THE PASSIVE VOICE EXERCISE 3 (Mixed tenses)

This is the third of our passive voice exercises and focuses specifically on converting active voice sentences into the passive voice across a range of tenses — present simple, present continuous, past simple, future simple, and present perfect. This active-to-passive transformation skill is essential for Cambridge B2 First and C1 Advanced sentence transformation tasks. If you haven't done them yet, start with Exercise 1 or Exercise 2 first.

GRAMMAR REVIEW: Active → Passive Transformations

This exercise practises converting active sentences into passive ones. Here's a quick reminder of the pattern across the tenses tested in this exercise:

Present simple: make → is/are made
My grandmother makes these cookies. → These cookies are made by my grandmother.

Present continuous: is washing → is being washed
Peter is washing the windows. → The windows are being washed by Peter.

Past simple: broke → was broken
David broke the record player. → The record player was broken by David.

Present perfect: has chosen → has been chosen
James has chosen the winner. → The winner has been chosen by James.

Future simple: will answer → will be answered
John will answer the questions. → The questions will be answered by John.

The pattern in every case: subject + correct form of BE + past participle (+ by + agent)

Note: the by + agent part is often omitted in real English when the agent is unknown or unimportant: "The winner has been chosen." is perfectly natural without "by James."

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 Cambridge English Exams

Of all the major English proficiency exam systems, Cambridge exams (B2 First, C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency) test grammar most explicitly — and the passive voice appears repeatedly across all three levels.

In the Use of English paper, sentence transformation tasks (Part 4) frequently require candidates to convert an active sentence into a passive one, or vice versa, without changing the meaning. These tasks are worth 2 marks each, and a correct passive transformation requires getting both the form and the tense exactly right.

At C1 Advanced level, more complex passive structures are expected — including passive infinitives (The report is said to have been leaked), passive gerunds (He hated being told what to do), and passive reporting structures (It is believed that... / He is believed to be...). Mastering these at B1/B2 level gives you a significant head start.