Simple Past Tense Passive Voice: Explanation with Examples (2024) - EnglishCentral Blog (2024)

How to Make Simple Past Passive Sentences

The passive voice of simple past tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb “was/were” and the past participle of the main verb. The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. To form a sentence in passive voice of simple past tense, we use the following rules:

We convert the object of the Active Voice Sentence into the subject of the Passive Voice Sentence.
We use the auxiliary verb was/were according to the subject of the Passive Voice sentence.
We use the past participle form of the verb.
We then use the word “by”, to show the doer of the action.
Then we convert the subject of the Active Voice Sentence into the object of the Passive Voice sentence.
We add the remaining words if there are any in the Active Voice Sentence at last.

Simple Past Positive Passive Sentences

The passive voice of simple past tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb “was/were” and the past participle of the main verb. To form a positive sentence in passive voice of simple past tense, we use the following rules:

We convert the object of the Active Voice Sentence into the subject of the Passive Voice Sentence.
We use the auxiliary verb was/were according to the subject of the Passive Voice sentence.
We use the past participle form of the verb.
We then use the word “by”, to show the doer of the action.
Then we convert the subject of the Active Voice Sentence into the object of the Passive Voice sentence.
We add the remaining words if there are any in the Active Voice Sentence at last.

The structure formula is:

Object of Active Sentence + was/were + past participle of main verb + by + Subject of Active Sentence

Active voice: I (Subject) + bought (V2) + two sandwiches (Object).
Passive voice: Two sandwiches (Object) + were (Auxiliary verb) + bought (V3) + by me (By + subject).

Simple Past Tense Positive Passive Examples:

Here are some positive sentence examples in Simple Past Tense Passive voice.

Active voice: I wrote an amazing book.
Passive voice: An amazing book was written (by me).
Active voice: I helped Jim a lot .
Passive voice: Jim was helped a lot (by me).
Active voice: She bought two apples.
Passive voice: Two apples were bought by her.
Active voice: My mother baked the food.
Passive voice: The food was baked by my mother.
Active voice: The teacher read the book.
Passive voice: The book was read by the teacher.
Active voice: I prepared pizza for everyone in the house.
Passive voice: Pizza was prepared for everyone in the house (by me).
Active voice: Luke bought a bike recently.
Passive voice: A bike was bought recently (by Luka).

Simple Past Tense Negative Passive Sentences

We use Simple Past Tense Negative Passive Sentences to deny situations that occurred and finished in the past. To form a negative sentence in passive voice of simple past tense, we follow these steps:
We convert the object of the Active Voice Sentence into the subject of the Passive Voice Sentence.
We use the auxiliary verb was/were according to the subject of the Passive Voice sentence.
Then we add “not” in order to make the sentence negative.
We use the past participle form of the verb.
We then use the word “by”, to show the doer of the action.
Then we convert the subject of the Active Voice Sentence into the object of the Passive Voice sentence.
We add the remaining words if there are any in the Active Voice Sentence at last.

The structure formula is:

Object of Active Sentence + was/were not + past participle of main verb + by + Subject of Active Sentence

Active voice: I (Subject) + did + not + buy + two sandwiches (Object).
Passive voice: Two sandwiches (Object) + were (Auxiliary verb) + not + bought (V3) + by me (By + subject).

Simple Past Tense Negative Passive Examples:

Active voice: I did not write an amazing book.
Passive voice: An amazing book was not written (by me).
Active voice: I did not help Jim a lot.
Passive voice: Jim was not helped a lot (by me).
Active voice: She did not buy two apples.
Passive voice: Two apples were not bought by her.
Active voice: My mother did not bake the food.
Passive voice: The food was not baked by my mother.
Active voice: The teacher did not read the book.
Passive voice: The book was not read by the teacher.
Active voice: I did not prepare pizza for everyone in the house.
Passive voice: Pizza was not prepared for everyone in the house (by me).
Active voice: Luke did not buy a bike recently.
Passive voice: A bike was not bought recently (by Luka).

Passive Questions in Simple Past Tense

To form passive questions in simple past tense, we can follow these steps:
We use the auxiliary verb was/were according to the subject of the Passive Voice Sentence.
We convert the object of the Active Voice Sentence into the subject of the Passive Voice Sentence.
We use the past participle form of the verb.
Then we use the word “by”, to show the doer of the action.
Then we convert the subject of the Active Sentence into the object of the Passive Voice sentence.
We then put the remaining words if there are any.
At last, we use the sign of interrogation “?”.

