This document provides information about forming the passive voice in English grammar. It discusses how the passive is formed using "be" plus the past participle of the verb. Only transitive verbs (verbs that take an object) can be used in the passive. Examples are provided to illustrate active and passive forms of various tenses. Exercises are included for the reader to practice changing sentences from active to passive voice. Passive forms of modal verbs and similar expressions are also demonstrated.

1. THE PASSIVE
3-1 FORMING THE PASSIVE
S
V
O
ACTIVE: (a) Mary helped the boy.
S
V
PASSIVE: (b) The boy was helped by
ACTIVE: (c) An accident happened.
Form of the passive: be + past participle.
In the passive, the object of an active verb becomes the subject of the passive
verb: "the boy" in (a) becomes the subject of the passive verb in (b). (a) and
(b) have the same meaning.
Only transitive verbs (verbs that are followed by an object) are used in the
passive. It is not possible to use verbs such as happen, sleep, come, and
seem (intransitive verbs) in the passive.
PASSIVE: (d) (none)
ACTIVE
PASSIVE
simple present
Mary helps
John.
present progressive Mary is helping John.
present perfect
Mary has helped
John.
simple past
Mary helped
John.
past progressive
Mary was helping
John.
past perfect
Mary had helped
John.
John is helped by Mary.
John is being helped by Mary.
John has been helped by Mary.
John was helped by Mary.
John was being helped by Mary.
John had been helped by Mary.
*The progressive forms of the present perfect, past perfect, future, and future perfect are very rarely used in the passive.
EXERCISE 1: Change the active to the passive by supplying the correct form of be.
1. Tom opens the door. →The door ___________opened ___________opened by Tom.
by Tom.
6. Tom had opened the door. →The door ___________opened
2. Tom is opening the door.
→The door by Tom.
___________opened by Tom.
7. Tom will open the door. →The door ___________opened
3. Tom has opened the door.
→The door by Tom.
___________opened by Tom.
8. Tom is going to open the door.
→The
4. Tom opened the door. →The door ___________opened door ___________opened by Tom.
by Tom.
9. Tom will have opened the door.
→The
5. Tom was opening the door.
→The door door ___________opened by Tom.
EXERCISE 2: Change the active to the passive.
1. Shakespeare wrote that play.
→That play was written by Shakespeare.
2. Bill will invite Ann to the party.
→ ANN WILL BE INVITED TO PARTYH BY BILL
3. Alex is preparing that report.
→ _THAT REPORT IS BEING PREPARED
4. Waitresses and waiters serve customers. → CUSTOMERS ARE SERVED BY
5. The teacher is going to explain the lesson. → _THE LESSON IS GOING TO BE EXPLAINED
6. Shirley has suggested a new idea. → ______A NEW IDEA HAS BEEN SUGGESTED
7. Two horses were pulling the farmer's wagon. → __FARMERS WAGON WERE BEING PULLED BY ….
8. Kathy had returned the book to the library. → THE BOOK HAD BEEN RETURNED TO LIBRARY
9. By this time tomorrow, the president will have made the announcement. →THE ANNOUNCEMENT WILL HAVE BEEN
MADE ….
10. I didn’t write that note. Jim wrote it. → _____THAT NOTE WASN’T WRITTEN BY ME.IT WAS WRITTEN
11. Alice didn't make that pie. Did Mrs. French make it? → __THAT PIE WASN’T MADE
….__________________________________________
12. Does Prof. Jackson teach that course? I know that Prof. Adams doesn’t teach it. → __WAS COURSE TAUGHT BY
PROF. ADAMS I KNOW IT WASN’T THOUGHT BY PF…__________________________________________
13. Mrs. Andrews hasn’t signed those papers yet. Has Mr. Andrews signed them yet?→ __THOSE PAPERS HASN’T BEEN
SIGNED …HAS THEY BEEN SIGNED BY MR__________________________________________
14. Is Mr. Brown painting your house? → IS YOUR HOUSE BEEN PAINTED BY
____________________________________________
15. His tricks won’t fool me. → I WILL NOT BE FOOLED BY HIS TRICKS
EXERCISE 3: Change the active to passive if possible. Some verbs are intransitive and cannot be changed.
1. A strange thing happened yesterday. (no change)
2. Jackie scored the winning goal. → The winning goal was scored by Jackie.
3. My cat died. → ___NO______________________________
4. I agree with Dr. Ikeda's theory. → THEORY IS AGREED BY ME
5. Dr. Ikeda developed that theory. → THAT THEORY WAS DEVELOPED
3-140303215302-phpapp01
1 from Understanding and Using English Grammar

