Active and Passive Voice Practice Test (A2-B2) — Grammar Exercises with Answers

⏱ Time: 10:00 📝 Questions: 20 📊 Level: A2, B1, B2 📚 Type: Grammar ⭐ XP: up to +22 (on pass)
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Practise Active and Passive Voice with 20 exercises at Level A2-B2. Each question comes with a detailed explanation to reinforce what you know and fill in any gaps. Add this to your daily study routine — just 10 minutes to stay sharp.

⏱ You have 10:00 to answer 20 questions. The timer only starts when you click Begin.

Q1  20
Q1 20

Question 1: The cake ___ by my mother.

Question 1 options
'was made' is correct because the passive voice in the simple past uses 'was/were + past participle.' 'Made' is active voice and lacks the auxiliary. 'Was making' is past continuous active. 'Is made' is present tense, which doesn't match the past context implied by 'by my mother' as a completed action.
Q2 20

Question 2: In the sentence 'The dog chased the cat,' the subject 'the dog' performs the action. This is an example of the active voice.

Question 2 options
True because in active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action of the verb. 'The dog' is doing the chasing, so the sentence is active.
Q3 20

Question 3: Which sentence is in the passive voice?

Question 3 options
'The window was broken by the ball' is passive because the subject 'the window' receives the action. The other sentences are all in active voice where the subject performs the action.
Q4 20

Question 4: The letter ___ by Tom yesterday.

Question 4 options
'was written' is correct because this is a passive voice sentence in the simple past. The subject 'the letter' receives the action, so we need 'was + past participle (written).'
Q5 20

Question 5: English ___ in many countries around the world.

Question 5 options
'is spoken' is correct because this is a general truth expressed in the passive voice (present simple). The subject 'English' receives the action of being spoken. 'Speaks' is active and would need a different subject. 'Is speaking' is present continuous active. 'Was spoken' implies a past situation, not a current general fact.
Q6 20

Question 6: The new hospital ___ next year.

Question 6 options
'will be built' is correct because the passive voice in the future simple uses 'will be + past participle.' 'Will build' is active and would need a different subject performing the action. 'Is building' is present continuous active. 'Has built' is present perfect active.
Q7 20

Question 7: Match each sentence to its voice (active or passive) and tense.

Question 7 options
She writes emails every day.
The emails are written by her.
They repaired the car.
The car was repaired by them.
Active – Past Simple
Passive – Past Simple
Active – Present Simple
Passive – Present Simple

Select an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.

Active voice has the subject performing the action; passive voice has the subject receiving the action. Each sentence's tense is identified by the verb form used.
Q8 20

Question 8: The report ___ by the team since Monday.

Question 8 options
'has been prepared' is correct because the present perfect passive uses 'has/have been + past participle.' The time marker 'since Monday' signals present perfect tense. 'Has prepared' is active. 'Was prepared' is simple past passive. 'Is prepared' is present simple passive.
Q9 20

Question 9: Which is the correct passive form of 'Someone stole my bicycle'?

Question 9 options
'My bicycle was stolen' is correct because in the passive transformation, the object 'my bicycle' becomes the subject, and the verb changes to 'was + past participle (stolen).' When the agent is unknown or unimportant ('someone'), we typically omit the 'by' phrase. 'My bicycle has stolen' lacks the auxiliary 'been.' 'My bicycle is stolen' changes the tense. 'My bicycle stolen' is not a grammatically complete sentence.
Q10 20

Question 10: Intransitive verbs (verbs that do not take an object), such as 'arrive' or 'sleep,' can be used in the passive voice.

Question 10 options
False because passive voice requires a direct object in the active sentence to become the subject of the passive sentence. Intransitive verbs have no object, so they cannot be made passive. You cannot say 'Was arrived by him.'
Q11 20

Question 11: The children ___ a new song when I entered the classroom.

Question 11 options
'were being taught' is correct because the past continuous passive uses 'was/were being + past participle.' The action was in progress when another action interrupted it. 'Were teaching' is active. 'Were taught' is simple past passive without the ongoing aspect. 'Have been taught' is present perfect passive.
Q12 20

Question 12: The streets ___ right now by the city workers.

Question 12 options
'are being cleaned' is correct because the present continuous passive uses 'am/is/are being + past participle.' The phrase 'right now' indicates an action in progress, and the subject 'the streets' receives the action.
Q13 20

Question 13: The passive voice is often preferred when ___?

Question 13 options
'the doer of the action is unknown or unimportant' is correct because one main reason for using passive voice is to shift focus away from an unknown or irrelevant agent. The other options describe situations where active voice is typically preferred or are not standard reasons for choosing passive.
Q14 20

Question 14: Put these words in the correct order to form a passive sentence:

Question 14 options
  • by Friday.
  • The project
  • must be
  • completed

Drag items or use arrows to arrange them in the correct order.

The correct order is 'The project / must be / completed / by Friday' because modal passives follow the structure: subject + modal + be + past participle + additional information.
Q15 20

Question 15: This room ___ since last month. It still looks dirty.

Question 15 options
'hasn't been cleaned' is correct because the present perfect passive in the negative uses 'has/have + not + been + past participle.' The time marker 'since last month' requires present perfect, and the subject 'this room' receives the action. 'Hasn't cleaned' is active. 'Wasn't cleaned' is simple past. 'Isn't being cleaned' is present continuous passive.
Q16 20

Question 16: She ___ to have invented the device in 1995.

Question 16 options
'is believed' is correct because with reporting verbs like 'believe,' 'say,' 'think,' etc., the passive construction 'subject + is/was + believed + to-infinitive' is used to report information impersonally. 'Believes' is active and changes the meaning. 'Is believing' is incorrect because 'believe' is a stative verb rarely used in continuous form. 'Has believed' is active present perfect.
Q17 20

Question 17: Which sentence correctly uses the passive with a modal verb?

Question 17 options
'The documents should be signed before noon' is correct because modal passives follow the pattern: modal + be + past participle. 'Should signed' omits 'be.' 'Should been signed' uses 'been' instead of 'be.' 'Should be signing' is modal continuous active, not passive.
Q18 20

Question 18: In the sentence 'He was given a prize by the principal,' 'he' is the indirect object of the active sentence that has been promoted to subject in the passive.

Question 18 options
True because in the active form 'The principal gave him a prize,' 'him' is the indirect object. English allows the indirect object to become the subject of a passive sentence, which produces 'He was given a prize.'
Q19 20

Question 19: By the time we arrived, all the food ___.

Question 19 options
'had been eaten' is correct because the past perfect passive uses 'had been + past participle.' The phrase 'by the time we arrived' signals that one past action was completed before another past action. 'Was eaten' is simple past passive. 'Has been eaten' is present perfect passive. 'Had eaten' is past perfect active.
Q20 20

Question 20: The suspect is reported ___ the country last night.

Question 20 options
'to have left' is correct because when a passive reporting structure (subject + is reported) refers to a past event, we use 'to have + past participle' (perfect infinitive) to show that the reported action happened before the reporting time.