Active and Passive Verb Tenses

can you tell the difference?

Copyright © 2010 Golda Mowe,

The basic sentence structure in English is Subject - verb - object. Lucy sings a song - is an active sentence because Lucy is the subject doing the actual singing. However when we change the object (song) into the subject - A song is sung by Lucy - then the sentence becomes passive. Notice that the past participle 'sung' is the part of the verb which shows that this is a passive sentence. You show the past or present tense with the link verb. So if the active sentence is in the past tense - Lucy sang a song - then the passive sentence becomes - A song was sung by Lucy.

Remember, don't type any space into your answer, else it will be marked wrong. Make sure to use the correct verb format for the active sentences too. Click on Score Me when you are done. If you did not get 100%, go back to the questions marked "X" and correct your answer. Click on Score Me again. Repeat until you get 100%.

See

1. Jane was swimming in the lake when she _______ a crocodile.
         

2. A crocodile was ______ by Jane.
         

Push

3. Amy ________ her little brother on the swing every morning.
         

4. Amy's little brother is _______ on the swing every morning.
         

Teach

5. Mr. Jones _____________ us English.
         

6. We are ____________ by Mr. Jones.
         

Scold

7. Mother ___________ me for not doing my chores yesterday.
         

8. I was ___________ for not doing my chores yesterday.
         

Fish

9. Tom and Greg __________ at that pond every Saturday.
         

10. This Tilapia was ___________ by Tom and Greg yesterday.
         

Host

11. Father _________ the public discussion every year.
         

12. The public discussion is __________ every year.
         

Barbeque

13. Every first Sunday of the month, we ___________ chicken wings in the back yard.
         

14. Chicken wings are ______________ on the first Sunday of every month.
         

Tear

15. Suzy _______ a page from the notebook whenever she wants to leave a message for us.
         

16. A page is __________ from the notebook whenever Suzy wants to leave a message.
         

Publish

17. We ____________ a school magazine every year.
         

18. A school magazine is _______________ every year.
         

Stack

19. Tom ________ books in the school library every Friday.
         

20. Books in the school library are _____________ every Friday.
         


out of 20, which is % correct.
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