PASSIVE VOICE

1. Complete the sentences with the verbs in brackets. Use the passive.
1. Dan hates the music that ……………………… (play) on that radio station.
2. Have you heard the news? Sharon ……………………… (just / give) an award for her painting.
3. Your dog ……………………… (should / check) at least once a month.
4. By the time we arrived, dinner ……………………… (already / serve).
5. She prepared all the food. We ……………………… (not expect) to do anything.
6. We ……………………… (not allow) into the classroom tomorrow because we behaved badly.

2. Rewrite the sentences in the correct passive form.

1. No one is using that room at the moment.
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2. John ought to sell his paintings to the museum.
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3. They are going to build a bridge here.
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4. My favourite musician wrote that song.
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5. Dan won’t return the book to the library.
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6. Sharon hasn’t given the news to Paul.
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7. By 10 o’clock, the mechanic had repaired the car.
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3. Rewrite the sentences in the correct active form.

1. Tim is going to be punished by his mum.
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2. Some of the stories were written by a famous author.
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3. The dog must be walked after dinner.
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4. Paul hasn’t been examined by the doctor yet.
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4. Complete the sentences with the verbs in brackets. Use the correct active or passive form.
1. The film ……………………… (show) in ten different countries this week.
2. Tomorrow, the weather ……………………… (be) cold and snowy.
3. The sales ……………………… (advertise) in the newspaper every week.
4. We ……………………… (not do) our homework yesterday.

5. Complete the passage with the verbs in brackets. Use the correct active or passive form. There may
be more than one possible answer.
Thanks to an online bookshop called Better World Books, thousands of people (1) ………………………
(give) the chance to help the world while enjoying a good read. Better World Books is a business whose profits
(2) ……………………… (use) to help society. When the company first (3) ……………………… (begin),
the founders (4) ……………………… (have) the idea of selling second-hand books online. They decided that
the money from the book sales (5) ……………………… (donate) to reading programmes all over the world.
More than ten million books (6) ……………………… (collect), and more than $4 million
(7) ……………………… (raise) for programmes like Books for Africa and the Prison Book Programme.
Some of the books on the Better World site (8) ……………………… (receive) from libraries that have too
many copies of the same book. Some books (9) ……………………… (give) to Better World Books by retail
bookshops that don’t want to cause pollution by throwing away unwanted books. The end result is the same:
if you buy a book from Better World Books, your money (10) ……………………… (make) a difference in
the world.

6. Complete the sentences with the correct passive form of the verbs in brackets.
1. The electricity bill ……………………………… (must pay) next week.

2. Yesterday’s assignment ……………………………… (not prepare).

3. Your question ……………………………… already ……………………………… (answer)

by the secretary.

4. The time of the meeting ……………………………… (set) before you called me.

5. How many people ……………………………… (invite) so far?

6. The winners of the competition ……………………………… (chose) last Monday.

7. Complete the sentences with the correct active or passive form of the verbs in brackets.
1. People stood and watched while the building …………………… (destroy).

2. I love this guitar. My father …………………… (give) it to me for my last birthday.

3. That man was driving carelessly. He …………………… (should blame) for the accident.

4. Can we play, or …………………… someone …………………… (use) the tennis court?

5. My car isn’t working. …………………… it …………………… (repair) soon?

 6. You don’t need an X-ray. We’re sure your leg …………………… (not break).

7. Ingrid hasn’t come out of the room yet. …………………… she still …………………… (examine)?

8. This is a great phone. You …………………… (can / download) lots of apps on it.

8. Rewrite the sentences in the passive. Omit the agent when possible.
1. He has just written his latest bestseller.
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2. You must use a seat belt when you drive.
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3. They hadn’t repaired the car so they came by bus.
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4. Why does rock music bother the neighbours?
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9. Complete the passage with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Use the active or passive form.
Linda 1.
……………………………… (need) to do a lot of things before her family
2.
……………………………… (go) on holiday. The tickets 3.
……………………………… (buy)
a week ago, but they 4.
……………………………… (pick up) by her husband tomorrow. The
clothes 5. ……………………………… (must choose) so the suitcases 6. ……………………………… (can
pack). Linda 7. ……………………………… (have) a list, but she 8. ……………………………… (add) new
tasks since it 9.
……………………………… (write) last week. Every year, Linda
10.
……………………………… (ask) herself why she always 11.
……………………………… (work) so
hard before a holiday. She 12. ……………………………… (dream) of having a relaxing time at the beach
while the children 13.
……………………………… (watch) by her husband. At least that’s what she 14.

…………………… (promise) by her husband every year!

