Passive Voice (Various Tenses) – English Grammar Exercises for B1
You are reading an official notice from the Human Resources (HR) / Administration department. Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
1 “As of today, a formal uniform ______ by all staff members during working hours.”
(a) is require
(b) requires
(c) was required
(d) is required
2 “The new company ID badges ______ to everyone at the main desk yesterday.”
(a) were distributed
(b) distributed
(c) have been distributed
(d) was distributed
3 “Starting next month, the updated dress code ______ across all departments.”
(a) will enforce
(b) will be enforced
(c) will enforced
(d) has been enforced
4 “A detailed email explaining the new clothing rules ______ to your inbox.”
(a) has sent
(b) have been sent
(c) has been sent
(d) is sent
5 “During the board meeting last week, the final policy regarding footwear ______.”
(a) was approved
(b) is approved
(c) approved
(d) were approved
6 “For security reasons, ID cards ______ visibly on your chest at all times.”
(a) must be wearing
(b) must be worn
(c) must wear
(d) must worn
7 “Currently, the new staff changing rooms ______ on the second floor.”
(a) are being renovated
(b) are renovated
(c) is being renovated
(d) are renovating
8 “Several questions regarding the Friday casual policy ______ by the HR team recently.”
(a) have answered
(b) were answering
(c) has been answered
(d) have been answered
9 “Employees who fail to comply with the uniform code ______ a formal warning.”
(a) will give
(b) would be given
(c) will be given
(d) will given
10 “According to the employee handbook, casual sneakers ______ under any circumstances.”
(a) cannot worn
(b) cannot wear
(c) haven’t been worn
(d) cannot be worn
11 “Before this strict new policy was introduced, casual Fridays ______ by the management.”
(a) had been allowed
(b) had allowed
(c) was allowed
(d) have been allowed
12 “The official regulation document ______ carefully before you sign the agreement.”
(a) should read
(b) should be read
(c) should been read
(d) should be reading
13 “It ______ that all employees maintain a neat and professional appearance at work.”
(a) expects
(b) is expected
(c) are expected
(d) is expecting
14 “The administration wants the new uniform guidelines ______ strictly by everyone.”
(a) to be followed
(b) to follow
(c) to be follow
(d) following
15 “We strictly prohibit the standard company uniform ______ with personal colorful jackets.”
(a) from mixing
(b) to be mixed
(c) from being mixed
(d) from be mixed
16 “By the end of this week, all the tailor-made suits ______ to the regional offices.”
(a) will have delivered
(b) will have been delivered
(c) will be delivering
(d) will has been delivered
17 “Any request for a uniform size exchange ______ through the official HR portal.”
(a) needs to submit
(b) is needed to submit
(c) needs be submitted
(d) needs to be submitted
18 “Management insists on these strict appearance standards ______ immediately.”
(a) being implemented
(b) be implemented
(c) implementing
(d) to be implemented
19 “Please note that the deadline for ordering winter uniforms ______ until next Friday.”
(a) has been extended
(b) has extended
(c) is extending
(d) have been extended
20 “These specific safety regulations regarding jewelry ______ by all factory floor workers.”
(a) must be strictly adhered
(b) must strictly adhere to
(c) must be strictly adhered to
(d) must be strictly adhering to
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (d) is required
- Why it is correct (The Key): Stating a general, current rule requires the Present Simple Passive. The uniform receives the action.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (b) requires (Common Mistake): Active voice. A uniform cannot “require” something.
- (a) is require (Structural Error): Missing the “-d” on the past participle.
- (c) was required (Strong Distractor): Past Simple Passive. Incorrect because “As of today” implies a current, ongoing rule.
2 (a) were distributed
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Yesterday” indicates a completed past action -> Past Simple Passive. “Badges” is plural.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (b) distributed (Common Mistake): Active voice.
- (d) was distributed (Structural Error): Subject-verb agreement error (“was” for a plural subject).
- (c) have been distributed (Strong Distractor): Present Perfect Passive. Grammatically correct in isolation but clashes with the specific past time marker “yesterday”.
3 (b) will be enforced
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Starting next month” indicates a future action -> Future Simple Passive (will be + V3/ed).
- Distractor Analysis:
- (a) will enforce (Common Mistake): Active voice. The dress code cannot enforce itself.
- (c) will enforced (Structural Error): Missing the “be” verb.
