“Who built this house?”
The words you are given
- built
- by
- was
- a famous
- architect
- It
- were
The order that works
It was built by a famous architect.
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Past passive: was/were + past participle
Past passive uses "was" (singular) or "were" (plural) + past participle. The agent follows "by" at the end.
6 worked examplesPassive Voice
The pattern
was/were + V-ed: It WAS BUILT by..., They WERE FOUND by...
Worked examples
6 shown
Word order shown is Reach120’s reading of standard English usage for this sentence. ETS does not publish a correct/incorrect judgement for individual items, and this is not an official score.
“What happened to the letter?”
The words you are given
- was
- were
- address
- It
- to
- sent
- the wrong
The order that works
It was sent to the wrong address.
“Where was the painting found?”
The words you are given
- attic
- in
- discovered
- It
- was
- were
- an old
The order that works
It was discovered in an old attic.
“Who wrote this report?”
The words you are given
- was
- by
- the senior
- analyst
- is
- It
- written
The order that works
It was written by the senior analyst.
“What happened to the windows?”
The words you are given
- storm
- during
- the big
- They
- were
- was
- broken
The order that works
They were broken during the big storm.
“How was the cake made?”
The words you are given
- was
- oven
- baked
- were
- in
- a traditional
- It
The order that works
It was baked in a traditional oven.
Practice this pattern against the clock.
More passive voice patterns
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