B1 · grammar

Passive Voice Exercises (B1) — Free

Passive voice: when the action matters more than who does it

Use the passive when the action or the thing that receives it is more important than who does it, or when we don't know who did it (My bike was stolen last night). The form is be + past participle, and only 'be' changes for the tense: is/are made (present), was/were made (past), will be made (future), is being made (in progress now), must be made (after modals). The verb 'be' agrees with the subject of the passive sentence: Rice is eaten, but Rooms are cleaned. If we want to say who did the action, we add 'by' (This song was written by my sister). A common mistake is to forget 'be' (The bridge built in 1890) or to use the passive when the subject actually does the action (The police were arrested two men). Irregular participles are another trap: written, taken, stolen, not 'writed' or 'taked'.