PASSIVES

Use Passive Verbs to talk about actions

when it doesn’t matter (or you don’t know)
who performed them.
The passive form of verbs is made with the different tenses of BE + the past participle :
(for example : English is spoken here.)

 We use the active form of a verb to say what a subject does: 

 The chef cooks food every day.

 We use the passive form to say what happens to the subject:

 Food is cooked  every day.

 The subject of a passive verb corresponds to the object of an active verb :

 Food is cooked every day.  (Passive).
 The chef cooks food every day.  (Active)
   

 We use the passive form of a verb when it is not important who does the action, 
or when we don't know who does it.
 The letter was delivered at 9 a.m.
The identity of the person who delivered the letter is unknown or unimportant.
If we want to say who delivered the letter, we use 'by':
The letter was delivered by the postman.
 Be (is, are, was were) + past participle

VERB ACTIVE PASSIVE

Infinitive : To cook To be cooked

Present Simple : I cook food in the kitchen. Food is cooked in the kitchen.
I am shocked. I was shocked.

Past Simple  I cooked food in the kitchen. Food was cooked in the kitchen.

Examples of Passive 

Tense Subject Verb Object

writes a letter.
Simple Present Active: Rita

Passive: A letter is written by Rita.

Simple Past Active: Rita a letter.

wrote
Passive: A letter was written by Rita.

1. the documents / print _____________________

2. the window / open ______________________

3. the shoes / buy _______________________

4. the car / wash ______________________

5. the letter / send _______________________

6. the book / read / not _______________________

7. the songs / sing / not _______________________

8. the food / eat / not _______________________

9. the shop / close / not ______________________

 Passive Voice - Exercises on Form

Write passive sentences in Simple Past.

1. the test / write ___________________

2. the table / set ___________________

3. the cat / feed ___________________

4. the lights / switch on __________________

5. the house / build __________________

6. dinner / serve ___________________

7. this computer / sell / not ____________________

8. the car / stop / not _____________________

9. the tables / clean / not ___________________

10. the children / pick up / not  _____________________

 ACTIVE PASSIVE
present present
1. Farmers grow vegetables. 1. Vegetables are grown by farmers.
2.They deliver the paper every morning. 2.The paper is delivered every morning.

ACTIVE PASSIVE
Past past

1. Slaves built the Piramids. 1.The Pyramids were built by slaves.

2.Someone delivered the newspaper. 2.The newspaper was delivered.
3.Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet. 3. Romeo and Juliet was written by
Shakespeare
4.Edison invented the lightbulb. 4. Lightbulb was invented by Edison.

  wall
/ paint / my father / by / was this wall was painted by
my father

 Planes / fly / are/ pilots /by  planes are flown by pilots

 Cricket / play / in / India / is cricket is played in india

 you / by / This picture / was / take this picture was taken

by you

 The hospital / open / the Queen / was / by the hospital

was opened by the queen

 Glass / make / is / from/ sand glass is made from sand

 The book / write / Shakespeare the book was written by

shakespeare