Active and Passive Voice

Exercises

Explanation

1. Active Voice

The subject does the action.

Structure:
subject + verb + object

Examples:

• The chef cooked the meal.

• Sara cleaned the room.

• My parents built this house.

The focus is on who does the action.

2. Passive Voice

The subject receives the action. The person who does the action (the agent) is not always important or not mentioned.

Structure:
subject + be (in the correct tense) + past participle (V3) (+ by… optional)

Examples:

• The meal was cooked (by the chef).

• The room is cleaned every morning.

• This house was built in 1995.

The focus is on the action or the result, not the performer.

3. Passive Forms in Different Tenses

Not all tenses are used in passive voice (e.g., Future Continuous).

4. When to Use Passive Voice

✅ When the performer is unknown

• My bag was stolen yesterday.

✅ When the performer is not important

• Coffee is grown in many countries.

✅ When the action is more important than the doer

• A new bridge will be built next year.
  (often used in news, reports, instructions)

✅ When we don’t want to mention the doer

• Mistakes were made.

• The rules were broken.

5. Passive with “by”

Use by + person/thing when you want to say who did the action.

• The picture was painted by my aunt.

• The cake was made by Tom.

6. Negative and Questions

Negative

Add not after be.

• The report was not finished on time.

• The package isn’t delivered yet.

Questions

Put be before the subject.

• Is the room cleaned every day?

• Was the letter sent yesterday?

• Will the tickets be sold online?

Common Passive Expressions

Some verbs often appear in passive structures:

• It is said that…

• It is believed that…

• It is known that…

Examples:

• It is believed that the city is very old.

• It is said that she speaks five languages.
  
  

Quick Summary