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Passive Voice Exercises in English (All Levels)
Welcome to our complete collection of passive voice exercises for ESL learners. Whether you're just starting out or working toward an advanced level, you'll find practice tests covering all the key passive structures: simple present, simple past, mixed tenses, and the causative form. Each exercise includes a grammar review so you can study and practice in one place.
All exercises are free and interactive, with instant answer checking. Levels range from A1/A2 (Beginner) to B2/C1 (Advanced).
Quick Grammar Review: The Passive Voice in English
What is the passive voice?
In the active voice, the subject performs the action. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action. The focus shifts from the doer to the receiver.
Active: The chef cooked the meal. → Passive: The meal was cooked by the chef.
The basic formula
Subject + [correct form of TO BE] + past participle (+ by + agent)
The agent (the person or thing doing the action) is often omitted when it is unknown, obvious, or unimportant.
Passive voice across tenses
| Tense | Active example | Passive structure | Passive example |
|---|
| Simple Present | They clean the office daily. | am/is/are + past participle | The office is cleaned daily. |
| Simple Past | Someone stole the car. | was/were + past participle | The car was stolen. |
| Future Simple | They will announce the results. | will be + past participle | The results will be announced. |
| Present Perfect | She has written the report. | has/have been + past participle | The report has been written. |
| Present Continuous | They are building a new bridge. | am/is/are being + past participle | A new bridge is being built. |
| Past Continuous | They were filming a movie. | was/were being + past participle | A movie was being filmed. |
When do we use the passive voice?
- When the doer is unknown: My bike was stolen.
- When the doer is obvious or unimportant: The road is being repaired.
- In formal or academic writing: The results were analyzed carefully.
- To shift emphasis onto the receiver of the action: Three people were injured in the accident.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Forgetting to conjugate TO BE: ✗ The letter send. → ✓ The letter was sent.
- Using the wrong past participle: ✗ It was writed. → ✓ It was written.
- Using the wrong form of TO BE: ✗ They was seen. → ✓ They were seen.
- Confusing active and passive: ✗ The window was broke. → ✓ The window was broken.
🟢 Not sure where to start?
If you're a beginner, try Passive Voice (Mixed) 1 — it covers the basics across several tenses in a gentle, accessible format.
Intermediate learners should jump into the Simple Past or Simple Present exercises, then move on to mixed tenses.
Advanced learners should head straight to Passive Voice (Mixed) 3 and then tackle the Causative Form exercises.
All Passive Voice Exercises — Free & Interactive
(B) = Beginner (A1/A2) | (I) = Intermediate (B1/B2) | (A) = Advanced (C1/C2)
Passive Voice — Simple Past
Passive Voice — Simple Present
Passive Voice — Mixed Tenses
- Passive voice (mixed) 1 B — A beginner-friendly exercise covering passive structures across present, past, and future tenses. Includes a full grammar review.
- Passive voice (mixed) 2 I — Intermediate-level mixed tense passive practice.
- Passive voice (mixed) 3 I — Active → passive transformation exercise across multiple tenses. Good for B1/B2 exam prep.
The Causative Form (Advanced Passive)
The causative form is a special passive structure used when someone arranges for something to be done by another person. It uses the structure: have/get + object + past participle. Example: I had my car repaired. (= I arranged for someone to repair it.)
Frequently Asked Questions About the Passive Voice
- What is the passive voice in English?
- The passive voice is a grammatical structure in which the subject of the sentence receives the action rather than performing it. Instead of saying "The dog bit the man" (active), you say "The man was bitten by the dog" (passive). The passive voice is formed using a form of the verb to be followed by a past participle.
- How do you form the passive voice in English?
- The basic formula is: subject + correct form of TO BE + past participle. The form of to be changes depending on the tense — for example, is/are for simple present, was/were for simple past, will be for future simple, and has/have been for present perfect. The agent (who performs the action) can be added with by, but is often omitted.
- When should I use the passive voice?
- Use the passive voice when the doer of the action is unknown ("My laptop was stolen"), unimportant ("The road is being repaired"), or already obvious from context. It's also very common in formal writing, news reporting, and scientific texts, where the focus is on what happened rather than who did it.
- What's the difference between active and passive voice?
- In the active voice, the subject performs the action: The teacher explained the rule. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action: The rule was explained by the teacher. The meaning is essentially the same, but the emphasis is different. Active sentences are generally more direct; passive sentences shift the focus to the receiver or the action itself.
- What is the causative form and how is it different from the passive voice?
- The causative form is a related structure used when someone arranges for another person to do something on their behalf. It uses have/get + object + past participle (passive causative: I had my car repaired.) or have/get + object + infinitive (active causative: I got him to fix it.). Unlike a standard passive sentence, the causative implies that the subject arranged or caused the action, rather than simply being its receiver.
- Is the passive voice tested in English proficiency exams?
- Yes — the passive voice is tested in virtually all major English proficiency exams, including Cambridge B2 First (FCE), C1 Advanced (CAE), IELTS, TOEFL, and PTE Academic. It often appears in sentence transformation tasks, gap fills, and writing assessments. Mastering the passive voice — including the causative form — is essential for scoring well at B2 and above.
