Practise
Papers
Your area
Past papers
Get ready
Learn and practise
One table
Year 4 check
Spelling lists
More English
Home / Practice / English
Spotting the passive voice, and turning a sentence from one to the other.
Question 1 of 12
Which of these sentences is written in the passive voice?
"The assembly was interrupted by a power cut." is passive. The thing the action was done to has been moved to the front, and the sentence uses a form of "to be" — "was" — followed by a past participle. The person doing it arrives late, after "by", and in a passive sentence can be left out altogether. The active version is "A power cut interrupted the assembly.", where the doer comes first. The passive is not a worse way of writing; it is the right choice when the doer is unknown or unimportant, which is why reports and news writing use it constantly. The passive is useful when you do not know who did it, or when it does not matter.
The answer is D. "The assembly was interrupted by a power cut." is passive. The thing the action was done to has been moved to the front, and the sentence uses a form of "to be" — "was" — followed by a past participle. The person doing it arrives late, after "by", and in a passive sentence can be left out altogether. The active version is "A power cut interrupted the assembly.", where the doer comes first. The passive is not a worse way of writing; it is the right choice when the doer is unknown or unimportant, which is why reports and news writing use it constantly. The passive is useful when you do not know who did it, or when it does not matter.
"Three sandwiches were stolen by seagulls." is passive. The thing the action was done to has been moved to the front, and the sentence uses a form of "to be" — "were" — followed by a past participle. The person doing it arrives late, after "by", and in a passive sentence can be left out altogether. The active version is "Seagulls stole three sandwiches.", where the doer comes first. The passive is not a worse way of writing; it is the right choice when the doer is unknown or unimportant, which is why reports and news writing use it constantly. Look for a form of "to be" plus a past participle: was taken, were built, is being repaired.
The answer is A. "Three sandwiches were stolen by seagulls." is passive. The thing the action was done to has been moved to the front, and the sentence uses a form of "to be" — "were" — followed by a past participle. The person doing it arrives late, after "by", and in a passive sentence can be left out altogether. The active version is "Seagulls stole three sandwiches.", where the doer comes first. The passive is not a worse way of writing; it is the right choice when the doer is unknown or unimportant, which is why reports and news writing use it constantly. Look for a form of "to be" plus a past participle: was taken, were built, is being repaired.
Which sentence says the same thing as "Seagulls stole three sandwiches." in the passive voice?
"Three sandwiches were stolen by seagulls." is the passive version. Three things change when an active sentence is turned around: what the action was done to moves to the front, the verb becomes a form of "to be" plus a past participle, and the doer moves to the end behind "by". The verb has to agree with its new subject, which is where this usually goes wrong — the subject of the passive sentence is not the one the original verb agreed with. Dropping "by Seagulls stole" would still be a passive sentence, but it would no longer say the same thing. Turning a sentence passive always makes it longer. If your version is shorter, something has been lost.
The answer is C. "Three sandwiches were stolen by seagulls." is the passive version. Three things change when an active sentence is turned around: what the action was done to moves to the front, the verb becomes a form of "to be" plus a past participle, and the doer moves to the end behind "by". The verb has to agree with its new subject, which is where this usually goes wrong — the subject of the passive sentence is not the one the original verb agreed with. Dropping "by Seagulls stole" would still be a passive sentence, but it would no longer say the same thing. Turning a sentence passive always makes it longer. If your version is shorter, something has been lost.
Which sentence says the same thing as "Volunteers cleared the beach." in the passive voice?
"The beach was cleared by volunteers." is the passive version. Three things change when an active sentence is turned around: what the action was done to moves to the front, the verb becomes a form of "to be" plus a past participle, and the doer moves to the end behind "by". The verb has to agree with its new subject, which is where this usually goes wrong — the subject of the passive sentence is not the one the original verb agreed with. Dropping "by Volunteers cleared" would still be a passive sentence, but it would no longer say the same thing. Move the object to the front, add a form of "to be", then put the doer after "by".
The answer is B. "The beach was cleared by volunteers." is the passive version. Three things change when an active sentence is turned around: what the action was done to moves to the front, the verb becomes a form of "to be" plus a past participle, and the doer moves to the end behind "by". The verb has to agree with its new subject, which is where this usually goes wrong — the subject of the passive sentence is not the one the original verb agreed with. Dropping "by Volunteers cleared" would still be a passive sentence, but it would no longer say the same thing. Move the object to the front, add a form of "to be", then put the doer after "by".
