The passive voice

Passive – present / past
A Rewrite the sentences and match them in order to create a meningful sentence.
1 ........................................................................
2 .........................................................................
3 .........................................................................
4 ........................................................................
5 ........................................................................
The thieves are sold at the disco.
Vegetables were seen in the accident.
Dolphins was hurt near the boat.
Dan were driven at the supermarket.
Rap music is played to the police station.

B Complete the sentences with the Present Simple Passive form of the verbs in brackets.
1 My cat ............................... (call) Ginger.
2 ............................... the instructions ............................... (write) in English?
3 This beach ............................... (keep) very clean.
4 Uniforms ............................... (not wear) at our school.
5 The dog ............................... (feed) at 8 o’clock every morning.

C Write sentences in the Past Simple Passive form.
1 David / choose / for the team / last week ..........................................................................................
2 money / steal / from the safe / last night ..........................................................................................
3 my grandparents / teach / French / at school ....................................................................................
4 the classroom / paint / yesterday ......................................................................................................
5 we / wake up / very early / this morning ............................................................................................
6 the people / take / to hospital ............................................................................................................

D Complete the sentences with the Present Simple or Past Simple Passive form of the verbs
in brackets.
1 The house ............................... (clean) once a week.
2 The burglary ............................... (report) to the police last week.
3 ............................... tea ............................... (grow) in China?
4 Those walls ............................... (not paint) last year.
5 I lost my purse in the shopping centre. It ............................... (not found) until yesterday.
6 When ............................... your car ............................... (steal) ?
7 New medicines ............................... (discover) every day.



Passive – present / past – Answers
A 1 The thieves were driven to the police station.
2 Vegetables are sold at the supermarket.
3 Dolphins were seen near the boat.
4 Dan was hurt in the accident.
5 Rap music is played at the disco.

B 1 is called
2 Are .. written
3 is kept
4 aren’t worn
5 is fed

C 1 David was chosen for the team last week.
2 Money was stolen from the safe last night.
3 My grandparents were taught French at school.
4 The classroom was painted yesterday.
5 We were woken up very early this morning.
6 The people were taken to hospital.

D 1 is cleaned
2 was reported
3 is … grown
4 weren’t painted
5 wasn’t found
6 was … stolen
7 are discovered

EXERCISES

Write in the passive.
1. Peter bought the house .
2. Mary will bring the wine .
3. My friends are repairing the car .
4. Most students speak English in this class .
5. An elderly couple sheltered her .
6. A policeman helped him .
7. She finished her work by nine o'clock .
8. Nobody can repair this broken chair .
9. They carried him into the hospital .
10.Are they typing the letters? .
11.They have not taken the car into the garage .
12.Someone has spilt some milk on the carpet .
13.Did anyone answer your question? .
14.They showed me the cathedral .
15.They told the children to leave the room .
16.They allowed her to go to the dining room .
17.They didn't tell me the truth .
18.Someone will give you a new notebook .
19.Someone is teaching him English .
20.They had offered me a job .
21.Someone has read her the letter .
22.Nobody has slept in this bed .
23.They looked after the baby .
24.They have been looking at her for hours .
25.They smiled at the girl as she walked by .
26.People speak well of your friend .
27.We must look for the key .
28.People say that the president will arrive on Monday .
29.People think that money is the most important thing in life .
30.They thought that he was an artist .
31.They think I come from Italy .
32.People feared that the criminals would escape .
33.People hope that prices won't go up this year .
34.People generally assume that the USA is the richest country in the world .

