Active and passive voice · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Active and Passive Voice

English · Grammar & Punctuation · ages 10-11
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. The doer is missing from this passive sentence: "The sandwiches were made ___ Mia." Which word fills the gap?

    • but
    • by
    • and

  2. In the sentence "The song was sung by the choir," the choir is the subject of the sentence.

    Circle one:   True   False

  3. In the sentence "The cat chased the mouse," which part receives the action?

    • Chased
    • The mouse
    • The cat

  4. Which sentence is in passive voice?

    • The dog chases the ball every day.
    • The dog chased the ball.
    • The ball was chased by the dog.

  5. Change this sentence to passive voice: "The workers fixed the roads."

    • The roads were fixed by the workers.
    • The workers were fixed by the roads.
    • The roads was fixed by the workers.

  6. A news report includes these sentences. Which one is in active voice?

    • The bridge was reopened on Monday.
    • The bridge was closed after the flood.
    • Engineers repaired the bridge in one week.

  7. Which sentence from a science report is written in passive voice?

    • The scientists measured the temperature.
    • The temperature was measured every hour.
    • We measured the temperature every hour.

  8. Change this sentence to active voice: "The goal was scored by Amara."

    • The goal scored Amara.
    • Amara was scored by the goal.
    • Amara scored the goal.

  9. Ben wants to tell his teacher clearly and directly who broke the class globe. Which sentence should he use?

    • I broke the globe by accident.
    • The globe was broken.
    • The globe got broken somehow.

  10. Zara is writing a formal report about the school garden. She does not know who planted the first seeds. Which sentence fits her report best?

    • Someone planted the first seeds long ago.
    • The first seeds were planted long ago.
    • I guess somebody planted some seeds.
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Active and Passive Voice W1-mt_gbTyzvnWzr-s1

  1. by · In a passive sentence, the word "by" introduces the doer: "The sandwiches were made by Mia."
  2. False · The subject is the song, because the song comes first and receives the action. The choir is the doer, tucked in at the end after "by."
  3. The mouse · The mouse is on the receiving end of the chase. The cat does the chasing, and chased is the action word itself.
  4. The ball was chased by the dog. · In "The ball was chased by the dog," the subject, the ball, receives the action instead of doing it.
  5. The roads were fixed by the workers. · The roads moves to the front, and because roads is plural, the passive verb is "were fixed," not "was fixed."
  6. Engineers repaired the bridge in one week. · The engineers do the repairing, and they are the subject. The other two sentences put the bridge first as the receiver.
  7. The temperature was measured every hour. · "The temperature was measured" focuses on the result, not on who measured it. That is typical of scientific writing.
  8. Amara scored the goal. · The doer, Amara, moves to the front, and the verb changes back to "scored."
  9. I broke the globe by accident. · Active voice names the doer right at the start, which is the clearest and most direct choice here.
  10. The first seeds were planted long ago. · The passive sentence drops the unknown doer and keeps the report formal and focused on the seeds.
Worksheet · LightMySky