- (d) has been enforced (Strong Distractor): Present Perfect Passive. Contradicts the future timeframe.
4 (c) has been sent
- Why it is correct (The Key): An action completed recently with relevance to the present (the email is now in your inbox) -> Present Perfect Passive. “Email” is singular.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (a) has sent (Common Mistake): Active voice.
- (b) have been sent (Structural Error): Subject-verb agreement error (“have” for singular “email”).
- (d) is sent (Strong Distractor): Present Simple Passive. Used for routines, not a single completed action of sending an email.
5 (a) was approved
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Last week” points to a finished event -> Past Simple Passive.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (c) approved (Common Mistake): Active voice.
- (b) is approved (Strong Distractor): Present Simple Passive. Wrong tense for “last week”.
- (d) were approved (Structural Error): Subject-verb agreement error (“were” for singular “policy”).
6 (b) must be worn
- Why it is correct (The Key): Passive with modal verbs follows the structure: Modal + be + V3/ed. The past participle of “wear” is “worn”.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (c) must wear (Common Mistake): Active voice. ID cards cannot wear things.
- (d) must worn (Structural Error): Missing the “be” verb.
- (a) must be wearing (Strong Distractor): Active continuous modal. Meaning is wrong (ID cards cannot perform the action of wearing).
7 (a) are being renovated
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Currently” indicates an action happening right now -> Present Continuous Passive. “Rooms” is plural.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (d) are renovating (Common Mistake): Active voice.
- (c) is being renovated (Structural Error): Uses singular “is” for plural “rooms”.
- (b) are renovated (Strong Distractor): Present Simple Passive. Fails to convey the ongoing, temporary nature of “currently”.
8 (d) have been answered
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Recently” is a strong indicator for the Present Perfect tense. Plural “questions” -> have been + V3/ed.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (a) have answered (Common Mistake): Active voice.
- (c) has been answered (Structural Error): Uses “has” for a plural subject.
- (b) were answering (Strong Distractor): Past continuous active.
9 (c) will be given
- Why it is correct (The Key): A conditional consequence in the future -> Future Simple Passive. Employees receive the warning.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (a) will give (Common Mistake): Active voice. (Employees won’t give the warning; HR will).
- (d) will given (Structural Error): Missing the “be” verb.
- (b) would be given (Strong Distractor): Used for 2nd conditional (unreal situations), but “fail” is in the present, indicating a real 1st conditional situation.
10 (d) cannot be worn
- Why it is correct (The Key): A negative prohibition using a modal -> Modal + not + be + V3/ed.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (b) cannot wear (Common Mistake): Active voice. Sneakers don’t wear anything.
- (a) cannot worn (Structural Error): Missing the “be” verb.
- (c) haven’t been worn (Strong Distractor): Present Perfect Passive. Doesn’t express the meaning of a “rule/prohibition” that “cannot” provides.
11 (a) had been allowed
- Why it is correct (The Key): An action that happened before another past action (“was introduced”) requires the Past Perfect. Passive form -> had been + V3/ed.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (b) had allowed (Common Mistake): Active voice.
- (c) was allowed (Structural Error): Subject-verb agreement error (“was” for plural “Fridays”).
- (d) have been allowed (Strong Distractor): Present Perfect Passive. Clashes with the past timeline.
12 (b) should be read
- Why it is correct (The Key): Giving advice/instruction with a modal verb -> Modal + be + V3/ed. (Read is pronounced /red/ here).
- Distractor Analysis:
- (a) should read (Common Mistake): Active voice. A document cannot read.
- (c) should been read (Structural Error): Incorrect use of “been” instead of “be” after a modal.
- (d) should be reading (Strong Distractor): Active continuous modal.
13 (b) is expected
- Why it is correct (The Key): Impersonal passive construction: “It + is + V3/ed + that…”. Used to make formal, objective statements.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (a) expects (Common Mistake): Active voice (“It” doesn’t expect; the company expects).
- (c) are expected (Structural Error): “It” is singular.
- (d) is expecting (Strong Distractor): Present continuous active.
14 (a) to be followed
- Why it is correct (The Key): The verb “want” is followed by an object and a to-infinitive. For passive meaning -> object + to be + V3/ed.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (b) to follow (Common Mistake): Active infinitive. Guidelines do not follow anything.