10. Complete the sentences with a suitable response. Use a passive form.
1. Why is everyone standing in the queue outside of the shop?
Free T-shirts .............................................................................................................................................. .
2. Why do you think they’ve removed the For Sale sign on the house?
It ................................................................................................................................................................ .
3. It’s too late to apply for the position.
It ................................................................................................................................................................ .
4. Which suitcase is my coat in?
It ................................................................................................................................................................ .
5. Why didn’t you answer my e-mail?
Because it .................................................................................................................................................. .
6. It was too late to convince him.
His decision ............................................................................................................................................... .
11. Rewrite the sentences using the passive.
1. They’re offering customers free samples of the product.
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2. In my opinion, we should give her another chance.
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3. The company has given its employees a longer holiday.
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4. Many people said his ideas were useless.
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12. Complete the sentences with the verbs in brackets. Use the Present Simple Passiveor Past Simple Passive.
1. The new products ……………………………… (introduce) last month.
2. Fresh vegetables ……………………………… (not deliver) to the local shop every day.
3. Today, advertising ……………………………… (use) by companies to increase their sales.
4. I bought that computer after it ……………………………… (advertise) in the local
newspaper.
5. I ……………………………… (not tempt) to buy the shoes because they were quite ugly.

13. Complete the text with the verbs in brackets. Use the Present Simple Passive or Past Simple Passive.
1.
The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world. It
…………………… (call) the Kapalicarsi in Turkish and it has got 60 streets with 5,000 shops. The bazaar 2.
…………………… (visit) by between 250,000 and 400,000 people every day. Construction of the bazaar 3.
…………………… (begin) in 1455 and it opened in 1461. Its buildings 4.
…………………… (damage)
many times by fires and earthquakes, but each time they 5. …………………… (build) again. Many different
kinds of goods 6.
…………………… (sell) there today, like jewellery, ceramics, carpets and spices. Many
people 7. …………………… (attract) by the antique shops where you can buy old furniture, watches, clocks
and coins. It is easy to get lost in the bazaar, but once you find what you are looking for, you don’t have to
walk far. The bazaar 8. …………………… (organise) so that all the shops that sell the same products are in
the same area.

14. Write questions with the words below. Use the Present Simple Passive or Past Simple Passive. Then answer the
questions according to the information in Exercise 13.
1. What / the Grand Bazaar / call / in Turkish
Q: ........................................................................................................................................
A: ........................................................................................................................................
 2. How many / visitors / expect / at the Grand Bazaar / each day
Q: ........................................................................................................................................
A: ........................................................................................................................................
3. When / the Grand Bazaar / open
Q: ........................................................................................................................................
A: ........................................................................................................................................
4. Why / the buildings / rebuild / many times / in the past
Q: ........................................................................................................................................
A: ........................................................................................................................................
5. What / types of things / sell / at the antique shops
Q: ........................................................................................................................................
A: ........................................................................................................................................

15. Complete the sentences about plans for introducing a new product with the verbs in brackets. Use the Future
Simple Passive.
1. The latest adverts ……………………………… (show) on TV.
2. Flyers ……………………………… (not send) to all the town’s residents.
3. ……………………………… a discount ……………………………… (offer) to anyone
who buys more than one item?
4. People ……………………………… (ask) to fill in questionnaires about the product.
5. A competition ……………………………… (hold) for all the shoppers.
6. The winner of the competition ……………………………… (give) a laptop.

16. Complete the text with the verbs in brackets. Use the the Present Simple Passive, Past Simple Passive or Future
Simple Passive.
Until recently, almost everything in our homes 1.
…………………… (buy) in
a shop. Then, after the Internet 2.
…………………… (invent), online shopping
3.
…………………… (introduce). Today, millions of products 4.
…………………… (advertise) on the
Internet and they 5.
…………………… (sell) to people all over
the world. Many people believe that 3D printing will cause the next big change in
our shopping habits. A 3D object 6. …………………… (create) by printing many different layers and putting
them together. Experts believe that our whole way of thinking 7. …………………… (change) by 3D printing.
In the future, inventors
won’t need factories to produce their inventions. The invention …………………… (send) to a 3D printing
8.

company and it 9.
…………………… (produce) there.
The inventor can then advertise his or her product on the Internet. All the orders
10.
…………………… (deliver) directly to the customer’s home by the printing company. In the more distant
future, it is even possible that 3D printing 11. …………………… (use) in medicine to reproduce skin tissue
and body organs. Get ready – the 3D revolution is on its way!
17. Write questions using the passive. Pay attention to the words in bold.
1. ........................................................................................................................................................
The goods will be taken to the train station.
2. ........................................................................................................................................................
The shop display was taken down last week.
3. ........................................................................................................................................................
Product awareness will be increased by giving out free samples.
4. ........................................................................................................................................................
No, Amy’s jewellery isn’t sold online.
5. ........................................................................................................................................................
Thomas was arrested because he stole a watch.