Passive Voice (Various Tenses) – English Grammar Exercises for B1
Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
1 “Dear Manager, I am writing to confirm that the weekly sales report ______ to the regional director.”
(A) has sent
(B) has been sent
(C) has be sent
(D) was sending
2 “Regarding the client meeting, the official minutes ______ to all attendees yesterday afternoon.”
(A) emailed
(B) have been emailed
(C) were emailed
(D) was emailed
3 “Please find the requested files below. The necessary project documents ______ to this email.”
(A) have been attached
(B) have attached
(C) were attaching
(D) are attacheded
4 “Just a quick update: the outstanding invoice for the software subscription ______ this morning.”
(A) paid
(B) has paid
(C) is paid
(D) was paid
5 “You will be glad to hear that all the presentation materials ______ for your review.”
(A) prepared
(B) are preparing
(C) have been prepared
(D) has been prepared
6 “Please note that the final budget updates ______ yet, as we are waiting for the marketing team’s input.”
(A) haven’t been finalized
(B) haven’t finalized
(C) hasn’t been finalized
(D) aren’t finalized
7 “If you check the shared drive, you will see that the quarterly charts ______ right now by the data analysts.”
(A) are updating
(B) are being updated
(C) are be updated
(D) have been updated
8 “I have drafted the partnership contract. It ______ by the CEO tomorrow at 10 AM.”
(A) will sign
(B) is signed
(C) will signed
(D) will be signed
9 “As requested during our morning huddle, the financial summary ______ to the accounting department.”
(A) has been forwarded
(B) has forwarded
(C) have been forwarded
(D) was forwarding
10 “I can confidently confirm that the critical software bugs ______ before the final testing phase began.”
(A) fixed
(B) were fixed
(C) was fixed
(D) have been fixed
11 “Before we can proceed to the next phase, the revised project schedule ______ by the board of directors.”
(A) must approve
(B) must to be approved
(C) must be approved
(D) must been approved
12 “I was informed by the supplier that our bulk delivery ______ due to unexpected heavy storms.”
(A) had delayed
(B) has been delayed
(C) had been delay
(D) had been delayed
13 “Good news: the safety inspection results ______ to the company’s internal portal.”
(A) have just been uploaded
(B) have just uploaded
(C) has just been uploaded
(D) are just uploaded
14 “We cannot use the conference room at the moment because the new office furniture ______ as we speak.”
(A) is delivering
(B) is being delivered
(C) are being delivered
(D) has been delivered
15 “The development team expects the new mobile application ______ by the end of next week.”
(A) to launch
(B) launching
(C) to be launched
(D) be launched
16 “I greatly appreciate ______ in the loop regarding any changes to the client’s requirements.”
(A) being kept
(B) keeping
(C) be kept
(D) having kept
17 “I have resolved the server issue, so no further action ______ at this time.”
(A) needs to take
(B) is needing to be taken
(C) need to be taken
(D) needs to be taken
18 “Following a thorough discussion with the stakeholders, it ______ that the Friday workshop will be postponed.”
(A) has decided
(B) has been decided
(C) have been decided
(D) was deciding
19 “I personally supervised the packing process. I assure you that not a single fragile item ______ during the transit preparation.”
(A) hasn’t been broken
(B) broke
(C) has been broken
(D) have been broken
20 “You don’t need to worry about the setup. By the time you arrive at the venue, the exhibition booth ______.”
(A) will have been arranged
(B) will have arranged
(C) will has been arranged
(D) will be arranging
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) has been sent
- Why it is correct (The Key): The task is complete and relevant to the present email -> Present Perfect. The report is the receiver of the action -> Passive.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice. The report cannot send itself.
- (C) Structural Error: Incorrect verb form (“be” instead of “been”).
- (D) Strong Distractor: Past continuous active. Incorrect in both meaning and voice.
2 (C) were emailed
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Yesterday” indicates a finished past action -> Past Simple. “Minutes” is plural -> were emailed.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (B) Strong Distractor: Present perfect passive. Grammatically sound, but incorrect because of the specific time marker “yesterday”.
- (D) Structural Error: Subject-verb agreement error (“was” for a plural subject).
3 (A) have been attached
- Why it is correct (The Key): The action is complete, and the result (the files) is available right now -> Present Perfect Passive. “Documents” is plural.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (B) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (C) Strong Distractor: Past continuous active. Wrong tense and voice.
- (D) Structural Error: Incorrect past participle spelling (“attacheded”).
4 (D) was paid
- Why it is correct (The Key): “This morning” (referring to a finished period in the past) requires the Past Simple Passive.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice. An invoice cannot pay itself.
- (B) Strong Distractor: Present perfect active. Wrong voice.
- (C) Structural Error: Present simple passive. Indicates a routine, not a completed past action.
5 (C) have been prepared
- Why it is correct (The Key): Emphasizes the present state of readiness -> Present Perfect Passive. “Materials” is plural.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (B) Strong Distractor: Present continuous active. Wrong voice.
- (D) Structural Error: Subject-verb agreement error (“has” for a plural subject).
6 (A) haven’t been finalized
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Yet” signals the Present Perfect. “Updates” (plural) receives the action -> haven’t been finalized.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (B) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (C) Structural Error: Uses singular “hasn’t” for plural “updates”.
- (D) Strong Distractor: Present simple passive. Sounds natural to some but clashes with the perfect marker “yet”.
7 (B) are being updated
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Right now” indicates an ongoing action -> Present Continuous. The charts receive the action -> Passive (are being + V3/ed).
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (C) Structural Error: Missing the “-ing” form in the passive structure (“be” instead of “being”).
- (D) Strong Distractor: Present perfect passive. Contradicts the ongoing nature of “right now”.
