Skip to main content
Academy11+

11+ English · Topic explained

Active and passive voice

"The dog ate my homework" or "My homework was eaten"… who gets the blame?

The big idea

In the active voice the subject does the action; in the passive voice the action is done to the subject.

Picture it

Active is a camera on the kicker. Passive turns the camera onto the ball being kicked.

Key words

subject
Who or what the sentence is about; it usually comes before the verb.
object
The person or thing the action is done to.
passive voice
A form of be (is, was, were…) + a past participle (eaten, kicked), often followed by by…

Worked examples

  1. 1Warm-up

    Ben kicked the ball. → The ball was kicked by Ben.

    • Active: Ben does the kicking.
    • Passive: the ball comes first, and was kicked by Ben.
  2. 211+ standard

    The window was broken.

    • Passive, with no "by…".
    • It hides who did it.
  3. 311+ standard

    The cake was baked by Grandma. → Grandma baked the cake.

    • To make it active, move the doer (Grandma) to the front as the subject.
  4. 411+ standard

    The experiment was carried out in the school lab.

    • Formal and scientific writing often uses the passive.
    • The action matters more than who did it.

The common mistake

The mistake

Any sentence with was is passive: "Ella was happy."

Instead

Passive needs was (or is, were…) + a past participle: "The vase was dropped."

Why: Happy isn't an action done to Ella; dropped is something done to the vase.

Where it comes up in the 11+

Changing a sentence from active to passive, or back, is a common Year 6 SPaG and 11+ question.

The video

Video coming soon

We're making a short video that explains active and passive voice step by step. Until then, everything it covers is on this page.

Free printable

Active and passive voice worksheet

Practice questions on this topic to print and try on paper, at home or on the way to school.

Download the worksheet (PDF)

Free account needed: it takes a minute.

Quick quiz

Have a go first, then tap to see the answer.

  1. 1. Which sentence is passive?

    • The cat chased the mouse.
    • The mouse was chased by the cat.
    • The mouse ran away.
    Show the answer

    The mouse was chased by the cat.

    The mouse has the action done to it: was chased.

  2. 2. Make it active: "The letter was posted by Aisha."

    • Aisha posted the letter.
    • The letter posted Aisha.
    • Aisha was posting.
    Show the answer

    Aisha posted the letter.

    Aisha, the doer, becomes the subject.

  3. 3. Which sentence is passive?

    • The pizza was delivered at six.
    • The pizza was hot.
    • The pizza arrived at six.
    Show the answer

    The pizza was delivered at six.

    Was + delivered: the pizza had something done to it.