Passive Voice (Various Tenses) – English Grammar Exercises for B1
Acting as a field reporter or someone recounting news about a recent crash. Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each news report sentence.
1 “Good morning. We begin with breaking news: two cars ______ in a terrible crash on Highway 9 this morning.”
(A) destroyed
(B) were destroyed
(C) have destroyed
(D) was destroyed
2 “Immediately after the collision, the main road ______ by the police to secure the area.”
(A) closed
(B) is closed
(C) was closed
(D) has closed
3 “As of right now, the northbound lane ______ due to the severe multi-car accident.”
(A) has been blocked
(B) has blocked
(C) was blocking
(D) is block
4 “Look behind me! The damaged vehicles ______ away by the rescue team right now.”
(A) are towing
(B) are towed
(C) is being towed
(D) are being towed
5 “The authorities confirmed just moments ago that the street ______ tomorrow morning.”
(A) will be reopened
(B) will reopen
(C) will reopened
(D) is reopened
6 “Luckily, the driver of the truck ______ from the burning vehicle by some brave witnesses.”
(A) pulled
(B) was pulled
(C) was pulling
(D) has pulled
7 “So far, five injured passengers ______ to the nearest hospital for emergency treatment.”
(A) were taken
(B) have taken
(C) have been taken
(D) has been taken
8 “When our news crew arrived at the scene, the victims ______ first aid by the paramedics.”
(A) were giving
(B) are being given
(C) gave
(D) were being given
9 “To prevent further crashes, the local police insist that the speed limit on this road ______.”
(A) must be reduced
(B) must reduce
(C) must reduced
(D) must be reducing
10 “In many local news reports, this dangerous intersection ______ as the ‘crash hotspot’.”
(A) knows
(B) is knowing
(C) is known
(D) knew
11 “It ______ that the sudden heavy rain caused the driver to lose control of the brakes.”
(A) believes
(B) is believed
(C) is believing
(D) has believed
12 “Traffic is still a huge mess because the broken glass ______ from the lanes yet.”
(A) hasn’t cleared
(B) didn’t clear
(C) haven’t been cleared
(D) hasn’t been cleared
13 “The police officer stated that the traffic lights ______ a few hours before the accident happened.”
(A) had damaged
(B) had been damaged
(C) were damaging
(D) have been damaged
14 “All drivers ______ to take an alternative route until the accident scene is completely safe.”
(A) are advised
(B) are advising
(C) advise
(D) is advised
15 “According to eyewitnesses, a pedestrian narrowly avoided ______ by the falling street lamp.”
(A) to be crushed
(B) being crushed
(C) crushing
(D) to crush
16 “The investigation team expects the official crash report ______ to the public by Friday.”
(A) to publish
(B) being published
(C) to be published
(D) published
17 “This tragedy was absolutely awful. The road warning signs ______ much more visible!”
(A) should make
(B) should be making
(C) should have made
(D) should have been made
18 “Currently, two people ______ to be in critical condition at the city hospital.”
(A) are reporting
(B) are reported
(C) report
(D) have reported
19 “The city council is worried about ______ for the unsafe road conditions that led to the crash.”
(A) blaming
(B) to be blamed
(C) being blamed
(D) blame
20 “By the time the morning rush hour starts, the accident scene ______ completely.”
(A) will have cleared
(B) will be clearing
(C) will have been cleared
(D) will has been cleared
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) were destroyed
- Why it is correct (The Key): “This morning” refers to a completed past event -> Past Simple. Cars cannot destroy themselves, so the passive voice is required.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (C) Strong Distractor: Present perfect active.
- (D) Structural Error: Subject-verb agreement error (“was” for plural “cars”).
2 (C) was closed
- Why it is correct (The Key): Recounting a past event in a news report -> Past Simple Passive.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (B) Strong Distractor: Present simple passive (incorrect timeframe).
- (D) Structural Error: Present perfect active.
3 (A) has been blocked
- Why it is correct (The Key): “As of right now” indicates a recent event with a present result (the road is still blocked) -> Present Perfect Passive.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (B) Common Mistake: Active voice (a lane cannot block something else).
- (C) Strong Distractor: Past continuous active.
- (D) Structural Error: Missing the “-ed” and using “is”.
4 (D) are being towed
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Right now” indicates an ongoing action -> Present Continuous Passive. “Vehicles” is plural.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (B) Strong Distractor: Present simple passive (does not emphasize the ongoing nature).
- (C) Structural Error: Subject-verb agreement error (“is” for plural “vehicles”).
5 (A) will be reopened
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Tomorrow morning” indicates the Future Simple. The street receives the action -> Future Simple Passive.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (B) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (C) Structural Error: Missing the verb “be”.
- (D) Strong Distractor: Present simple passive.
6 (B) was pulled
- Why it is correct (The Key): Recounting a completed rescue in the past -> Past Simple Passive.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice (the driver didn’t pull someone else; he was rescued).
- (C) Strong Distractor: Past continuous active.
- (D) Structural Error: Present perfect active.
7 (C) have been taken
- Why it is correct (The Key): “So far” signals the Present Perfect tense. Passengers receive the action -> Present Perfect Passive.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Strong Distractor: Past simple passive (ignores the “so far” time marker).