8 (D) will be signed
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Tomorrow” indicates Future Simple. The contract receives the action -> Future Passive (will be + V3/ed).
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (B) Strong Distractor: Present simple passive. Incorrect timeframe.
- (C) Structural Error: Missing the “be” verb.
9 (A) has been forwarded
- Why it is correct (The Key): Task completed with present relevance -> Present Perfect Passive. “Summary” is singular -> has.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (B) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (C) Structural Error: Subject-verb agreement error (“have” for singular “summary”).
- (D) Strong Distractor: Past continuous active.
10 (B) were fixed
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Before the final testing phase began” places the action entirely in the past -> Past Simple Passive (or Past Perfect). “Were fixed” is the best fit here.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (C) Structural Error: Subject-verb agreement error (“was” for plural “bugs”).
- (D) Strong Distractor: Present perfect passive. Tense conflict with a completed past sequence.
11 (C) must be approved
- Why it is correct (The Key): Passive with a modal verb follows the structure: Modal + be + V3/ed.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (B) Strong Distractor: Adding an unnecessary “to” after “must”.
- (D) Structural Error: Using “been” instead of “be” after a modal verb.
12 (D) had been delayed
- Why it is correct (The Key): Sequence of tenses in reported speech. The delay happened before “was informed” -> Past Perfect Passive.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice (Past perfect active).
- (B) Strong Distractor: Present perfect passive. Clashes with the past tense “was informed”.
- (C) Structural Error: Missing the “-ed” on the past participle.
13 (A) have just been uploaded
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Just” indicates a very recently completed action -> Present Perfect Passive. “Results” is plural.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (B) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (C) Structural Error: Uses singular “has” for plural “results”.
- (D) Strong Distractor: Present simple passive with “just” is grammatically incorrect.
14 (B) is being delivered
- Why it is correct (The Key): “As we speak” means right now -> Present Continuous Passive. “Furniture” is an uncountable noun (singular verb).
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (C) Structural Error: Subject-verb agreement error (“are” used for uncountable “furniture”).
- (D) Strong Distractor: Present perfect passive. Contradicts the ongoing timeline.
15 (C) to be launched
- Why it is correct (The Key): After “expect + object”, we use a to-infinitive. For passive meaning, we use the passive infinitive: “to be + V3/ed”.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice. An application cannot launch itself.
- (B) Strong Distractor: Using a gerund where an infinitive is required.
- (D) Structural Error: Missing “to” before “be”.
16 (A) being kept
- Why it is correct (The Key): After “appreciate”, we use a gerund (V-ing). For passive meaning, we use the passive gerund: “being + V3/ed”.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (B) Common Mistake: Active gerund (“keeping someone else in the loop”).
- (C) Structural Error: Using the bare infinitive passive after “appreciate”.
- (D) Strong Distractor: Perfect active gerund. Meaning is incorrect.
17 (D) needs to be taken
- Why it is correct (The Key): “Action” is the receiver -> Passive infinitive after “needs” (needs to be + V3/ed). “Action” is uncountable/singular here.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (B) Strong Distractor: Overcomplicating with continuous form (“is needing”).
- (C) Structural Error: Subject-verb agreement error (“need” for singular “action”).
18 (B) has been decided
- Why it is correct (The Key): This is the impersonal passive construction: “It + passive verb + that clause”. Present perfect emphasizes the recent decision.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Active voice (“It” cannot decide anything).
- (C) Structural Error: “It” is singular, so “have” is incorrect.
- (D) Strong Distractor: Past continuous active.
19 (C) has been broken
- Why it is correct (The Key): The phrase “not a single fragile item” is already negative. Therefore, the verb must be in the affirmative Present Perfect Passive.
- Distractor Analysis:
- (A) Common Mistake: Double negative (“not” and “hasn’t”).
- (B) Strong Distractor: Past simple active. Sounds okay, but items are broken by forces/people; passive is much safer and more professional here.
- (D) Structural Error: Subject-verb agreement error (“have” for singular “item”).
20 (A) will have been arranged
- Why it is correct (The Key): “By the time” referring to the future requires the Future Perfect. Passive voice makes it Future Perfect Passive (will have been + V3/ed).
- Distractor Analysis:
- (B) Common Mistake: Active voice.
- (C) Structural Error: After “will”, the base form “have” must be used, not “has”.
- (D) Strong Distractor: Future continuous active. Incorrect meaning.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
1 The Purpose of Passive Voice in Professional Reporting
When reporting task completion to a manager or a client, using the active voice (e.g., “I have sent the report”, “We updated the system”) can sometimes sound too personal or defensive. Using the Passive Voice shifts the focus to the task itself, creating an objective, professional, and concise tone (e.g., “The report has been sent”, “The system was updated”).
2 Present Perfect Passive vs. Past Simple Passive
- Present Perfect Passive: Subject + have/has + been + V3/ed. Use this to report tasks that are complete, and their result is important right now (often used with just, already, yet).
- Example: “The files have been attached.” (Focus: You can open them now).
- Past Simple Passive: Subject + was/were + V3/ed. Use this when you mention the exact time a task was completed in the past (e.g., yesterday, this morning, last week).
- Example: “The invoice was paid yesterday.”
3 Advanced Passive Structures in the Workplace
- Continuous Tasks: If a task is happening right now, use Present Continuous Passive (am/is/are + being + V3/ed). Example: “The data is being analyzed.”
- Modals: Deadlines and requirements use Modal Passives (must / will / should + be + V3/ed). Example: “The contract must be signed.”
- Passive Infinitives & Gerunds: Used after certain verbs.
- Expect to be + V3/ed: “We expect the product to be launched.”
- Appreciate being + V3/ed: “I appreciate being informed.”