2. 6. Timmy dropped the cup. → ____________________________________________
7. The cup fell to the floor. → ____________________________________________
8. The assistant manager interviewed me. → I WAS INTERVIEWED BY THE AS….
9. It rained hard yesterday. → _______NO_____________________________________
10. A hurricane destroyed the small fishing village. → ____________________________________________
11. Dinosaurs existed millions of years ago. → __________NO_____________________________________________
12. A large vase stands in the corner of our front hallway.
→_______________________________________________________
13. The children seemed happy when they went to the zoo.
→_______________________________________________________
14. After class, one of the students always erases the chalkboard. → _THE CHALKBOARDIS ALWAYS ERASED
BY….______________________________________________________
15. The solution to my problem appeared to me in a dream. →
_______________________________NO________________________
EXERCISE 5: Change the following active sentences to passive sentences if possible. (Some of the verbs are intransitive
and cannot be changed.) Keep the same tense. Include the “by phrase” only if necessary.
1. People grow corn in Iowa.
→Corn is grown in Iowa.
2. Peter came here two months ago. (no change)
3. Someone made this antique table in 1734. →_______________________________________________________
4. An accident happened at the corner of Fifth and Main. →
__NO_____________________________________________________
5. Someone stole my purse. →_______________________________________________________
6. Someone was making the coffee when I walked into the kitchen. →_
THE COFFE WAS BEING MADE BY SOME1WHEN I WALKED INTO THE KITCHEN
7. Translators have translated that book into many languages. → ___THAT BOOK HAS BEEN TRANSLETED
____________________________________________________
8. Jim's daughter drew that picture. My son drew this picture. →
_______________________________________________________
9. The judges will judge the applicants on the basis of their originality. →
THE APPLICANTS WILL BE JUDGED BY JUDGES the basis of their originality
10. My sister's plane will arrive at 10:35.
11. Is Professor Rivers teaching that course this semester? →
IS THAT COURSE BEING THOUGHT BY …..
12. When did someone invent the radio? → WHEN WAS THE RADIO INVENTED BY SOME1
13. The mail carrier had already delivered the mail by the time I left for school this morning. →
THE MAIL HAD BEEN ALREADY DELIVERED BY THE MAIL CARRIER by the time I left for school this morning. →
14. When is someone going to announce the results of the contest? →
WHEN IS the results of the contest GOING TO BE ANNOUNCED ?
15. After the concert was over, hundreds of fans mobbed the rock music star outside the theater. →
After the concert was over,THE ROCK MUSIC STAR WAS MOBBED BY HUNDRED OF FANS
16. Ever since I arrived here, I have been living in the dormitory because someone told me that it was cheaper to live there
than in an apartment.
Ever since I arrived here, I have been living in the dormitory BECAUSE I WAS TOLD BY SOME1 THAT it was cheaper to
live there than in an apartment.
17. They* are going to build the new hospital next year. They have already built the new elementary school.
THE NEW HOSPITAL IS GOING TO BE BUILT BY THEM NEXYT YEAR.THE NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL HAS BEEN
ALREADY BUILT BY THEM
3-140303215302-phpapp01
2 from Understanding and Using English Grammar

3. 18. If you* expose a film to light while you are developing it, you will ruin the negatives.
IF A FILM IS EXPOSED BY YOU WHILE IT IS BEING DEVELOPED BY YOU,THE NEGATIVES WILL BE RUINED BY YOU
*In #17, they is an impersonal pronoun; it refers to "some people" but to no people in particular. In #18, you is an
impersonal pronoun; it refers to any person or people in general.
3-4 THE PASSIVE FORM OF MODALS AND SIMILAR EXPRESSIONS
THE PASSIVE FORM: modal + be + past participle
(a) Tom
will be invited
to the picnic.
(b) The window
can't be opened.
(c) Children
should be taught to respect their elders.
(d)
May I be
from class?
(e) This book
had better be
to the library before Friday.
(f) This letter
ought to be sent before June 1st.
(g) Mary
has to be told
about our change in plans.
(h) Fred
is supposed to
about the meeting.
be told
THE PAST-PASSIVE FORM: modal + have been + past participle
(i) The letter
should have been
last week.
(j) This house
must have been
over 200 years ago.
(k) Jack
ought to have been
to the party.
EXERCISE 11: Complete the sentences with the given words, active or passive.
3-140303215302-phpapp01
3 from Understanding and Using English Grammar

4. 1. James should be told the news as soon as possible. (should + tell)
2. Someone should tell James the news immediately. (should + tell)
3. James should have been told the news long time ago. (should + tell)
4. Meat __MUST BE KEPT ____________in a refrigerator or it will spoil. (must + keep)
5. You ___MUST KEEP___________meat in a refrigerator or it will spoil. (must + keep)
6. We tried, but the window ____COULDNT HAVE BEEN OPENED__________. It was painted shut. (couldn’t + open)
7. I tried, but I ___COULDNT OPEN ___________the window. (couldn’t + open)
8. Good news! I ____MAY BE OFFERED __________a job soon. I had an interview at an engineering firm yesterday. (may +
offer)
9. Chris has good news. The engineering firm where she had an interview yesterday ___MAY OFFER___________her a fob
soon. (may+ offer)
10. I hope Chris accepts our job offer, but I know she's been having interviews with several companies. She MAY HAVE
BEEN ALREADY OFFERED______________a job by a competing firm before we made our offer. (may + already + offer*)
11. A competing firm ___MAY HAVE ALREADY OFFERED___________ Chris a job before we made our offer. (may + already
+ offer*)
12. The class for next semester is too large. It ____OUGHT TO BE DIVIDED__________in half, but there's not enough
money in the budget to hire another teacher. (ought to + divide)
13. Last semester's class was too large. It __OUGHT TO HAVE BEEN DIVIDED____________in half. (ought to + divide)
14. These books ____HAVE TO BE RETURNED __________to the library by tomorrow. (have to + return)
15. Polly _HAVE TO RETURN_____________these books by next Friday. (have to + return)
16. A: Andy, your chores ______HAD BETTER BE FINISHED________by the time I get home, including taking out the
garbage. (had better + finish)
B: Don't worry, Mom. I'll do everything you told me to do.
17. A: Andy, you ___HAD BETTER FINISH___________ your chores before Mom gets home. (had better + finish)
B: I know. I’ll do them in a minute. I’m busy right now.
18. This application ____IS SUPPOSED TO BE SENT__________ to personnel department soon. (be supposed to + send)
19. Ann's birthday was on the 5th , and now it's already the 8th . Her birth card ___SHOULD HAVE _BEEN SENT __________ a
week ago. Maybe we'd better give her a call to wish her a belated happy birthday. (should + send)
20. A: Ann didn't expect to see her boss at the labor union meeting.
B: She_____MUST HAVE BEEN SURPRISED _________ when she saw him. (must + surprise)