- (c) to be follow (Structural Error): Missing the “-ed”.
- (d) following (Strong Distractor): Gerund form is grammatically incorrect after “wants + object”.
15 (c) from being mixed
- Why it is correct (The Key): The verb “prohibit” takes the preposition “from” + Gerund (V-ing). The passive gerund is “being + V3/ed”.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (a) from mixing (Common Mistake): Active gerund.
- (d) from be mixed (Structural Error): Cannot use the base verb “be” after a preposition.
- (b) to be mixed (Strong Distractor): Passive infinitive. Grammatically wrong because “prohibit” requires “from + -ing”, not a to-infinitive.
16 (b) will have been delivered
- Why it is correct (The Key): “By the end of this week” points to a deadline in the future, requiring the Future Perfect. Passive -> will have been + V3/ed.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (a) will have delivered (Common Mistake): Active voice.
- (d) will has been delivered (Structural Error): “Will” must be followed by the base form “have”, never “has”.
- (c) will be delivering (Strong Distractor): Future continuous active.
17 (d) needs to be submitted
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Needs” takes a to-infinitive. The request receives the action -> Passive infinitive (to be + V3/ed).
- Distractor Analysis:
- (a) needs to submit (Common Mistake): Active voice.
- (c) needs be submitted (Structural Error): Missing “to”.
- (b) is needed to submit (Strong Distractor): Clunky and incorrect active structure.
18 (a) being implemented
- Why it is correct (The Key): The phrase “insist on” ends with a preposition, which must be followed by a gerund. Passive gerund -> being + V3/ed.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (c) implementing (Common Mistake): Active gerund. Standards don’t implement themselves.
- (b) be implemented (Structural Error): Base verb cannot follow a preposition.
- (d) to be implemented (Strong Distractor): Passive infinitive. Grammatically incorrect after a preposition.
19 (a) has been extended
- Why it is correct (The Key): An action completed with present relevance (the deadline is now longer). “Deadline” is singular -> Present Perfect Passive.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (b) has extended (Common Mistake): Active voice.
- (d) have been extended (Structural Error): Uses “have” for singular “deadline”.
- (c) is extending (Strong Distractor): Present continuous active.
20 (c) must be strictly adhered to
- Why it is correct (The Key): The phrasal verb is “adhere to” (meaning: to follow a rule). In the passive voice, the preposition “to” MUST remain at the end of the verb phrase.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (b) must strictly adhere to (Common Mistake): Active voice.
- (a) must be strictly adhered (Structural Error): Missing the crucial preposition “to”.
- (d) must be strictly adhering to (Strong Distractor): Active continuous.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
1 The Communicative Purpose of Passive Voice in Regulations
When an organization (HR, school administration) announces rules, using the Active Voice (e.g., “We require you to wear a uniform”, “You must read this”) can sound aggressive, personal, and dictatorial.
Using the Passive Voice (e.g., “A uniform is required”, “This must be read”) removes the “authoritarian boss” from the sentence. It makes the rule sound like an objective, system-wide standard that applies to everyone equally, creating a more formal and professional tone.
2 The 4-Option Analysis (How to avoid traps):
When choosing passive forms, always check these four things:
- Voice (Active vs. Passive): Can the subject perform the action? (A badge cannot distribute things; it is distributed).
- Tense (Time markers): Look for clues. “Yesterday” = Past Simple. “By the end of the week” = Future Perfect. “Currently” = Present Continuous.
- Subject-Verb Agreement: Check if the subject is singular (policy, email, deadline -> is/was/has) or plural (guidelines, uniforms -> are/were/have).
- Structure: Always ensure the verb “to be” is present in the correct form (is, are, was, were, been, being, be) and the main verb is strictly in the Past Participle form (V3/-ed).
3 Advanced Passive Forms in Formal Rules:
- Modal Passives: Modal + be + V3/ed (e.g., must be worn, cannot be mixed, should be read). Extremely common in rule-making.
- Impersonal Passives: It is + V3/ed + that… (e.g., It is expected that…). Used to state broad company expectations.
- Passive Infinitives & Gerunds: Used after certain verbs or prepositions.
- Want something to be done (Passive Infinitive).
- Prohibit someone from being dressed improperly (Passive Gerund).
- Phrasal Verbs in Passive: Never drop the preposition! If the active verb is adhere to, the passive must be adhered to.