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Passive Voice Exercises and Answers

The document contains examples for changing sentences from active to passive voice. It includes 9 exercises with multiple sentences each that are changed from active to passive voice. The exercises demonstrate how to change the subject and verb of a sentence to create a passive voice construction by making the object or recipient of the action the subject and using the verb "to be" plus the past participle of the main verb.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
105 views5 pages

Passive Voice Exercises and Answers

The document contains examples for changing sentences from active to passive voice. It includes 9 exercises with multiple sentences each that are changed from active to passive voice. The exercises demonstrate how to change the subject and verb of a sentence to create a passive voice construction by making the object or recipient of the action the subject and using the verb "to be" plus the past participle of the main verb.

Uploaded by

Hà Nghiêm
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
  • Exercise 2
  • Exercise 3
  • Exercise 1
  • Exercise 5
  • Exercise 4
  • Exercise 6
  • Exercise 7
  • Exercise 8
  • Exercise 10
  • Exercise 9

PASSIVE VOICE

EXERCISE 1: Change the active into the passive.

1. Bill will invite Ann to the party.


- Ann will be invited to the party by Bill
2. I didn't write that letter.
- That letter wasn’t written by me
3. Hundreds of people visit the White House everyday.
- The White House is visited everyday by hundreds of people
4. Everyone doesn't know this fact very well.
- This fact aren’t known very well by everyone
5. Do you wash the dishes everyday?
- Are the dishes washed everyday ?

EXERCISE 2: Change the active into the passive.

1. Shakespeare wrote that play.


- That play was written by Shakespeare
2. Does Jackson give that lecture?
- Is that lecture given by Jackson ?
3. They will send you the money at the end of the month.
- You will be sent the money at the end of the month
4. People speak Spanish in many countries.
- Spanish is spoken by people in many countries
5. The children often read stories in the evening.
- Stories are read in the evening by the children
EXERCISE 3: Change the active into the passive.

1. Alice didn't make that cake.


- That cake wasn’t made by Alice
2. They buy newspapers everywhere in the city.
- Newspapers are bought everywhere in the city
[Link] company will publish a textbook next year.
- A textbook will be published next year by that company
4. She delivers milk at about six o’clock .
- Milk is delivered at about six o’clock by she
5. Somebody cleans the room everyday.
- The room is cleaned everyday by somebody
EXERCISE 4: Change the active into the passive.

1. A man asked me several difficult questions at the interview.


- I was asked several difficult questions at the interview by a man
2. They will probably send him back to Britain.
- He will be probably sent back to Britain
3. Now people find this kind of bird in only a few remote places in Scotland.

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- This kind of bird is found in only a few remote places in Scotland
4. They grow rice in the north.
- Rice is grown by them in the north
5. We don't raise cows on our farm.
- Cows weren’t raised by us on our farm

EXERCISE 5: Change the active into the passive.

1. People used oil-lamps years ago.


- Oil-lamps were used years ago by people
2. The boss will meet him tomorrow in the restaurant.
- He will be met the boss tomorrow in the restaurant
3. The old woman feeds fowls twice a day.
- The fowls are fed twice a day by the old woman
4. Does he often clean the windows?
- Are the windows cleaned by him ?
5. She doesn't grow any trees in her garden.
- Trees aren’t grown in her garden

EXERCISE 6: Change the active into the passive.

1. The company will give him some money when he retires


- When he retires, he will be given some money by the company
2. They took it back to the zoo.
- It was taken back to the zoo
3. Someone picks the fruits everyday.
- Fruits are picked everyday
4. Does the girl do the housework?
- Is the housework done by the girl ?
5. They don't drive out the cattle to the field in the winter.
- The cattle aren’t driven out to the field in the winter

EXERCISE 7: Change the active into the passive.