- (B) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (D) Structural Error: Subject-verb agreement error (“has” for plural “passengers”).
8 (D) were being given
- Why it is correct (The Key): Emphasizes an action that was ongoing at a specific moment in the past (“When our news crew arrived”) -> Past Continuous Passive.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (B) Strong Distractor: Present continuous passive (clashes with “arrived”).
- (C) Structural Error: Past simple active.
9 (A) must be reduced
- Why it is correct (The Key): A strong recommendation/rule -> Modal Passive (must + be + V3/ed).
- Distractor Analysis:
- (B) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (C) Structural Error: Missing the verb “be”.
- (D) Strong Distractor: Modal continuous active.
10 (C) is known
- Why it is correct (The Key): Stating a general fact in present news -> Present Simple Passive.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice (an intersection doesn’t know anything).
- (B) Strong Distractor: Present continuous active.
- (D) Structural Error: Past simple active.
11 (B) is believed
- Why it is correct (The Key): Impersonal Passive construction (“It is believed that…”) is heavily used in journalism to report unconfirmed facts objectively.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice (“It” doesn’t believe).
- (C) Strong Distractor: Present continuous active.
- (D) Structural Error: Present perfect active.
12 (D) hasn’t been cleared
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Yet” signals the Present Perfect. “Glass” is an uncountable noun (singular verb). Passive voice is needed -> hasn’t been cleared.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (B) Strong Distractor: Past simple active.
- (C) Structural Error: Subject-verb agreement error (“haven’t” for uncountable “glass”).
13 (B) had been damaged
- Why it is correct (The Key): An action completed before another past action (“before the accident happened”) requires the Past Perfect Passive.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (C) Strong Distractor: Past continuous active.
- (D) Structural Error: Present perfect passive (clashes with the past timeline).
14 (A) are advised
- Why it is correct (The Key): Delivering a current instruction to the public -> Present Simple Passive. “Drivers” is plural.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (B) Common Mistake: Active voice (meaning the drivers are advising someone else).
- (C) Strong Distractor: Present simple active.
- (D) Structural Error: Subject-verb agreement error (“is” for plural).
15 (B) being crushed
- Why it is correct (The Key): The verb “avoid” is followed by a gerund (V-ing). Since the pedestrian receives the action -> Passive Gerund (being + V3/ed).
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Strong Distractor: Passive infinitive (incorrect because “avoid” does not take “to-V”).
- (C) Common Mistake: Active gerund.
- (D) Structural Error: Active infinitive.
16 (C) to be published
- Why it is correct (The Key): The verb “expect” is followed by an object and a to-infinitive. The report receives the action -> Passive Infinitive (to be + V3/ed).
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active infinitive.
- (B) Strong Distractor: Passive gerund (incorrect structure after “expect”).
- (D) Structural Error: Missing the infinitive marker “to be”.
17 (D) should have been made
- Why it is correct (The Key): Expressing criticism or regret about something that was not done in the past requires a Modal Perfect Passive (should + have + been + V3/ed).
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (B) Strong Distractor: Modal continuous active.
- (C) Structural Error: Modal perfect active.
18 (B) are reported
- Why it is correct (The Key): This is the personal reporting passive structure: “Subject + passive reporting verb + to-infinitive”. (People are reported to be…).
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Strong Distractor: Present continuous active.
- (C) Common Mistake: Active voice (meaning the victims are reporting the news).
- (D) Structural Error: Present perfect active.
19 (C) being blamed
- Why it is correct (The Key): After the preposition “about”, a gerund is required. The council receives the blame -> Passive Gerund (being + V3/ed).
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active gerund.
- (B) Strong Distractor: Passive infinitive (incorrect after a preposition).
- (D) Structural Error: Base verb.
20 (C) will have been cleared
- Why it is correct (The Key): “By the time” followed by a future event requires the Future Perfect. The scene receives the action -> Future Perfect Passive (will + have + been + V3/ed).
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (B) Strong Distractor: Future continuous active.
- (D) Structural Error: “Will” must be followed by “have”, never “has”.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
1 The Communicative Purpose of Passive Voice in News Reporting
In journalism, especially when reporting accidents or crimes, reporters frequently use the Passive Voice.
Why? Because the focus must be on the victims, the damage, and the event itself. The “doers” of the actions (e.g., paramedics taking people to the hospital, police closing the road, tow trucks moving cars) are usually obvious and less important than the news itself.
- Active (Less professional): The paramedics have taken five people to the hospital.
- Passive (News Style): Five people have been taken to the hospital.
2 Reporting Verbs (Impersonal & Personal Passives)
News reporters need to stay objective and avoid stating unconfirmed facts as absolute truth. They use passive reporting verbs (believe, report, say, expect).
- Impersonal Passive: It + is/was + V3/ed + that…
- Example: It is believed that the rain caused the crash.
- Personal Passive: Subject + is/are + V3/ed + to-infinitive…
- Example: Two people are reported to be in critical condition.
3 Advanced Passive Forms in Journalism
- Modal Perfect Passive (should/could + have been + V3/ed): Used to criticize or speculate about past events (e.g., The signs should have been made more visible).
- Passive Gerunds & Infinitives: Used after certain verbs or prepositions to maintain a formal tone (e.g., avoid being crushed, expect the report to be published).