Passive Voice Exercise 2 - Mixed Tenses

This second passive voice exercise is a step up from exercise 1: you are given a sentence in the active voice and asked to choose the correct passive equivalent. Several questions feature tenses that are easily confused, such as the past simple vs. past continuous passive and the present perfect passive. Start with exercise 1 if you haven't already.

GRAMMAR REVIEW: The Passive Voice — Trickier Structures

If you've done Exercise 1, you already know the basics of passive formation. This exercise tests some of the trickier passive structures that intermediate learners find difficult:

Past continuous passive: was/were + being + past participle
Use this when something was in progress at a specific past moment.
She was being interviewed when I arrived. ✅
She was interviewed when I arrived. ✅ (but implies it was completed)

Present perfect passive: has/have + been + past participle
Use this when the action has a connection to now.
The house has been sold. (recently, with present relevance)
The house was sold. (at a specific past time)

Conditional passive: would + be + past participle / would + have been + past participle
You would be told. (second conditional)
You would have been told. (third conditional — it didn't happen)

Reporting verbs in the passive:
Some verbs like say, think, believe, know have a special passive pattern:
They say women are smarter. → Women are said to be smarter.
This structure is very common in formal and journalistic English.

Want to go back to the basics? Try Passive Voice Exercise 1.

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 in IELTS Writing

The passive voice is specifically mentioned in the IELTS Writing band descriptors under Grammatical Range and Accuracy, which accounts for 25% of your writing score. Examiners at Band 7 and above expect to see a variety of complex structures — and the passive is one of the clearest signals of grammatical range.

In IELTS Academic Task 1 (describing charts, graphs, and diagrams), the passive is almost essential: "A steady increase was recorded...", "The figures are represented by...", "Sales were projected to rise..." — these structures sound natural and academic in a way that active alternatives often don't.

In Task 2 (essay writing), using the passive correctly and confidently — especially reporting verb passives like "it is argued that..." or "it has been suggested that..." — is a reliable way to demonstrate the grammatical range examiners are looking for at Band 7+.

ENGLISH PASSIVE VOICE EXERCISE 2 (Mixed tenses)