What is the basic formula for the passive?

The be verb plus the past participle: am, is or are in the present and was or were in the past, with the be verb agreeing with the subject.

When should the passive be used?

Use it when the receiver of the action matters more than the doer, or when the doer is unknown or unnecessary.

Primary English: The Passive Voice Basics (10 Questions)

2026-11-05

Tutor Prep Guide · Primary English

The first paper starts from the basic formula of be plus past participle, with ten single-sentence gap fills on the present passive am, is and are and the past passive was and were, all requiring the be verb to agree with the subject in number.

Quick answer The present passive is am, is or are plus the past participle and the past passive is was or were plus the past participle; the be verb agrees with the subject in number and uncountable nouns count as singular; the past passive often goes with last night, yesterday or last week; the passive is used when the subject receives the action.

01 Paper details (check answers afterwards)

Item	Detail
Questions	10 questions
Suggested time	about 20 minutes
Difficulty mix	Foundation 10
Chapter	Chapter: Primary English \| The passive voice: be + past participle
Level	P6

02 Questions (10 items)

FoundationThe classroom ______ every morning.
FoundationThese books ______ in Hong Kong.
FoundationThe window ______ by the storm last night.
FoundationMany trees ______ last year.
FoundationRice ______ in many Asian countries.
FoundationThe letter ______ yesterday.
FoundationEnglish and Chinese ______ in our school.
FoundationThe cake ______ by my sister.
FoundationThe rubbish ______ every evening.
FoundationThe tickets ______ last week.

03 Answers and one-line notes

#	Answer	One-line note
1	is cleaned	The classroom is cleaned every morning because the subject is singular, so the present passive takes is plus the past participle.
2	are printed	The plural subject books takes are plus the past participle printed.
3	was broken	Last night signals the past, so a singular subject takes was plus broken.
4	were planted	Last year is past and the subject is plural, so were planted is correct.
5	is grown	A general fact takes the present passive, and the uncountable rice is treated as singular with is grown.
6	was sent	Yesterday is past, so the singular letter takes was sent.
7	are taught	Two subjects make a plural subject, so are taught is required.
8	was baked	The cake received the action and is singular in the past, so was baked is used.
9	is collected	Every evening shows a habit, so the present passive is collected follows is.
10	were sold	The plural tickets in the past take were sold.

04 What to do after marking

After marking, redo only the wrong items and write down which step went wrong (formula, unit, or misread number).
Repeat the same item two days later; move to the next paper only when both attempts are correct.
Parents only need the answer and note columns; there is no need to explain every item.

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