Active and Passive Verbs

British & IGCSE › Checkpoint 6 › Checkpoint 6 English (Cambridge Primary 0058)

1. Active or passive?

In an active sentence, the subject does the action. In a passive sentence, the subject receives the action, and the doer moves to the end after by, or disappears.

• Active: The children painted the wall. (the children do the action)
• Passive: The wall was painted by the children. (the wall receives the action)
• Passive with no doer: The wall was painted last week.

2. Changing active into passive

1. Take the object of the active sentence and make it the subject.
2. Add the correct form of be, in the same tense as the active verb.
3. Add the past participle of the main verb.
4. Add by + the doer only if it is important.

Notice that the verb be must agree with the new subject: fifty trees were planted (plural), one tree was planted (singular).

3. Passive forms in every tense

4. Changing passive back into active

Find the doer (after by), make it the subject, and put the verb in the same tense without be.

• The cake was eaten by the twins. → The twins ate the cake.
• The match has been won by our team. → Our team has won the match.
• If there is no doer, choose a sensible one: My bag was taken. → Someone took my bag.

5. Why do writers use the passive?

This is a favourite reading question. Learn these answers:

• to focus on the thing or the action, not on who did it (The pyramids were built over 4,000 years ago.)
• because the doer is unknown (My phone was stolen.)
• because the doer is obvious or not important (The thief was arrested. We know it was the police.)
• to make the writing sound formal and factual, as in reports, news reports and science texts
• in stories: to hide who did something, which creates mystery (The window had been smashed.)

6. Common mistakes

7. How Checkpoint asks about it

In your writing, a few passive sentences show a range of verb forms (Grammar and punctuation) and make non-fiction sound formal (Vocabulary and language). Use it where it fits, not in every sentence.

• News report: Two children were rescued from the sea on Friday afternoon.
• Information text: Papyrus was made from a plant that grows beside the Nile.
• Formal letter: I was told that the library would be closed for a month.
• Mystery story: The drawer had been opened, and the map was gone.

8. Practice

1. Active or passive? The letter was delivered this morning.

   Show answer

   Passive: was + past participle delivered.

2. Which verb form is it? Three new classrooms have been built.

   Show answer

   Present perfect passive (have been + past participle).

3. Which verb form is it? The winners were chosen by the judges.

   Show answer

   Simple past passive (were + past participle).

4. Change to passive: A strong wind knocked down the tree.

   Show answer

   The tree was knocked down by a strong wind.

5. Change to passive (no doer needed): Someone has broken the window.

   Show answer

   The window has been broken.

6. Why does a news report say A man has been rescued from the river and not name the rescuers?

   Show answer

   The passive focuses on the man and the rescue, which is the important news; it also sounds formal and factual.

7. Change to active: The museum was visited by two hundred pupils.

   Show answer

   Two hundred pupils visited the museum.

8. Correct the mistake: The new shops was opened last week.

   Show answer

   The new shops were opened last week. (shops is plural)

9. Change to passive: They will serve lunch at one o'clock.

   Show answer

   Lunch will be served at one o'clock.

10. Is this sentence passive? The sky was very dark. Explain.

    Show answer

    No. dark is an adjective, not a past participle, and nothing is being done to the sky.