passive voice (part 2) & exercise

Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. So every verb that needs an object (transitive verb) can form a personal passive.

Example: They build houses. – Houses are built.


Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive sentence (as there is no object that can become the subject of the passive sentence). If you want to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you need an impersonal construction – therefore this passive is called Impersonal Passive.

Example: he says – it is said


In English, Impersonal Passive is only possible with verbs of perception

(e. g. say, think, know).

*Example : They say that women live longer than men. – It is said that women live longer than men.

Although Impersonal Passive is possible here, Personal Passive is more common.

Example : They say that women live longer than men. – Women are said to live longer than men.

The subject of the subordinate clause (women) goes to the beginning of the sentence; the verb of perception is put into passive voice. The rest of the sentence is added using an infinitive construction with 'to' (certain auxiliary verbs and that are dropped).

Sometimes the term Personal Passive is used in English lessons if the indirect object of an active sentence is to become the subject of the passive sentence

Fill the gaps with the correct tenses (active or passive voice).



In the year 122 AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian (visit) his provinces in Britain.

On his visit, the Roman soldiers (tell) him that Pictish tribes from Britain's north (attack) them.

So Hadrian (give) the order to build a protective wall across one of the narrowest parts of the country.

After 6 years of hard work, the Wall (finish) in 128.

It (be) 117 kilometres long and about 4 metres high.

The Wall (guard) by 15,000 Roman soldiers.

Every 8 kilometres there (be) a large fort in which up to 1,000 soldiers (find) shelter.

The soldiers (watch) over the frontier to the north and (check) the people who (want) to enter or leave Roman Britain.

In order to pass through the Wall, people (must go) to one of the small forts that (serve) as gateways.

Those forts (call) milecastles because the distance from one fort to another (be) one Roman mile (about 1,500 metres).

Between the milecastles there (be) two turrets from which the soldiers (guard) the Wall.

If the Wall (attack) by enemies, the soldiers at the turrets (run) to the nearest milecastle for help or (light) a fire that (can / see) by the soldiers in the milecastle.

In 383 Hadrian's Wall (abandon) .
Today Hadrian's Wall (be) the most popular tourist attraction in northern England.

In 1987, it (become) a UNESCO World Heritage Site