Active & Passive Voice

In most sentences, the subject performs the action. When the subject of a sentence performs the action, the verb is in the active voice.

Dr. Jonas Salk developed a polio vaccine.

When the subject receives the action, the verb is in the passive voice. A verb in the passive voice is a verb phrase made by using a form of be and a past participle.

A polio vaccine was developed by Dr. Jonas Salk.

Passive verbs often make writing wordy and weak. Active verbs are most direct and forceful. In most cases, your writing will be better if you replace passive verbs with active verbs.

Passive: A Congressional gold medal was received by Salk.

Active: Salk received a Congressional gold medal.

The active voice should be used in most of your writing. The passive voice, however, is used when the performer of an action is unknown or unimportant.

This deadly disease has been feared for centuries.

Summary

A verb is in the active voice when the subject performs the action. A verb is in the passive voice when the subject receives the action.

Active & Passive Voice Exercises

A. Put the verb into the most suitable passive form.

1. There’s somebody behind us. I think we ___________ (follow).

2. A mystery is something that ___________ (can’t/explain).

3. The television ___________ (repair). It’s working again now.

4. After___________ (arrest), I was taken to the police station.

5. I didn’t do my job properly, I ___________ (would/sack).

6. We didn’t play football yesterday. The match ___________ (cancel).

7. In the middle of the village, there is a church which ___________ (restore) at the moment. The work is almost finished.

8. The tower is the oldest part of the church. It ___________ (belief) to be over 600 years old.

9. I learnt to swim when I was very young. I ___________ (teach) by my mother.

B. Put the verb into the correct form, active or passive.

1. ‘Is your car still for sale?’ ‘No, I ___________ (sell) it.’

2. This house is quite old. It ___________ (build) over 100 years ago.

3. Is the house at the end of the street still for sale? No, it ___________ (sell).

4. Sometimes mistakes ___________ (make). It’s inevitable.

5. I wouldn’t leave your car unlocked. It ___________ (might/steal).

6. My bag has disappeared. It ___________ (must/steal).

7. I can’t find my hat. Somebody ___________ (must/take) it by mistake.

8. It’s a serious problem. I don’t know how it ___________ (can/solve).

9. We didn’t leave early enough. We ___________ (should/leave) earlier.

10. Nearly every time I travel by plane, my flight ___________ (delay).

11. My grandfather was a builder. He ___________ (build) his house many years ago.

12. A new bridge ___________ (build) across the river. Work started last year and the bridge ___________ (expect) to open next year.

C. Change these sentences from active voice to passive voice.

1. The cat killed the mouse. _______________________________________________________________________________

2. The man cut down the tree. _______________________________________________________________________________

3. His teacher praised him. _______________________________________________________________________________

4. The boy teased the dog. _______________________________________________________________________________

5. The police arrested him. _______________________________________________________________________________

6. The boy caught the ball. _______________________________________________________________________________

7. My father will write a letter. _______________________________________________________________________________

8. He kept me waiting. _______________________________________________________________________________

9. The hunter shot the lion. _______________________________________________________________________________

10. He made a very remarkable discovery. _______________________________________________________________________________

11. My cousin has drawn this picture. _______________________________________________________________________________

12. The farmer gathers the harvest. _______________________________________________________________________________

13. Somebody has put out the light. _______________________________________________________________________________

14. People will soon forget it. _______________________________________________________________________________

15. They opened the theatre only last month. _______________________________________________________________________________

D. Write the verb in each sentence. Label it active or passive.

1. Computers are used in our school in many ways. ________________

2. Software is exchanged by a number of my friends. ________________

3. Our computer disks are handled very carefully. _________________

4. Music students practice on electronic keyboards. ________________

5. The chess club was trained with computer software. _______________

6. The vice-principal schedules students on a computer. ________________

7. Attendance is reported on a computer-printed bulletin. ________________

8. The school newspaper printed my article about fly fishing. ________________

9. Adventure games are played in the computer room during the activity period. ________________

10. We compose stories and essays on personal computers in the writing centre. ________________

E. Rewrite each sentence, changing each passive verb to an active verb.

11. A speech was assigned yesterday by our English teacher. _______________________________________________________________________________

12. A topic was chosen quickly by everyone. _______________________________________________________________________________

13. Dan was not surprised by my choice. _______________________________________________________________________________

14. Photography is enjoyed by both of us. _______________________________________________________________________________

15. My first camera was given to me by my parents. _______________________________________________________________________________

16. My landscapes have been exhibited by the library. _______________________________________________________________________________

17. Half of the basement was turned into a darkroom by my dad. _______________________________________________________________________________

18. Processing colour slides will be discussed by other students. _______________________________________________________________________________

19. Prizes for photos have been won by Dan. _______________________________________________________________________________

20. That photo was awarded a ribbon by the judges. _______________________________________________________________________________

21. Some slides have been made into prints by the photo lab. _______________________________________________________________________________

22. One was purchased by my dentist for his office. _______________________________________________________________________________

23. That slide was placed in the projector backwards by me. _______________________________________________________________________________

24. Speeches will be evaluated by a student and the teacher. _______________________________________________________________________________

25. Speeches will be presented by the class next week. _______________________________________________________________________________

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