What is the passive voice in English grammar?

The passive voice is a grammatical construction where the subject of the sentence is acted upon rather than performing the action. For example, 'The book was read by Mary' is in passive voice, while 'Mary read the book' is in active voice.

How do you form the passive voice?

To form the passive voice, use a form of the verb 'to be' followed by the past participle of the main verb. For example, 'The cake was eaten' is formed by using 'was' (a form of 'to be') and 'eaten' (the past participle of 'eat').

Convert the sentence to passive voice: 'The teacher explains the lesson.'

'The lesson is explained by the teacher.' In this passive construction, the focus shifts from the teacher to the lesson.

Identify whether the following sentence is active or passive: 'The song was sung by the choir.'

'The song was sung by the choir.' is a passive sentence because the subject (the song) receives the action of being sung.

What is a common reason for using the passive voice in writing?

Convert this active sentence to passive: 'The chef cooked a meal.'

'A meal was cooked by the chef.' This highlights the meal as the focus of the action.

What auxiliary verb is commonly used in passive voice constructions?

The verb 'to be' is commonly used as an auxiliary verb in passive voice constructions, combined with the past participle of the main verb.

Transform this interrogative sentence into passive voice: 'Did the students complete the project?'

'Was the project completed by the students?' This maintains the original meaning while changing the focus.

Identify the passive voice in this sentence: 'The novel was written by the famous author.'

'The novel was written by the famous author.' is passive because the subject (the novel) is receiving the action of being written.

Fill in the blank: 'The bridge _____ (build) last year.'

'The bridge was built last year.' Here, 'was' is used as the auxiliary verb and 'built' is the past participle.