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8th grade Active and passive voice worksheet

6 printable versionsBuilding Confidence10 questions · answer keyFree · no account

Level: Building Confidence · On Level · Challenge Me

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Active and passive voice

Grade 8 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Four sentences about a fire drill. Bo reads a school notice. Which sentence is in the passive voice?

    • The class lined up by the door before the drill began.
    • The fire drill has been scheduled for Tuesday morning.
    • The principal was scheduling the drill when the bell rang.
    • The halls are calm and quiet in the morning.
  2. Four sentences about an old bridge. Esme reads a town report. Which sentence is in the passive voice?

    • The town council repaired the old bridge before the spring floods.
    • The old bridge must be repaired before the spring floods.
    • Workers were repairing the old bridge before the spring floods.
    • The old bridge is narrow and slippery before the spring floods.
  3. Four sentences about a new mural. Jun reads a club newsletter. Which sentence is in the passive voice?

    • The mural looks bright and cheerful on the wall.
    • The mural will be unveiled by the art club on Friday.
    • The art club is painting the mural this week.
    • The art club painted the mural beside the gym doors.
  4. The championship was won by the Eastgate swim team after a tight relay. Kira reads a passive sentence from a sports page. Who or what did the winning?

    • the championship
    • the sentence does not say
    • the tight relay
    • the Eastgate swim team
  5. The window was cracked by a baseball during practice, according to the coach. Luz reads a passive sentence from a coach's report. Who or what cracked the window?

    • a baseball
    • the sentence does not say
    • the coach
    • the window
  6. The permission slips were collected by Ms. Reyes before the bus left. Milo reads a passive sentence from a field-trip note. Who collected the permission slips?

    • the principal
    • the permission slips
    • the bus
    • Ms. Reyes
  7. The lights in the hall were switched off after the assembly. Noah reads a passive sentence from an assembly report. Who switched off the lights?

    • the assembly
    • the lights
    • the custodian
    • the sentence does not say
  8. The new rule has been approved by the student council. Pia turns a passive sentence into an active one. Which active sentence says the same thing?

    • The new rule has been approved by the whole student council.
    • The student council approved the new rule.
    • The new rule has approved the student council.
    • The student council has approved the new rule.
  9. The experiment will be repeated by two lab groups. Ren turns a passive sentence into an active one. Which active sentence says the same thing?

    • Two lab groups repeat the experiment.
    • Two lab groups will repeat the experiment.
    • The experiment will repeat two lab groups.
    • The experiment will be repeated by two lab groups next week.
  10. The goalpost was knocked over by a strong gust of wind. Tala turns a passive sentence into an active one. Which active sentence says the same thing?

    • A strong gust of wind knocked over the goalpost.
    • The goalpost knocked over a strong gust of wind.
    • The goalpost was knocked over by a strong gust of wind late on Tuesday.
    • A strong gust of wind knocks over the goalpost.
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8th grade Active and passive voice worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Active and passive voice. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can tell an active sentence (the subject does the action) from a passive sentence (the subject receives it).
  • I can turn a passive sentence into an active one, and the other way, without changing the tense or the meaning.
  • I can choose active or passive on purpose: to put the doer first, to put the receiver first, or to leave the doer out.

Words to know

voice: Whether the subject does the action (active) or receives it (passive).

active voice: The subject does the action: The club painted the wall.

passive voice: The subject receives the action, with a form of be plus a participle: The wall was painted.

doer: The person or thing that does the action.

receiver: The person or thing the action happens to.

participle: The verb form after be in a passive verb, like painted or chosen.

Common mistakes

When looking for the passive voice, your child picked a sentence where was helps an -ing verb. In a passive sentence the subject receives the action; here the subject does it.

When looking for the passive voice, your child picked a sentence where be only links the subject to a describing word. Ask whether anything in the sentence receives an action.

When looking for the passive voice, your child picked a sentence with the little word by in it. Ask whether by names a doer or only a place.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with active and passive voice?

When looking for the passive voice, your child picked a sentence where was helps an -ing verb. In a passive sentence the subject receives the action; here the subject does it.

Are these 8th grade reading worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

More grade 8 reading

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