Active and passive voice exercises

These sentences are written in a mixture of active and passive voices, but they don't all sound good in English. E.g. 'Chocolate is liked by my mother' doesn't sound good in the passive. It would be better to rewrite it in the active: 'My mother likes chocolate.' The sentence should therefore be marked as active in the drop down list. E.g. 'Our luggage was checked at the airport' sounds good in the passive. It should therefore be marked as passive. Each of the sentences below is shown in the active voice. To switch the sentence between the 'active' or 'passive' voice, click the drop down box to the right of it. Then, choose which voice you think the sentence sounds better in and select 'active' or 'passive'. Then click 'submit' to see if your answers are correct and read why each sentence sounds better in the active or the passive.

Level: beginner Transitive verbs have both active and passive forms: Active Passive The hunter killed the lion. The lion was killed by the hunter. Someone has cleaned the windows. The windows have been cleaned. Passive forms are made up of the verb be with a past participle: Subject be Past participle Adverbial English is spoken all over the world. The windows have been cleaned. Lunch was being served. The work will be finished soon. They might have been invited to the party. If we want to show the person or thing doing the action, we use by: She was attacked by a dangerous dog. The money was stolen by her husband. Active and passive voice 1 Active and passive voice 2 Active and passive voice 3 Level: intermediate The passive infinitive is made up of to be with a past participle: The doors are going to be locked at ten o'clock. You shouldn't have done that. You ought to be punished. We sometimes use the verb get with a past participle to form the passive: Be careful with that glass. It might get broken. Peter got hurt in a crash. We can use the indirect object as the subject of a passive verb: Active Passive I gave him a book for his birthday. He was given a book for his birthday. Someone sent her a cheque for a thousand euros. She was sent a cheque for a thousand euros. We can use phrasal verbs in the passive: Active Passive They called off the meeting. The meeting was called off. His grandmother looked after him. He was looked after by his grandmother. They will send him...

Active voice is used for most non-scientific writing. Using active voice for the majority of your sentences makes your meaning clear for readers, and keeps the sentences from becoming too complicated or wordy. Even in scientific writing, too much use of passive voice can cloud the meaning of your sentences.

Sentences In Passive Voice • The school was struck by lightning.​ • This morning the burglar was arrested by the police.​ • One type of air pollution is caused by hydrocarbons.​ • An elaborate supper for the miners was prepared by Mr. Patel and his children.​ • The cookies were stolen by the Mad Hatter.​ • New York City's Central Park was designed in 1857 by F.L. Olmsted and Calbert Vaux.​ • It was decided by the court that the contract was invalid.​ • The first commercially successful portable vacuum cleaner was invented by a janitor who was allergic to dust.​ • After Leonardo da Vinci's death, the Mona Lisa was purchased by King Francis I of France.​ • The allegorical novel Animal Farm was written by British author George Orwell during World War II. Sentences in Active Voice • Lightning struck the school.​ • This morning the police arrested the burglar.​ • Hydrocarbons cause one type of air pollution.​ • Mr. Patel and his children prepared an elaborate supper for the miners.​ • The Mad Hatter stole the cookies.​ • F.L. Olmsted and Calbert Vaux designed New York City's Central Park in 1857.​ • The court decided that the contract was invalid.​ • A janitor who was allergic to dust invented the first commercially successful portable vacuum cleaner.​ • King Francis I of France purchased the Mona Lisa after Leonardo da Vinci's death.​ • British author George Orwell wrote the allegorical novel Animal Farm during World War II. Nordquist, Richard. "Changing Verbs From Passive to ...

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