Topic: PASSIVE VOICE EXERCISE 1
|level: Beginner (A1/A2)
✓ Useful for IELTS
✓ Useful for TOEIC
The passive voice is one of the most important structures in English grammar — and one of the most tested, appearing in IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge exams, and everyday academic and professional writing. This beginner-level exercise provides practice identifying the correct passive form across a range of common tenses. This is exercise 1 of 3 in this series.
Fill in each blank with the correct passive voice form of the verb in brackets.
GRAMMAR REVIEW: The Passive Voice — Formation & Use
In the passive voice, the object of an action becomes the subject of the sentence. The focus shifts from who did something to what happened.
How to form the passive: subject + correct form of BE + past participle
Examples across tenses:
Present simple: That singer is known by everyone.
Past simple: The room was cleaned by my cousin.
Future simple: The package will be delivered tomorrow.
Present perfect: That question has been answered.
Present continuous: The bridge is being repaired.
Past continuous: She was being interviewed when I arrived.
When do we use the passive?
- When we don't know who did the action: My car was stolen last night.
- When it's not important who did it: The contract was signed in 2019.
- When we want to sound formal or impersonal: It has been decided that...
- When the focus is on what happened, not who did it: Three people were arrested.
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PASSIVE VOICE PRACTICE TESTS:
Passive voice (simple past) 1 (B/I)
Passive voice (simple present) 1 (I)
Passive voice (simple present) 2 (I)
Passive voice (mixed) 1 (A1/A2)
Passive voice (mixed) 2 (B1/B2)
Passive voice (mixed) 3 (B1/B2)
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In the passive voice, the object of an action becomes the subject of the sentence. The focus shifts from who did something to what happened.
How to form the passive: subject + correct form of BE + past participle
Examples across tenses:
Present simple: That singer is known by everyone.
Past simple: The room was cleaned by my cousin.
Future simple: The package will be delivered tomorrow.
Present perfect: That question has been answered.
Present continuous: The bridge is being repaired.
Past continuous: She was being interviewed when I arrived.
When do we use the passive?
- When we don't know who did the action: My car was stolen last night.
- When it's not important who did it: The contract was signed in 2019.
- When we want to sound formal or impersonal: It has been decided that...
- When the focus is on what happened, not who did it: Three people were arrested.
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER PASSIVE VOICE PRACTICE TESTS:
Passive voice (simple past) 1 (B/I)
Passive voice (simple present) 1 (I)
Passive voice (simple present) 2 (I)
Passive voice (mixed) 1 (A1/A2)
Passive voice (mixed) 2 (B1/B2)
Passive voice (mixed) 3 (B1/B2)
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Did you know?
The passive voice is used far more in written English than in spoken English — and far more in some languages than others. In academic and scientific writing in English, it's extremely common because it creates an impersonal, objective tone: "The results were analysed" rather than "We analysed the results."
Interestingly, some languages barely use the passive at all. Mandarin Chinese, for example, has a passive construction but it's used much less frequently than in English, and often carries a negative or undesirable connotation — so native Mandarin speakers often underuse the passive when writing in English.
The passive voice is also one of the most tested structures in major English proficiency exams. It appears in IELTS Writing band descriptors, is regularly tested in Cambridge B2 First and C1 Advanced grammar sections, and is a key structure in TOEFL integrated writing tasks — making it well worth mastering.
Interestingly, some languages barely use the passive at all. Mandarin Chinese, for example, has a passive construction but it's used much less frequently than in English, and often carries a negative or undesirable connotation — so native Mandarin speakers often underuse the passive when writing in English.
The passive voice is also one of the most tested structures in major English proficiency exams. It appears in IELTS Writing band descriptors, is regularly tested in Cambridge B2 First and C1 Advanced grammar sections, and is a key structure in TOEFL integrated writing tasks — making it well worth mastering.
