Active and Passive Voice Exercise
We make the passive verb forms using the past participle form of the verb. Before the past participle, we use one or two auxiliary verbs.
Study the examples given below.
Simple present tense
Active: I write stories.
Passive: Stories are written by me.
Active voice: Doctors treat patients.
Passive voice: Patients are treated by doctors.
In the simple present tense, we make the passive voice form by putting is / am / are before the past participle form of the verb.
Present continuous tense
In the present continuous tense, we make the passive verb form by putting is / am / are + being before the past participle form of the verb.
Active: I am writing a story.
Passive voice: A story is being written by me.
Active voice: They are fixing the roof.
Passive voice: The roof is being fixed by them.
Present perfect tense
In the present perfect tense, we make passive verb forms by putting has / have + been before the past participle form of the verb.
Active: I have filed a complaint.
Passive: A complaint has been filed by me.
Active: The chief guest has distributed the prizes.
Passive voice: The prizes have been distributed by the chief guest.
Simple past tense
In the simple past tense, we make the passive verb form by putting was / were before the past participle form of the verb.
Active: I saw the report.
Passive voice: The report was seen by me.
Active: She answered all questions.
Passive voice: All questions were answered by her.
Past continuous tense
In the past continuous tense, we make the passive form by putting was / were + being before the past participle form of the verb.
Active: They were cooking dinner.
Passive voice: Dinner was being cooked by them.
Active voice: I was watering the plants.
Passive voice: The plants were being watered by me.
Past perfect tense
In the past perfect tense, we make passive verb forms by putting had been before the past participle form of the verb.
Active voice: I had taken the test.
Passive voice: The test had been taken by me.
Active voice: He had sent the reports.
Passive voice: The reports had been sent by him.
Simple future tense
In the simple future tense, we make passive verbs forms by putting will be before the past participle form of the verb.
Active voice: I will send the invites.
Passive voice: The invites will be sent by me.
Active voice: She will accept the offer.
Passive: The offer will be accepted by her.
Future perfect tense
In the future perfect tense, we make passive voice forms by putting will have been before the past participle form of the verb.
Active voice: They will have finished the job.
Passive voice: The job will have been finished by them.
Active and Passive Voice Exercise
Many students have trouble using active and passive voices correctly. Some of them can’t even distinguish active forms from passive forms.
State whether the verb forms in the following sentences are active or passive.
1. The cat killed the mouse.
2. The birds were chirping.
3. The police caught the thief.
4. The sun rises in the east.
5. The teacher praised the students.
6. It has been raining since morning.
7. The prices have been distributed.
8. She has written several stories.
9. His poems have been translated into several languages.
10. This house was built in 1885.
11. The positive hydrogen atoms are attracted to the negative oxygen atoms.
12. She was given a car.
Answers
1. The cat killed the mouse. (killed – active voice)
2. The birds were chirping. (were chirping – active voice)
3. The police caught the thief. (caught – passive voice)
4. The sun rises in the east. (rises – active voice)
5. The teacher praised the students. (praised – active voice)
6. It has been raining since morning. (has been raining – active voice)
7. The prices have been distributed. (have been distributed – passive voice)
8. She has written several stories. (has written – active voice)
9. His poems have been translated into several languages. (have been translated – passive voice)
10. This house was built in 1885. (was built – passive voice)
11. The positive hydrogen atoms are attracted to the negative oxygen atoms. (are attracted – passive voice)
12. She was given a car. (was given – passive voice)
