The passive voice in past
REMEMBER HOW WE FORM THE PASSIVE VOICE
PRESENT: ____ is/are + verb (ed / 3col)
isn't/aren't
PAST: ____ was/ were + verb (ed / 3col)
wasn't/ weren't
REMEMBER HOW WE FORM QUESTIONS INTO THE PASSIVE VOICE
WHAT
WHEN + was/were/is/are + _____ + verb (ed / 3col) ?
WHERE
Active: Do ......
Passive: Is /are + ____________+ verb (ed / 3col) ?
Active: Did ......
Passive: Was /were + ____________+ verb (ed / 3col) ?
1. Write the verbs in brackets in the right tense. All of them must be in the passive.
a. The children .............................................(take) to the zoo last week.
b. She ........................................(wake) by a strange noise, but she didn’t get up.
c. My house ...............................(build) in 1990.
d. The supermarket .......................................(open) last month.
e. Last week, the dog .................................................(take) to the vet by his owner
f. The exams ...........................................(mark) by the teacher yesterday.
g. “Don Quixote” .....................................(write) by Cervantes.
h. My keys ...........................................(find) in the street last Monday.
i. The bank .......................................(rob) this week.
j. The robbers ....................................(arrest) five hours later.
2. Rewrite these sentences. Write a passive sentence (instead of using “somebody”, “they” or
“people”.) You may find present and past verbal tenses.
e.g.: Somebody asked me the way to the bus station.
I was asked the way to the bus station.
a. They cancelled our flight because of the storm.
b. English people drink a lot of tea.
c. Someone broke my cup.
d. People warned us about pickpockets.
e. In Mexico, they cook very hot meat.
f. Somebody builds a hut in that hill.
g. People often buy clothes on sales.
h. They gave me three tickets.
i. Somebody sells this house.
j. They arrested him the day before yesterday.
3. Change into the passive voice in past.
| 1) She bought four apples. |
| 2) We won the match. |
| 3) The man stole the blue car. |
| 4) The police arrested the thieves. |
| 5) Jack swam the 200 metres. |
| 6) The dog bit the old lady. |
| 7) Tom and Max ate five hamburgers. |
| 8) Oliver taught the children. |
| 9) Victoria rode the brown horse. |
| 10) Grandmother told good stories. |
| 4.- Complete the sentences using the present simple passive. a) Coffee …....................(grow) in Brasil and Colombia. b) Kangaroos …..............................(find) in America. c) ........... Ford …...................(make) in Spain? d) El Prado …...........................(visit) by hundreds of people every day. e) How often ….........................general elections.................................(hold)? f) Dogs …...........................(not allowed) in restaurants in most countries. 5.- Put the sentences into the past simple passive. a) Etienne Lenoir made the first motor car in Belgium. b) How many paintings did the police find? c) I didn’t paint Las Meninas. d) Lennon and McCartney wrote the song Yesterday. e) The government ordered them to build a new bridge. f) When did Cook discover Australia? 6.- Put these sentences into the passive (present or past) a) The airline sent our luggage to Australia by mistake. b) Farmers grow soy in Argentina. c) People export Spanish tortilla to the US. d) El Greco painted The Burial of the Count of Orgaz. e) You don’t find penguins at the North Pole. f) Columbus didn’t discover America in 1491. g) They draw some paintings. h) My uncle sold the bicycle. i) The child broke all the plates in the cupboard. j) She didn’t find the book. 7.- Put these questions into the passive. a) When did Pasteur discover Penicillin? b) How do people make sushi? c) Where do people speak Mandarin? d) Did Spain win the last basketball Olympics? e) Do people speak English in Hawaii? 7.- Write questions for these answers in the passive form. a) Yes, rice is grown in Spain. b) Yes, the song was sung by them. c) No, the trees weren’t cut down. d) No, the story isn’t known. e) Yes, he was told to be quiet. |