1. The club bought him 2 years ago for a fee of $20 000.
- He was bought 2 years ago for a fee of $20 000 by the club
2. I’ll meet her at the airport.
- She will be met me at the airport
3. Japan makes a lot of cars.
- A lot of cars are made by Japan
4. They don't keep cows over there.
- Cows aren’t kept over there
5. Does machine do most of the farm work?
- Is most of the farm work done by machine ?

EXERCISE 8: Change the active into the passive.

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1) The Government is planning a new road near my house.
A new road is being planted by the government near my house
2) My grandfather built this house in 1943.
This house was built in 1943 by my grandfather
3) Picasso was painting Guernica at that time.
Guernica was being painted by Picasso at that time
4) The cleaner has cleaned the office.
The office has been cleaned by the cleaner
5) He had written three books before 1867.
Three books had been written before 1867 by him
6) John will tell you later.
You will be told by John later
7) By this time tomorrow we will have signed the deal.
The deal will have been signed by this time tomorrow by us
8) Somebody should do the work.
The work should be done by somebody
9) The traffic might have delayed Jimmy.
Jimmy might have been delayed by the traffic
10) People speak Portuguese in Brazil.
Portuguese are spoken by people in Brazil
11) Everybody loves Mr Brown.
Mr Brown are loved by everybody
12) They are building a new stadium near the station.
A new stadium is being built by them near the station
13) The wolf ate the princess.
The princess was eaten by the wolf
14) At six o'clock someone was telling a story.
A story was being told at six o’clock
15) Somebody has drunk all the milk!
All the milk has been drunk
16) I had cleaned all the windows before the storm.
All the windows had been cleaned before the storm by me
17) A workman will repair the computer tomorrow.
The computer will be repaired tomorrow by a workman
18) By next year the students will have studied the passive.
The passive will have been studied by next year by the students
19) James might cook dinner.
Dinner might be cooked by James
20) Somebody must have taken my wallet.
My walled must have been taken

EXERCISE 9: Change the active into the passive.

1) John gave a bar of chocolate to Jill (start with 'Jill').


Jill was given a bar of chocolate by John

2/01/2017 TS E9 3
2) John gave a bar of chocolate to Jill (start with 'a bar of chocolate').
A bar of chocolate was given to Jill by John
3) I lent a pencil to Graham (start with 'Graham').
Graham was lent a pencil by me
4) I lent a pencil to Graham (start with 'a pencil').
A pencil was lent to Graham by me
5) Fiona told the truth to Julian (start with 'Julian').
Julian was told the truth by Fiona
6) Fiona told the truth to Julian (start with 'the truth').
The truth was told to Julian by Fiona
7) They offered the job to Simon (start with 'Simon').
Simon was offered the job
8) They offered the job to Simon (start with 'the job').
The job was offered to Simon
9) The boss showed the new computer to Anna (start with 'Anna').
Anna was shown the new computer by the boss
10) The boss showed the new computer to Anna (start with 'the new computer').
The new computer was showed to Anna by the boss
11) Julie taught the grammar to the students (start with 'the students').
The students were taught the grammar by Julie
12) Julie taught the grammar to the students (start with 'the grammar').
The grammar was taught to the students by Julie
13) I sent the email to John (start with 'John').
John was sent the email by me
14) I sent the email to John (start with 'the email').
The email was sent to John by me
15) Lucy threw the ball to the child (start with 'the child').
The child was thrown the ball by Lucy
16) Lucy threw the ball to the child (start with 'the ball').
The ball was thrown to the child by Lucy
17) Sophia sold the car to a doctor (start with 'a doctor').
A doctor was sold the car by Sophia
18) Sophia sold the car to a doctor (start with 'the car').
The car was sold to a doctor by Sophia
19) I asked the question to David (start with 'David').
David was asked the question by me
20) I asked the question to David (start with 'the question').
The question was asked to David by me
EXERCISE 10: Change the active into the passive.
1) I want someone to love me.
I want to be loved
2) It seems that someone cleaned the office on Tuesday.
It seems that the office was cleaned on Tuesday
3) Amy thinks that someone is reading to her son.
Amy thinks that her son is being read to
4) I don't like people seeing me in my pyjamas.

