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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 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. The passive is useful when you do not know who did it, or when it does not matter.
The answer is A. "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. 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 "The lifeboat crew rescued two walkers." in the passive voice?
"Two walkers were rescued by the lifeboat crew." 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 lifeboat crew" 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 D. "Two walkers were rescued by the lifeboat crew." 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 lifeboat crew" 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 "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 "The flood washed away the bridge." in the passive voice?
"The bridge was washed away by the flood." 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 flood washed" 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 C. "The bridge was washed away by the flood." 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 flood washed" 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 "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 "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 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.
"These terraces were built by the Victorians." 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 Victorians built these terraces.", 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 A. "These terraces were built by the Victorians." 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 Victorians built these terraces.", 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.
Which sentence says the same thing as "A power cut interrupted the assembly." in the passive voice?
"The assembly was interrupted by a power cut." 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 power cut" 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 A. "The assembly was interrupted by a power cut." 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 power cut" 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".
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