Passive voice 2 in the Past tenses with examples

We have talked about Passive voice part 1 with present tenses and modal verbs in the previous post, here is the part 2 of Passive Voice but in the past tenses with more 90 examples.

Passive voice forms in the Past tenses

• in the past simple: Object + was/were + past participle + extra words + by subject.
• in the past continuous: Object + was/were + being + past participle + extra words + by subject.
• in the past perfect: Object + had been + past participle + extra words + by subject.

When to use passive voice in the past tenses

• If we don’t want to say who or what the action.
• The object is the most important part of the sentence.
• If we don’t know who did the action, or the person is not known, or not important.

How to make a passive voice in the past tenses

Object + verb to be + Verb 3 (past participle) + extra words + by subject.

If necessary, you can use “by” to say who or what is responsible for the action.

This video was created by Ahmad Adwani

convert an active sentence to a passive sentence in the past tenses

1. Move the object to the first position in the sentence.
2. Check what tense is used in the original active sentence.
3. We need to conjugate the “to be verb” with the object and according to the tense.
4. Add the main verb in past participle form (V3).
5. Decide if you need to say who does the action. If yes, we use By + person.

Now, let’s analyze that in a sentence

In the past simple:

The peon cleaned my office yesterday. (Active)

• The object is (my office), move it to the first sentence.
• the verb to be in the past (was)
• cleaned is the verb 2 in the past, cleaned is the past participle.
• Then add the complement.

My office was cleaned yesterday. (by the peon.)

In the past continuous:

The Maintenance Technician was fixing my computer on Monday. (Active)

1. The object is (my computer), move position in the first sentence.
2. The verb to be: “was”.
3. After the verb to be “was” we add ‘being‘ in the past continuous
4. Verb 3 of fix = fixed.

My computer was being fixed on Monday. Or we can say:
My computer was being fixed by the Maintenance Technician on Monday.

In the past perfect:

A thief had stolen my bike, before I left home.

1. The object is: my bike.
2. then had as it is in the sentence.
3. Be verb in the same tense is: been.
4. Verb 3 of stolen is the same verb as the original sentence.
5. If we need to include the person that did the action, we add “by”.

My bike had been stolen. Or My bike had been stolen by a thief.

Now let’s convert a sentence to a passive voice.

Convert a Passive Voice in the Past simple

My peon cleaned the office last night.
The office was cleaned last night by my peon.

Convert a Passive Voice in the Past continuous

My peon was cleaning the office at 10:00.
The office was being cleaned at 10:00 by my peon.

Convert a Passive Voice in the Past perfect

My peon had cleaned the office.
The office had been cleaned by my peon.

Now let’s practice passive voice in the past tenses with examples.

• My homework was done.
• They were selected by us.
• That film was liked by him.
• Her face was forgotten by me.
• I was born in Delhi in 1984.
• I wasn’t woken up by the noise.
• My house was built in 1971.
• The house was painted last month.
• TV was watched by me last night.
• By whom was this room cleaned?
• I was accused of stealing money.
• This house was built 100 years ago.
• How were these windows broken?
• I was bitten by a dog a few days ago.
• My phone was stolen a few days ago.
• Was the thief caught by the police?
• A new company was started by Avania.
• I was cheated by my dishonest servant.
• Was a grammar book bought by Sally?
• These buildings were built 90 years ago.
• We weren’t invited to the party last week.
• Where were you born? I was born In Syria.
• Three people were injured in the accident.
• How old is this film? It was made in 1981.
• All flights were cancelled because of fog.
• 200 pounds were wished for by Mr. White.
• How old is this house? It was built in 1961.
• This house was built by my grandfather.
• I was born in India, but I grew up in Canada.
• Did you go to the party? No, I wasn’t invited.
• Stones were being thrown by the crowd then.
• Why was the letter sent to the wrong address?
• A new company was not started by Walt Disney.
• More and more trees were being cut down by us.
• He asked me if the room had been cleaned by me.
• We were woken up by a loud noise during the night.
• You were invited to the wedding. Why didn’t you go?
• Lock-down had been declared in India by Mr. Mahdi.
• The telephone was invented by Alexander Bell in 1876.
• Somebody broke into our house, but nothing was stolen.
• Sensation was caused in India by the news of lockdown.
• The letter was sent a week ago and it was arrived yesterday.
• Before CID reached there, they had been arrested by the police.
• The way had been cleared by the ants before we reached there.
• The roof of the buildingwas damaged in a storm a few days ago.
• While I was on holiday, my camera was stolen from my hotel room.
• Do you like these paintings? They were painted by a friend of mine.
• Disneyland had been visited by More than 10 million people in a year.
• Although we were driving fast, we were overtaken by a lot of other cars.
• There was a fire at the hotel last week. Two of the rooms were damaged.
• Where did you get this picture?’ ‘It was given to me by a friend of mine.
• My car was stolen last week, but the next day it was found by the police.
• The boat hit a rock and sank quickly. Fortunately, everybody was rescued.
• His property had been given to us by my father before he went to the USA.
• Was anybody injured in the accident? Yes, two people were taken to hospital.
• Did Kathryn and Sue go to the wedding? No. They were invited, but they didn’t go.
• How much money was stolen in the robbery? A lot of money was stolen in the robbery.
• Originally the book was written in Arabic, and a few years ago it was translated into English.
• Robert’s parents died when he was very young. He and his sister were brought up by their grandparents.

More examples

• The office was cleaned yesterday.
• A bridge was being built.
• The grass was being cut.
• My wallet hadbeen stolen.
• Glass was made from sand.
• The roof was being repaired.
• This road wasnot used much.
• The car had been damaged.
• Had this shirt been washed?
• I was never invited to parties.
• The shirts had been ironed.
• The window had been broken.
• Wasthis room cleaned yesterday?
• This room wasnot used very much.
• The office was cleaned last week.
• The trees had been cut down last month.
• A pen had been bought by me.
• The windows were being cleaned.
• Mangawas exported from India last year.
• The keys had been lost by Sunil.
• They had been invited to a party.
• I was not invited to parties.
• How often were these rooms cleaned?
• The windows were cleaned last week.
• The houses were being knocked down.
• The new drug had not been tested.
• The invitations had already been sent.
• The songs had been sung well by Sonal.
• The competition had been won by Dilip.
• My car was at the garage, it was being repaired.
• The office was being cleaned at 3:00.
• The computer was being used at 7:00.
• My car had disappeared. It had been stolen.
• Many accidents were caused by careless driving.
• A new ring road was being built round the city.
• A new hospital had been built near the airport.
• I could not find my keys; I think they had been stolen.
• famous orchestra was conducted by Sami.
• I was not going to the party, I had not been invited.
• Some new houses were being built opposite the park.
• One hundred people were employed by the company last month.
• The Park gates were locked at 7.30 p.m. last evening.
• This room looked different, had you painted the walls?
• Sami got a higher salary, he had been promoted.
• Many American programmes were shown on British TV.
• I could not use my office this morning, itwas being painted.
• Anna could not use her office last week. It was being redecorated.
• You could not see the house from the road. It was surrounded by trees.
• There was somebody walking behind us. I think we were being followed.
• The company was not independent. It was owned by a much larger company.
• The washing machine was broken, but it was OK today, it had been repaired.

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