2/01/2017 TS E9 4
I don’t like being seen in my pyjamas
5) My little niece loves people chasing her.
My little niece loves being chased
6) I understand that someone hit Greg.
I understand that Greg was hit
7) Is it the case that someone sent the report on time?
Is it the case that the report was sent on time ?
8) We avoided people seeing us.
We avoide being seen
9) I think that someone built the house in 1814.
I think that the house was built in 1814
10) I understand that someone fired John.
I understand that John was fired
11) I like someone looking after me when I'm ill.
I like being looked when I’m ill
12) She hates people laughing at her.
She hates being laughed at
13) It seems that someone lost the papers.
It seems that the papers were lost
14) He thinks that someone is teasing Lucy.
He thinks that Lucy is being teased
15) I hope someone will examine me soon.
I hope to be examined soon
16) John would like someone to promote him.
John would like to be promoted
17) The cat enjoys someone tickling him.
The cat enjoys being tickled
18) They claim that someone stole the money.
They claim that the money was stolen
19) We imagined that the storm damaged the car.
We imagined that the car was damaged by the storm
20) I believe that some is preparing food.
I believe that food is being prepared

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Common questions

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Passive voice is more effective when the actor is unknown, irrelevant, or less important than the action itself. It is also beneficial in scientific and formal writing, where the focus is on the process or the result rather than the individual who performed the action. This can help in maintaining objectivity and focus on the subject matter .

In transforming sentences from active to passive voice, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. The verb is typically changed to a form of 'be' coupled with the past participle of the main verb. Additionally, the original subject may be introduced with 'by', but it's often optional or unnecessary if the doer of the action is unknown or irrelevant .

Overuse of passive voice can lead to ambiguity about who is performing the action, as the subject may be left out altogether. This can make text more difficult to read by increasing cognitive load due to longer sentence constructions and reduced directness. It can also diminish the impact and engagement of writing by making it seem less vivid or assertive .

Passive constructions are syntactically complex due to reordering of sentence elements and the auxiliary verb structure required. Learners must understand the agreement in number and tense between the auxiliary verb 'be' and the past participle. For example, 'The club bought him 2 years ago for a fee of $20,000' requires correct transformation to 'He was bought by the club 2 years ago for a fee of $20,000,' showing how mastering these nuances requires deeper comprehension of English grammar .

When converting active sentences with a direct and indirect object to passive, either object can be chosen as the subject of the passive sentence. For example, in "John gave a bar of chocolate to Jill," both "Jill was given a bar of chocolate by John" and "A bar of chocolate was given to Jill by John" are grammatically correct, demonstrating flexibility in passive construction .

Using passive voice can reduce clarity and conciseness as it often leads to longer constructions and may obscure who is responsible for the action. This can make sentences more complex and harder to follow, especially if the actor is omitted. However, when used appropriately, it can provide a neutral tone and maintain the emphasis where desired .

When transformed to passive voice, the sentence 'The results will be announced by the committee' shifts the focus from 'the committee' to 'the results.' This change in focus can be useful when the emphasis is intended to be on the outcomes rather than who is delivering them, potentially aligning readers’ attention towards the content of the results rather than the authority announcing them .

The passive voice can be strategically used to obscure the agent by not explicitly mentioning who performed the action. This is often employed in contexts where responsibility is being deflected or when the agent is unknown. For example, 'Mistakes were made' leaves out who made the mistakes, which can alter accountability perceptions .

The tone of a sentence can become more formal and detached when shifting from active to passive voice. This transformation often removes the personal touch or immediacy associated with active voice, resulting in a more neutral or objective tone. Such a shift can be beneficial in technical writing where the focus is on the information rather than on personal experience .

Converting a sentence from active to passive voice shifts the focus from the subject performing the action to the object receiving the action. This emphasizes the outcome or the receiver of the action rather than the doer, which can alter the reader's perception and highlight different aspects of the information .

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