For example:
Active: Did she eat the burger?
Passive: Was the burger eaten by you?

Simple Past Tense Passive Interrogative Examples:

Here are some positive passive interrogative examples in Simple Past Tense:

Active Voice: Did they stop him there?
Passive Voice: Was he stopped by them there?
Active Voice: Did you drink cold tea?
Passive Voice: Was cold drink drunk by you?
Active Voice: Did she light two torches?
Passive Voice: Were two torches lit by her?
Active Voice: Why did he not invite her to the party?
Passive Voice: Why was she not invited by him to the party?
Active Voice: Did they fire him at night?
Passive Voice: Was he fired by them at night?
Active Voice: Did she divorce him?
Passive Voice: Was he divorced from her?

Negative Passive Interrogative Sentences in Simple Past Tense

To form passive questions in simple past tense, we can follow these steps:
We use the auxiliary verb was/were according to the subject of the Passive Voice Sentence.
We convert the object of the Active Voice Sentence into the subject of the Passive Voice Sentence.
We use “not” to make the sentence negative.
We use the past participle form of the verb.
Then we use the word “by”, to show the doer of the action.
Then we convert the subject of the Active Sentence into the object of the Passive Voice sentence.
We then put the remaining words if there are any.
At last, we use the sign of interrogation “?”.

For example:
a) Active Voice: Didn’t you eat a sandwich?
b) Passive Voice: Was the sandwich not eaten by you?

Negative Passive Interrogative Sentences

Simple Past Tense Negative Passive Interrogative Examples:

Here are some negative passive interrogative examples in Simple Past Tense:

Active Voice: Did they not stop him there?
Passive Voice: Was he not stopped by them there?
Active Voice: Didn’t you drink cold tea?
Passive Voice: Was cold drink not drunk by you?
Active Voice: Didn’t she light two torches?
Passive Voice: Were two torches not lit by her?
Active Voice: Why did he not invite her to the party?
Passive Voice: Why was she not invited by him to the party?
Active Voice: Did they not fire him at night?
Passive Voice: Was he not fired by them at night?
Active Voice: Did she not divorce him?
Passive Voice: Was he not divorced from her?

Short Answers in Simple Past Tense Passive

To form short answers in simple past tense passive voice, we we can follow these steps:
We use “yes” or “no” according to the question.
We use the needed subject.
We use “was” or “were” according to the subject of the sentence..
We use the past participle form of the verb.

Positive Answers:

Was the burger eaten by you? / Yes, it was.
Was the homework done by him? / Yes, it was.
Was the letter sent? / Yes, it was.

Negative answers:

Was the burger eaten by you? /No, it wasn’t.
Was the homework done by him? / No, it wasn’t.
Was the letter sent? / No, it wasn’t.

Wh- Questions in Simple Past Tense Passive

To ask for more specific information, we can include question words in our passive voice questions. These question words include “who, what, where, when, how etc.”. To ask a passive question in Simple Past Tense with these question words, we need to follow this simple formula:

Wh- word + object + was/were + past participle form of the verb (V3) + by + subject + ?

Here are some examples of Wh- question sentences in Simple Past Tense Passive:

What was eaten by you?

What was drunk by him?

Who was seen ?

Who was beaten?

Why were you kicked?

Frequently Asked Questions About Simple Past Tense Passive Voice

What are some examples of Simple Past Passive Voice sentences?

Here are some examples for Simple Past Passive voice sentences:
This was never done before.
An amazing book was written.
The bananas were eaten.

What are some examples of negative Simple Past Passive Voice sentences?

Here are some examples for negative Simple Past Passive voice sentences:
Math was not taught by Laura at high school.
He was not invited by them.
I was not helped.

What are some examples of interrogative Simple Past Passive Voice sentences?

Here are some examples for interrogative Simple Past Passive voice sentences:

Was the burger eaten by you?
Was the homework done by him?
Was the letter sent?

What is the difference between active voice and passive voice?

In an active voice, the subject is performing the action. It is always known who is doing the action. In a passive voice, the subject is the receiver of the action. It is not always clear who is doing the action. To give the information about the carrier of the action, we use the preposition “by” followed by the agent of the action.

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