the agent (they).

They cleaned the house yesterday.

7 / 10

Write the following sentence using the passive voice, exclude the agent (he).

He has repaired the car.

8 / 10

Write the following sentence using the passive voice, exclude the agent (the teacher).

The teacher had explained this topic before.

9 / 10

Write the following sentence using the passive voice, exclude the agent (they).

They sell fresh vegetables here.

10 / 10

Write the following sentence using the passive voice, exclude the agent (The chef).

The chef makes dinner very fast.

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EXERCISE: The Passive Voice – Make a sentence

Write the sentence in Passive Voice following the prompt given.

Prompt: the car – crash – in an accident – last weekend.

Answer: The car was crashed in an accident last weekend.

1 / 10

Make a passive sentence: lunch – prepare – by the chef – every day.

2 / 10

Make a passive sentence: the building – damage – in the storm – last weekend.

3 / 10

Make a passive sentence: the book – write – in 1990

4 / 10

Make a passive sentence: bread – buy – yesterday

5 / 10

Make a passive sentence: the work – finish – already

6 / 10

Make a passive sentence: the bills – pay – last night

7 / 10

Make a passive sentence: the room – decorate – now

8 / 10

Make a passive sentence: the documents – print – this morning

9 / 10

Make a passive sentence: mistakes – correct – by the teacher – every lesson.

10 / 10

Make a passive sentence: the house – clean – every week

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Passive Voice: Ego4u1 | Ego4u2 | EnglischHilfen | AutoEnglish | PerfectEnglish | AgendaWeb1 | AgendaWeb2 | AgendaWeb3 | AgendaWeb4 | AgendaWeb5 | Test-English | ESLgames | Grammarism | EnglishGrammarAt1 | EnglishGrammarAt2 | EnglishGrammarAt3 | Wordwall1 | Wordwall2 | Wordwall 3 | LiveWorksheets1 | LiveWorksheets2 | LiveWorksheets3 | LiveWorksheets4 | LiveWorksheets5 | EnglishExercises | E-Grammar | GrammarBank | English4u1 | English4u2 | English4u3 | English4u | English4u5 | English4u6 | English4u7 | English4u8 | English4u9

Choose Active or Passive: EnglischHilfen1 | EnglischHilfen2 | EnglischHilfen3 | AgendaWeb1 | AgendaWeb2 | Test-English | Wordwall | LiveWorksheets

Present Simple – Passive: PerfectEnglish | MontseMorales | E-Grammar | Wordwall1 | Wordwall2

Past Simple – Passive: EnglischHilfen1 | EnglischHilfen2 | PerfectEnglish | MontseMorales | E-Grammar

Present Perfect – Passive: PerfectEnglish | E-Grammar Passive Future Simple: PerfectEnglish | E-Grammar