GRAMMAR - PRACTICE: PASSIVE VOICE EXERCISES

1. Complete the sentences. Use the Present Passive:

1.  Houses _____________________________ (make) of bricks and wood.

2. Millions of computers _____________________ (sell) each day.

3. Eiffel Tower in Paris ________________________ (visit) by thousands of people every day.

4. The old printers ______________________ (not use) much.

5. The fax machine ______________________ (connect) to the computer by a green cable.

2. Transform these sentences into Past Passive:

1. Engineers didn’t use computers in the past.

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2.  They built this house in 1945.

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3.  Those workers assembled cars in that factory before the boss fired them.

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4.  That company manufactured cars in the 1980s.

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5.  That employer trained new employees four years ago.

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GRAMMAR - THEORY: PASSIVE VOICE

1. USE

We use the passive voice when we are interested in the OBJECT / PROCESS, not the performer.

We place “by + performer” at the end of a passive voice sentence if we want to include in the passive voice sentence the subject of the active sentence.

Examples: 

“Somebody stole my bike” → “My bike was stolen”.  
“Tom stole my bike” → “My bike was stolen by Tom”.  

2. FORM: TO BE + PAST PARTICIPLE (-ED/3^rd COLUMN, IRREGULAR VERBS)

THE OBJECT of the active voice sentence becomes the SUBJECT in the passive voice sentence.

Examples:

Active	Mary	buys	a car.	SIMPLE PRESENT
Passive:	A car	is bought	by Mary.

Active:	Mary	bought	a car.	SIMPLE PAST
Passive:	A car	was bought	by Mary.

Active:	Mary	has bought	a car.	PRESENT PERFECT
Passive:	A car	has been bought	by Mary.

Active:	Mary	will buy	a car.	WILL-FUTURE
Passive:	A car	will be bought	by Mary.

Active:	Mary	can buy	a car.	MODALS
Passive:	A car	can be bought	by Mary.

3. PASSIVE VOICE SENTENCES WITH TWO OBJECTS

The INDIRECT OBJECT of the active voice sentence can become the SUBJECT in the passive voice sentence.

I- If the active voice follows the order “Subject + Verb + Direct Object + to Indirect Object” → Omit “to”:

“Helen offered a job to my brother Jim” 

becomes 

“My brother Jim was offered a job by Helen”

“Dan will give a present to Jane” 

becomes 

“Jane will be given a present by Dan”

II- If the indirect object of the active sentence is an object pronoun → Transform it into a subject pronoun:

“Mary offered a job to him” becomes “He was offered a job by Mary”

“Dan will give a present to her” becomes “She will be given a present by Dan”