Tense Active Passive

present simple I make a cake. A cake is made (by me).

present continuous I am making a cake. A cake is being made (by me).
past simple I made a cake. A cake was made (by me).
past continuous I was making a cake. A cake was being made (by me).
present perfect I have made a cake. A cake has been made (by me).
pres. perf. continuous I have been making a cake. A cake has been being made (by me).
past perfect I had made a cake. A cake had been made (by me).
future simple I will make a cake. A cake will be made (by me).
future perfect I will have made a cake. A cake will have been made (by me).

Rewrite the sentences using the passive voice instead of the active one

1. John has repaired my new bike

2. My father painted my portrait

3. George is going to do the washing up tonight

4. The workers will move the principal’s office to the third floor in a week

5. Mary had locked the door as usual

6. The whole village built this church in 1635

7. They will demolish the old hospital to substitute it with a new one

8. My grandfather made my cradle as a present for my birth

9. Nobody can solve this problem

10. The government has recently passed a new law on pollution

11. Brazil produces a huge amount of coffee

12. They are experimenting a new procedure to purify sea water

13. The police are making a big effort in order to stop the drug traffic
14. Someone found his bicycle in the river

15. The police arrested two thieves last night

16. Even today, women do most of the work in the house

17. Teachers will teach several new subjects at the Technical College next term

18. Steffi Graff won the 1993 Wimbledon Championship

19. Designers are designing a new racing car for Ferrari

20. Thousands of young people buy computer games

21. People called him Shorty at school because he was not very tall

22. People speak English all over the world

23. Someone bought all this cheese in France

Now complete each sentence with the correct auxiliary verb. Mind the tense!
e.g. Emails are sent by millions of people every day.
1. The post office ______________ modernised at the moment.
2. Letters ______________ sent by people for hundreds of years. It’s a very old service.
3. Two million letters _____________ posted yesterday.
4. I _____________ posted the letter already when I realized the address was wrong.
5. I’m sure this card _______________ delivered before next Sunday.
6. Christmas cards _____________ received late by a lot of people next week.
7. This letter __________________ posted yet.
Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense. Use the PASSIVE
e.g. This website is visited (visit) by more than 1 million people every day.
[Link] Matisse painting ____________________ (steal) from the museum last year.
[Link] team _______________________ (not beat) in the final.
[Link] students ______________________ (just tell) to work quietly.
[Link] sandwiches _______________ (prepare) right now.
[Link] concert ____________________ (watch) by millions of people on TV tomorrow.
[Link] climate targets ____________________ (not meet) by our country this year.
[Link]’ve already decided, the bill ___________________ (pay) by everyone.
8.________ the money in his pocket ________________ (lend) to him by your brother?
[Link] __________ the lecture this afternoon ______________ (give) by?
Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense. Use the PASSIVE or the ACTIVE form of the verbs
e.g. Coffee is grown (grow) in many countries in Africa these days.
1. Mr Smith ____________ (leave) by his wife last month.
2. I ____________ (want) you to finish your homework by five o’clock.
3. The boys _____________ (speak) to by the head teacher already.
4. Mr Brown _____________ (buy) the new car you can see outside.
5. Tomorrow the painting __________ (sell) to the person who offers the most money.
6. Many pilots __________ (fly) planes for our company in the past.
7. This tomb __________ (think) to be oldest in Europe.
8. Ancient scholars _________ (write) the texts we are studying.
9. The girls _____________ (spend) all day today preparing their presentation.
Rewrite the sentences using either the passive or the active form of the verbs

e.g. John was sent to bed by his mum. John’s mum sent him to bed.

1. The film has been seen by many people. ___________________________________________

2. The children dug a hole for the new pond. ___________________________________________

3. A person from the AAI will give the talk. ___________________________________________

[Link] gold wasn’t sold by the thieves who stole it. ___________________________________________

5. Most people don’t understand politics in this country. __________________________________________

6. His dad allowed him go to the shop alone. ___________________________________________

7. The truth is known only by a few people. ___________________________________________

8. The waitress spilt the wine. ___________________________________________

9. Who was the play written by? ___________________________________________

Choose the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

Fiat was started (started/was started) by a group of Italian businessmen in 1899. In 1903, Fiat,
(produced/was produced) 132 cars. Some of these cars (exported/were exported) by the company to the
United States and Britain. In 1920, Fiat (started/was started) making cars at a new factory at Lingotto, near
Turin. There was a track on the roof where the cars (tested/were tested) by technicians. In 1936, Fiat
launched the Fiat [Link] car (called/was called) the Topolino – the Italian name for Mickey Mouse. The
company grew, and in 1963 Fiat (exported/was exported) more than 300,000 vehicles. Today, Fiat is based
in Turin, and its cars (sold/are sold) all over the world.