Mastering the Passive Voice in Simple Past: Exercises with Answers

Simple Past Passive Voice Exercises with Answers

While many students find it challenging to understand how to form the passive voice, regular practice with focused exercises can help solidify understanding and build confidence in using passive constructions correctly.

This post will explore the passive voice in the simple past tense through targeted exercises with comprehensive answers. These exercises will provide valuable practice opportunities.

Instructions

Before doing the exercises, let’s review the basic formation of the passive voice in the simple past:

Active Voice (Simple Past):

  • Subject + Past Tense Verb + Object
  • Example: The chef cooked the meal.

Passive Voice (Simple Past):

  • New Subject (original object) + was/were + Past Participle (+ by + Agent — original subject)
  • Example: The meal was cooked (by the chef).

Remember these key points:

  • The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
  • We use “was” with singular subjects and “were” with plural subjects
  • The main verb changes to its past participle form
  • The original subject may appear in a “by phrase” or be omitted entirely

Now, let’s test your understanding with the following exercises!

Simple Past Passive Voice Exercises with Answers

Here are two simple past tense active and passive voice exercises with answers:

Multiple Choice Questions (10 items)

Choose the correct passive voice form for each sentence.

Example:

  • The kid wrote a poem.
    • A poem is written by the kid.
    • A poem was written by the kid. ✓
    • A poem has written by the kid.
  1. The teacher ________ the test papers yesterday.
    • a) marked
    • b) was marked
    • c) were marked
    • d) was marking
  2. The robbers ________ by the police last night.
    • a) arrested
    • b) was arrested
    • c) were arrested
    • d) were arresting
  3. The famous painting ________ in the museum.
    • a) displayed
    • b) was displayed
    • c) were displayed
    • d) was displaying
  4. The children ________ to the park by their parents.
    • a) took
    • b) was taken
    • c) were taken
    • d) were taking
  5. The letter ________ last week.
    • a) sent
    • b) was sent
    • c) were sent
    • d) was sending
  6. The ancient artifacts ________ during the excavation.
    • a) discovered
    • b) was discovered
    • c) were discovered
    • d) were discovering
  7. The national anthem ________ before the match started.
    • a) played
    • b) was played
    • c) were played
    • d) was playing
  8. The windows ________ by the storm last night.
    • a) broke
    • b) was broken
    • c) were broken
    • d) were breaking
  9. The road ________ by the construction crew.
    • a) repaired
    • b) was repaired
    • c) were repaired
    • d) was repairing
  10. The mistakes ________ by the editor.
    • a) corrected
    • b) was corrected
    • c) were corrected
    • d) were correcting

1 → a) marked
2 → c) were arrested
3 → b) was displayed
4 → c) were taken
5 → b) was sent
6 → c) were discovered
7 → b) was played
8 → c) were broken
9 → b) was repaired
10 → c) were corrected

Rewriting Sentences from Active to Passive

Change the following sentences from active to passive voice.

Example:

  • The kid threw the stone.
    • → The stone was thrown by the kid.
  1. The chef prepared a delicious meal.
    • → …
  2. The manager hired three new employees.
    • → …
  3. The audience applauded the performance.
    • → …
  4. The storm destroyed many buildings.
    • → …
  5. The teacher explained the lesson.
    • → …
  6. The gardener planted beautiful flowers.
    • → …
  7. The cat chased the mouse.
    • → …
  8. The company announced new policies.
    • → …
  9. The students completed the assignment.
    • → …
  10. The artist painted the landscape.
    • → …

1 → A delicious meal was prepared by the chef.
2 → Three new employees were hired by the manager.
3 → The performance was applauded by the audience.
4 → Many buildings were destroyed by the storm.
5 → The lesson was explained by the teacher.
6 → Beautiful flowers were planted by the gardener.
7 → The mouse was chased by the cat.
8 → New policies were announced by the company.
9 → The assignment was completed by the students.
10 → The landscape was painted by the artist.

Quick Review of the Main Rules of Passive Voice in the Simple Past

Recap: Passive voice simple past exercises
  1. Formation: Subject + was/were + past participle (+ by + agent)
    • Use “was” with singular subjects
    • Use “were” with plural subjects
  2. When to use the passive voice in simple past:
    • When the action is more important than the doer
    • When the doer is unknown or unimportant
    • When you want to emphasize the receiver of the action
    • In formal writing, especially academic and scientific texts
  3. Common mistakes to avoid:
    • Forgetting to use the correct form of “to be” (was/were)
    • Using the simple past tense instead of the past participle
    • Incorrect subject-verb agreement (singular vs. plural)
  4. Examples:
    • Active: The company built a new office.
    • Passive: A new office was built by the company.
    • Active: They elected her as president.
    • Passive: She was elected as president.
    • Active: Someone stole my bicycle.
    • Passive: My bicycle was stolen.
  • Tips to master the passive voice:
    • Try to identify passive constructions in your reading.
    • Challenge yourself to identify passive constructions in everyday speech, newspaper articles, or academic texts.
    • Transform active voice to passive voice and vice versa.
    • Incorporate passive voice constructions into your writing when appropriate.

After doing the above simple past passive voice exercises, consider checking these posts:

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Tags: Exercises on Advanced GrammarExercises on Passive Voice
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