Passive Voice Exercise

Passive Voice - Exercises on Form
Write passive sentences in Simple Present.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
the documents / print

the window / open
the shoes / buy
the car / wash
the litter / throw away
6. the letter / send
7. the book / read / not
8. the songs / sing / not
9. the food / eat / not
10. the shop / close / not
1.
The documents are printed.
2.
The window is opened.
3.
The shoes are bought.
4.
The car is washed.
5.
The litter is thrown away.
6.
The letter is sent.
7.
The book is not read.
8.
The songs are not sung.
9.
The food is not eaten.
10.
The shop is not closed.
Passive Voice
Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is
performing the action.
Example: My bike was stolen.

In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.
Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:
Example: A mistake was made.

In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have made a
mistake.).
Form of Passive
Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs)
Example: A letter was written.

When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:
the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)
Examples of Passive
Tense
Simple Present
Subject
Active:
Passive:
Simple Past
Active:
Passive:
Present Perfect
Active:
Passive:
Future I
Active:
Passive:
Hilfsverben
Active:
Passive:
Verb
Object
writes
a letter.
is written
by Rita.
wrote
a letter.
A letter
was written
by Rita.
Rita
has written
a letter.
has been written
by Rita.
will write
a letter.
will be written
by Rita.
can write
a letter.
can be written
by Rita.
Rita
A letter
Rita
A letter
Rita
A letter
Rita
A letter
Examples of Passive
Tense
Present
Progressive
Past Progressive
Past Perfect
Future II
Conditional I
Subject
Verb
Object
is writing
a letter.
is being written
by Rita.
was writing
a letter.
was being written
by Rita.
had written
a letter.
A letter
had been written
by Rita.
Active:
Rita
will have written
a letter.
Passive
:
A letter
will have been written
by Rita.
Active:
Rita
would write
a letter.
Passive
A letter
would be written
by Rita.
Active:
Rita
Passive
:
A letter
Active:
Rita
Passive
:
A letter
Active:
Rita
Passive
:
:
Conditional II
Active:
Rita
Passive
:
A letter
would have written
a letter.
would have been written
by Rita.
Passive Sentences with Two Objects

Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects becomes the
subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform into a subject depends on what you want to put
the focus on.
Subject
Active:
Rita
Verb
Object 1
Object 2
wrote
a letter
to me.
Passive:
A letter
was written
to me
by Rita.
Passive:
was written
a letter
by Rita.
.
As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. Thats why it is usually dropped.
Personal and Impersonal Passive

Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
So every verb that needs an object (transitive verb) can form a personal passive.
Example: They build houses. Houses are built.

Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive sentence (as there is no object
that can become the subject of the passive sentence). If you want to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you
need an impersonal construction therefore this passive is called Impersonal Passive.
Example: he says it is said

Impersonal Passive is not as common in English as in some other languages (e.g. German, Latin). In English,
Impersonal Passive is only possible with verbs of perception (e. g. say, think, know).
Example: They say that women live longer than men. It is said that women live longer than men.
Although Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.
Example: They say that women live longer than men. Women are said to live longer than men.
The subject of the subordinate clause (women) goes to the beginning of the sentence; the verb of perception is put
into passive voice. The rest of the sentence is added using an infinitive construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary verbs
and that are dropped).
Sometimes the term Personal Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect object of an active sentence is to
become the subject of the passive sentence.

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Passive Voice - Exercises on Form

Write passive sentences in Simple Present.

the documents / print

The documents are printed.

The window is opened.

The shoes are bought.

The car is washed.

The litter is thrown away.

The letter is sent.

The book is not read.

The songs are not sung.

The food is not eaten.

The shop is not closed.

Example: My bike was stolen.

Example: A mistake was made.

Example: A letter was written.

the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)

has been written

was being written

had been written

will have written

will have been written

would have written

would have been written

Passive Sentences with Two Objects

Personal and Impersonal Passive

Example: They build houses. Houses are built.

Example: he says it is said

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