Active and Passive Voice Worksheet: Master the Essentials with Practice

“The chef cooked the meal.” vs. “The meal was cooked by the chef.”
Can you spot the difference?

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Table of Contents

• What Is Active and Passive Voice?
• When to Use Active vs. Passive Voice
• How to Identify Voice in Sentences
• Active and Passive Voice Conversions
• Common Mistakes Learners Make
• Active and Passive Voice Worksheet
• Tips for Teaching Voice
• Final Thoughts

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What Is Active and Passive Voice?

Active voice: The subject performs the action.
Passive voice: The subject receives the action.

Active Voice Examples:

• The teacher explained the lesson.
• She writes a letter.

Passive Voice Examples:

• The lesson was explained by the teacher.
• A letter is written by her.

In short, active voice is usually clearer, stronger, and more direct.

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When to Use Active vs. Passive Voice

Use Active Voice When:

• You want clarity and directness.
• The subject is more important than the object.
• You’re writing persuasive, creative, or business content.

Use Passive Voice When:

• The subject is unknown or unimportant.
• You want to emphasize the action or object.
• Formal, scientific, or legal writing is required.

Example:

"The experiment was conducted in 2023."
(We care about the experiment, not who did it.)

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How to Identify Voice in Sentences

Look at sentence structure:

1. Active: Subject + Verb + Object
   "The dog chased the ball."

2. Passive: Object + Auxiliary Verb + Past Participle [+ by Subject]
   "The ball was chased by the dog."

Ask:

• Who is doing the action?
• Is the doer clearly stated?

If the subject does the verb’s action → Active
If the subject receives the verb’s action → Passive

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Active and Passive Voice Conversions

Here’s how to convert active to passive (and vice versa):

Formula for Conversion:

Active:
Subject + Verb + Object
→
Passive:
Object + [form of "be"] + Past Participle + by + Subject (optional)

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Common Mistakes Learners Make

1. Forgetting tense agreement.
   Wrong: The car is drive by Tom.
   Right: The car is driven by Tom.

2. Mixing up subjects and objects.
   Wrong: A book was read him.
   Right: A book was read by him.

3. Overusing passive voice.
   Good writing mixes both. Passive voice is useful, but clarity should always come first.

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Active and Passive Voice Worksheet

Let’s reinforce your knowledge with practice!

Part A: Identify the Voice

Label each sentence as Active or Passive:

1. The homework was completed by Sarah.
2. Mark kicked the ball.
3. The room is cleaned every morning.
4. We watched the movie last night.
5. The cake was baked by Grandma.

Part B: Convert to Passive Voice

1. He writes a blog every week.
2. The company launched a new product.
3. She paints beautiful portraits.
4. They are watching a documentary.
5. We will attend the meeting.

Part C: Convert to Active Voice

1. The song was sung by the artist.
2. The rules have been followed by the students.
3. A letter is being written by her.
4. The dishes were washed by him.
5. The documents will be signed by the manager.

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Tips for Teaching Voice

If you’re a teacher, here are some ideas:

• Visual aids: Diagrams showing subject/verb/object structure help a lot.
• Drama games: Let students act out sentences in both voices.
• Writing practice: Ask students to rewrite paragraphs in both voices.
• Peer reviews: Let students identify voice in each other’s writing.

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Final Thoughts

The difference between active and passive voice can feel technical at first, but mastering it will instantly improve your grammar, writing clarity, and confidence.

Use this worksheet as a hands-on resource to guide your learning or teaching journey. For additional grammar tools and language lessons, check out our main platform.

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