Complete the sentences with a passive construction, using the verbs given in the form
suggested.
1. Much of London (destroy) ____________________ by fire in the seventeenth century.
(Past Simple)
2. The man who (bite)____________________ by a snake was given a serum. (Past Perfect)
3. A leader should be a man who can (respect)____________________. (Infinitive)
4. Many slums (demolish) ____________________ to make way for new buildings. (Present
Continuous.)
5. The police (instruct) ____________________ to take firm action against hooligans.
(Present Perfect)
6. He (save)____________________ from bankruptcy by the kindness of a friend. (Past
Simple)
7. A cease-fire (expect) ____________________ (declare) ____________________ later this
week. (Present Simple, Infinitive)
8. A great deal of research (do)____________________ into possible causes of cancer
(Present Perfect)
9. The worker claimed that he (victimize)____________________ by his employers. (Past
Continuous)
10. The tenant (evict)____________________ for not paying his rent. (Past Simple)
11. It (think) ____________________ that the Government would do something to help. (Past
Perfect)
12. Three hundred new houses (build) ____________________ by the end of next year.
(Future Perfect)
13. Because of a strike, work on the building had to (discontinue)____________________.
(Infinitive)
14. The witness strongly objected to (cross-examine)____________________. (Gerund)
15. (Threaten)____________________ by a blackmailer, he immediately informed the police.
(Perfect Participle)
16. I am not accustomed to (treat)____________________ in that way. (Gerund)
17. The passengers ought (inform) ____________________ the train (withdraw)
____________________ from service. (Perfect Infinitive. Past Perfect)
18. Customers (ask) ____________________ to ensure that they (give)
____________________ the correct change before leaving the shop, as mistakes cannot
afterwards (rectify)____________________. (Present Simple, Present Perfect, Infinitive)
19. Was he very upset at (not offer)____________________ the job? (Gerund)
20. The man was sent to prison for six months, (find) ____________________ guilty of fraud.
(Perfect Participle)

Active / Passive Overview

	Active	Passive
Simple Present	Once a week, Tom cleans the house.	Once a week, the house is cleaned by Tom.
Present Continuous	Right now, Sarah is writing the letter.	Right now, the letter is being written by Sarah.
Simple Past	Sam repaired the car.	The car was repaired by Sam.
Past Continuous	The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the store.	The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the store.
Present Perfect	Many tourists have visited that castle.	That castle has been visited by many tourists.
Present Perfect Continuous	Recently, John has been doing the work.	Recently, the work has been being done by John.
Past Perfect	George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license.	Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's license.
Past Perfect Continuous	Chef Jones had been preparing the restaurant's fantastic dinners for two years before he moved to Paris.	The restaurant's fantastic dinners had been being prepared by Chef Jones for two years before he moved to Paris.
Simple Future will	Someone will finish the work by 5:00 PM.	The work will be finished by 5:00 PM.
Simple Future be going to	Sally is going to make a beautiful dinner tonight.	A beautiful dinner is going to be made by Sally tonight.
Future Continuous will	At 8:00 PM tonight, John will be washing the dishes.	At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes will be being washed by John.
Future Continuous be going to	At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going to be washing the dishes.	At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes are going to be being washed by John.
Future Perfect will	They will have completed the project before the deadline.	The project will have been completed before the deadline.
Future Perfect be going to	They are going to have completed the project before the deadline.	The project is going to have been completed before the deadline.
Future Perfect Continuous will	The famous artist will have been painting the mural for over six months by the time it is finished.	The mural will have been being painted by the famous artist for over six months by the time it is finished.
Future Perfect Continuous be going to	The famous artist is going to have been painting the mural for over six months by the time it is finished.	The mural is going to have been being painted by the famous artist for over six months by the time it is finished.
Used to	Jerry used to pay the bills.	The bills used to be paid by Jerry.
Would Always	My mother would always make the pies.	The pies would always be made by my mother.
Future in the Past Would	I knew John would finish the work by 5:00 PM.	I knew the work would be finished by 5:00 PM.
Future in the Past Was Going to	I thought Sally was going to make a beautiful dinner tonight.	I thought a beautiful dinner was going to be made by Sally tonight.

 

Turn the following sentences into PASSIVE VOICE.

1. Tommy will know Machu Picchu ruins in Peru.

2. My boss sent me detailed instructions.

3. Sam's friend solved the problem.

4. The workers will complete the new road in the next year.

5. Paul is going to repair the car.

6. My brother forgot his wallet at the bank.

7. My sister will sent a letter to my mother.

8. The little girl is drawing her pet.

9. She dropped her bag in the train.

10. My brother takes his medicine every day.

1. John and Fred will climb the Aconcagua Mountain.

2. My wife crashed the new car.

3. I opened the windows.

4. I drink a glass of water.

5. You did not send the parcel.

6. They did not catch the thieves.

7. Jane has taken some photographs.

8. The passengers are going to visit the museum.

9. The teacher made a big mistake.

10. Mary was preparing a lot of food.