UH-Victoria

Active and Passive Sentences

Exercise 2

 

Part 1:

 

Let’s get some practice manipulating the active and passive voices. The next ten sentences are written in the active voice. Revise them so that they are passive.

 

1. When the screwball entered the strike zone, Paul tattooed it.

 

2. The managers of the company entered into negotiations with the labor unions.

 

3. A complete sentence contains a subject and a verb

.

4. Jack failed to send the check to the bank on time, so he lost his house.

 

5. Summer finished her book and sold it to the highest bidder.

 

6. Travelers always enjoy stopping by the old mill and taking a picture.

 

7. Jackson writes all his class notes on a legal pad and transcribes them onto the computer.

 

8. The university issues traffic permits to all its new students every semester.

 

9. The community council decided that a leash law should be passed before summer.

 

10. The tutors stayed way after quitting time to finish the stack of papers.


Part 2:

 

The next ten sentences are written in the passive voice; change them to active. (You may have to create an actor.)

 

1. The check was received and filed appropriately.

 

2. The decision was made and ratified by the whole council.

 

3. Several special provisions were included in the contract.

 

4. The ice cream was eaten while the children were waiting for the park to open.

 

5. The question was answered by the class clown before the serious students had a chance at it.

 

6. The corpse was moved from the murder scene sometime between Sunday night and Monday afternoon.

 

7. The cattle were released accidentally when the gate was left open.

 

8. The two weeks’ notice policy was created to give employers a time cushion.

 

9. Fermentation was begun when the sugar was added to the fruit juice.

 

10. The alcohol was subsequently consumed by the fifteen fraternity brothers.


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