Which sentence says the same thing as "Our class planted the orchard." in the passive voice?
"The orchard was planted by our class." is the passive version. Three things change when an active sentence is turned around: what the action was done to moves to the front, the verb becomes a form of "to be" plus a past participle, and the doer moves to the end behind "by". The verb has to agree with its new subject, which is where this usually goes wrong — the subject of the passive sentence is not the one the original verb agreed with. Dropping "by class planted" would still be a passive sentence, but it would no longer say the same thing. Turning a sentence passive always makes it longer. If your version is shorter, something has been lost.
The answer is C. "The orchard was planted by our class." is the passive version. Three things change when an active sentence is turned around: what the action was done to moves to the front, the verb becomes a form of "to be" plus a past participle, and the doer moves to the end behind "by". The verb has to agree with its new subject, which is where this usually goes wrong — the subject of the passive sentence is not the one the original verb agreed with. Dropping "by class planted" would still be a passive sentence, but it would no longer say the same thing. Turning a sentence passive always makes it longer. If your version is shorter, something has been lost.
Which sentence says the same thing as "The head teacher announced the results." in the passive voice?
"The results were announced by the head teacher." is the passive version. Three things change when an active sentence is turned around: what the action was done to moves to the front, the verb becomes a form of "to be" plus a past participle, and the doer moves to the end behind "by". The verb has to agree with its new subject, which is where this usually goes wrong — the subject of the passive sentence is not the one the original verb agreed with. Dropping "by head teacher" would still be a passive sentence, but it would no longer say the same thing. Check the new subject: one thing takes "was", more than one takes "were".
The answer is D. "The results were announced by the head teacher." is the passive version. Three things change when an active sentence is turned around: what the action was done to moves to the front, the verb becomes a form of "to be" plus a past participle, and the doer moves to the end behind "by". The verb has to agree with its new subject, which is where this usually goes wrong — the subject of the passive sentence is not the one the original verb agreed with. Dropping "by head teacher" would still be a passive sentence, but it would no longer say the same thing. Check the new subject: one thing takes "was", more than one takes "were".
Which sentence says the same thing as "A retired teacher wrote the guidebook." in the passive voice?
"The guidebook was written by a retired teacher." is the passive version. Three things change when an active sentence is turned around: what the action was done to moves to the front, the verb becomes a form of "to be" plus a past participle, and the doer moves to the end behind "by". The verb has to agree with its new subject, which is where this usually goes wrong — the subject of the passive sentence is not the one the original verb agreed with. Dropping "by retired teacher" would still be a passive sentence, but it would no longer say the same thing. Move the object to the front, add a form of "to be", then put the doer after "by".
The answer is C. "The guidebook was written by a retired teacher." is the passive version. Three things change when an active sentence is turned around: what the action was done to moves to the front, the verb becomes a form of "to be" plus a past participle, and the doer moves to the end behind "by". The verb has to agree with its new subject, which is where this usually goes wrong — the subject of the passive sentence is not the one the original verb agreed with. Dropping "by retired teacher" would still be a passive sentence, but it would no longer say the same thing. Move the object to the front, add a form of "to be", then put the doer after "by".
Which sentence says the same thing as "The postman delivered the parcel." in the passive voice?
"The parcel was delivered by the postman." is the passive version. Three things change when an active sentence is turned around: what the action was done to moves to the front, the verb becomes a form of "to be" plus a past participle, and the doer moves to the end behind "by". The verb has to agree with its new subject, which is where this usually goes wrong — the subject of the passive sentence is not the one the original verb agreed with. Dropping "by postman delivered" would still be a passive sentence, but it would no longer say the same thing. The passive can leave the doer out entirely, so read carefully when a question asks for the same meaning.
The answer is A. "The parcel was delivered by the postman." is the passive version. Three things change when an active sentence is turned around: what the action was done to moves to the front, the verb becomes a form of "to be" plus a past participle, and the doer moves to the end behind "by". The verb has to agree with its new subject, which is where this usually goes wrong — the subject of the passive sentence is not the one the original verb agreed with. Dropping "by postman delivered" would still be a passive sentence, but it would no longer say the same thing. The passive can leave the doer out entirely, so read carefully when a question asks for the same meaning.
