Active Passive Verb Tenses
Active and Passive Verb Tenses
1️⃣ Warm-Up (10 minutes)
Write two sentences on the board which show active and passive verb tenses:
eg
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The chef cooked the meal.
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The meal was cooked by the chef.
Ask:
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Are these sentences different?
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Which one is more direct?
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Which one focuses on the action?
Explain:
👉 Both sentences have the same meaning.
👉 Sentence 1 is active voice.
👉 Sentence 2 is passive voice.
2️⃣ What is Active Voice? (10 minutes)
Structure:
Subject + Verb + Object
Example:
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The teacher explains the lesson.
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The dog chased the cat.
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People speak English all over the world.
✔ The subject does the action.
Ask students:
Who does the action in each sentence?
3️⃣ What is Passive Voice? (15 minutes)
Structure:
Object + be + past participle (+ by subject)
Example:
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The lesson is explained by the teacher.
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The cat was chased by the dog.
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English is spoken all over the world.
✔ The subject receives the action.
Important:
The verb must include:
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A form of “be” (am, is, are, was, were, been, being)
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The past participle
4️⃣ When Do We Use Passive?
We use passive when:
1. We don’t know who did the action.
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My car was stolen.
2. It’s not important who did it.
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The road was built in 1990.
3. We want to focus on the action.
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English is spoken worldwide.
5️⃣ Form Practice (Guided Practice)
Change active to passive:
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They clean the classroom every day.
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Someone stole my phone.
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Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet.
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They will finish the project tomorrow.
Answers:
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The classroom is cleaned every day.
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My phone was stolen.
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Romeo and Juliet was written by William Shakespeare.
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The project will be finished tomorrow.
6️⃣ Tenses Chart see image at the top.
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | They make cars. | Cars are made. |
| Past Simple | They built the house. | The house was built. |
| Future | They will deliver the package. | The package will be delivered. |
| Present Perfect | They have finished the work. | The work has been finished. |
7️⃣ Speaking Activity (Fun Practice)
Activity: News Reporter
Students work in pairs.
Student A: Reporter
Student B: Witness
Example:
Reporter: What happened?
Witness: A bank was robbed yesterday.
Reporter: Was anyone arrested?
Witness: Yes, two people were arrested.
Encourage them to use passive voice.
8️⃣ Common Mistakes
❌ The cake eaten by me.
✔ The cake was eaten by me.
❌ The homework is finish.
✔ The homework is finished.
❌ They was invited.
✔ They were invited.
9️⃣ Quick Game: Active or Passive?
Teacher reads sentences. Students shout:
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“ACTIVE!”
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“PASSIVE!”
Example:
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The window was broken. (Passive)
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The boy broke the window. (Active)
🔟 Homework
Write:
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5 active sentences.
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Change them into passive.
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Write 5 passive sentences about news events.
Simple Summary for Students
Active = The subject does the action.
Passive = The subject receives the action.
Active: The chef cooked the meal.
Passive: The meal was cooked (by the chef).