Passive voice and agent — practise and choose the right form

Passive voice and agent: progressive explanation, topic-specific examples, guided exercises and a corrected assessment.

Duration: 25 minPrerequisites: passif-agent-repererPass mark: 80%

1. Objective

By the end, you will manipulate forms related to “Passive voice and agent” without copying the model.

2. Discover

Read the examples for “Passive voice and agent — practise and choose the right form” as language you might use today. What clue helps you choose the right structure?

3. Understand

To practise the passive, keep the receiver of the action as the subject and vary the agent. Also check the tense of “être” and the agreement of the past participle.

La lettre a été écrite par mon collègue.Les résultats sont vérifiés par deux techniciens.Le repas sera préparé par le chef.La salle a été réservée par notre association.Le colis est livré par un transporteur local.La plainte a été déposée par la cliente.

Watch out

Start with the subject and time reference. Only then choose the tense or verb form: word-for-word translation often leads to the wrong tense.

4. Guided practice

5. Independent practice

6. Write / speak

Write three sentences you could genuinely say or send. Change the subject, context and at least one lexical element.

7. Check your learning

8. Remember

To practise the passive, keep the receiver of the action as the subject and vary the agent.

Download worksheet (PDF)

9. Now I can…

I can recognise “Passive voice and agent” in a new example.
I can justify my choice and create an example.