"The pier was damaged by storms." is passive. The thing the action was done to has been moved to the front, and the sentence uses a form of "to be" — "was" — followed by a past participle. The person doing it arrives late, after "by", and in a passive sentence can be left out altogether. The active version is "Storms damaged the pier.", where the doer comes first. The passive is not a worse way of writing; it is the right choice when the doer is unknown or unimportant, which is why reports and news writing use it constantly. If you can add "by somebody" to the end and it still makes sense, the sentence is passive.
The answer is D. "The pier was damaged by storms." is passive. The thing the action was done to has been moved to the front, and the sentence uses a form of "to be" — "was" — followed by a past participle. The person doing it arrives late, after "by", and in a passive sentence can be left out altogether. The active version is "Storms damaged the pier.", where the doer comes first. The passive is not a worse way of writing; it is the right choice when the doer is unknown or unimportant, which is why reports and news writing use it constantly. If you can add "by somebody" to the end and it still makes sense, the sentence is passive.
"The railings were repainted by the caretaker." is passive. The thing the action was done to has been moved to the front, and the sentence uses a form of "to be" — "were" — followed by a past participle. The person doing it arrives late, after "by", and in a passive sentence can be left out altogether. The active version is "The caretaker repainted the railings.", where the doer comes first. The passive is not a worse way of writing; it is the right choice when the doer is unknown or unimportant, which is why reports and news writing use it constantly. Look for a form of "to be" plus a past participle: was taken, were built, is being repaired.
The answer is A. "The railings were repainted by the caretaker." is passive. The thing the action was done to has been moved to the front, and the sentence uses a form of "to be" — "were" — followed by a past participle. The person doing it arrives late, after "by", and in a passive sentence can be left out altogether. The active version is "The caretaker repainted the railings.", where the doer comes first. The passive is not a worse way of writing; it is the right choice when the doer is unknown or unimportant, which is why reports and news writing use it constantly. Look for a form of "to be" plus a past participle: was taken, were built, is being repaired.
"The beach was cleared by volunteers." is passive. The thing the action was done to has been moved to the front, and the sentence uses a form of "to be" — "was" — followed by a past participle. The person doing it arrives late, after "by", and in a passive sentence can be left out altogether. The active version is "Volunteers cleared the beach.", where the doer comes first. The passive is not a worse way of writing; it is the right choice when the doer is unknown or unimportant, which is why reports and news writing use it constantly. In an active sentence the doer comes first. In a passive one it comes last, or not at all.
The answer is D. "The beach was cleared by volunteers." is passive. The thing the action was done to has been moved to the front, and the sentence uses a form of "to be" — "was" — followed by a past participle. The person doing it arrives late, after "by", and in a passive sentence can be left out altogether. The active version is "Volunteers cleared the beach.", where the doer comes first. The passive is not a worse way of writing; it is the right choice when the doer is unknown or unimportant, which is why reports and news writing use it constantly. In an active sentence the doer comes first. In a passive one it comes last, or not at all.
"The bridge was washed away by the flood." is passive. The thing the action was done to has been moved to the front, and the sentence uses a form of "to be" — "was" — followed by a past participle. The person doing it arrives late, after "by", and in a passive sentence can be left out altogether. The active version is "The flood washed away the bridge.", where the doer comes first. The passive is not a worse way of writing; it is the right choice when the doer is unknown or unimportant, which is why reports and news writing use it constantly. In an active sentence the doer comes first. In a passive one it comes last, or not at all.
The answer is C. "The bridge was washed away by the flood." is passive. The thing the action was done to has been moved to the front, and the sentence uses a form of "to be" — "was" — followed by a past participle. The person doing it arrives late, after "by", and in a passive sentence can be left out altogether. The active version is "The flood washed away the bridge.", where the doer comes first. The passive is not a worse way of writing; it is the right choice when the doer is unknown or unimportant, which is why reports and news writing use it constantly. In an active sentence the doer comes first. In a passive one it comes last, or not at all.
Keep a record of how this went? It stays in this browser only and is never sent to us. You can clear it any time.
Saved to your record on this device. See the record
Try another set Pick a different topic
More grammar first, then the rest of English.
Every English topic · A timed English mock paper
For grown-ups: message us
A question, an idea, or something that isn't working? We read every message.
Please don't include a child's name or school.
Saved and sent to our inbox. Privacy
Thank you
Your message has reached us.