ADVANCED ENGLISH Student Worksheet

Module 3 • Home Sweet Home Set A: Grammar

Name:

Passive

A Identify and underline all the passive verbs in the passage.

UNUSUAL HOMES
• T
 he Upside Down House was built as a statement about disorder in the world. The house is located
in Poland and is a major tourist attraction.
• S easonal floods take place regularly on the Maas River in the Netherlands. In the past, this meant
that the houses near the river were often flooded. The problem was solved when someone came up
with the idea of building floating houses. The foundations of these unique houses sit on the river
bottom and are surrounded by water, so when the floods come and the water level rises, the houses
are lifted up by the water.
• T
 he Haines Shoe House, which looks like a shoe, was designed by American shoe salesperson Mahlon
Haines. It used to be a guest house, but since then it has been opened to the public for tours.
• E
 xtreme tree houses are found on treetops in the forests of Indonesia. Unlike a typical kid’s tree house,
which is usually located on the lower branches of trees and is protected by them, an extreme tree house is
exposed to wind, rain and sun. A treetop home could even be struck by lightning!

B Complete the sentences by filling in the passive form of the verb in parentheses.
1. Dramatic colors like red and black are great as accents in the living room, but they
(should not / use) in the bedroom.
2. A neutral or monotone living room (can / brighten up) with fresh flowers
in bright colors.
3. The bedrooms and bathroom (situate) on the second level of my cubic
home. The garden is on the third level.
4. Because our underground house (not expose) to the cold air outside,
we save lots of money on heating bills.
5. This amazing house (just / open) to the public. We must go see it!
6. Because the mirror was facing the door, the Chi (push) out the door.
This problem (fix) easily by repositioning the mirror on an adjacent wall.
Now the Chi stays inside the house!
7. My apartment (renovate) at the moment, so I’m staying with my brother.
8. Soon all this clutter (clear out) of your house and the energy flow in your
home will improve.
9. When I returned from my house swapping vacation, I discovered that all my possessions
(steal). I should have signed up with a more reliable house swapping
program!

Passive: Page 1 of 2
ADVANCED ENGLISH Student Worksheet
Module 3 • Home Sweet Home Set A: Grammar
Name:

C Turn the underlined parts of the ACTIVE sentences into the PASSIVE by rewriting the whole
sentence. TIP: Decide whether or not it’s important to include the agent – the person who does
the action.

1. After I moved my personal possessions into the old airplane, it became my permanent home.

2. We put our home on the market a year ago, but unfortunately, we still haven’t sold it.

3. My cubic house is stable because poles support it.

4. In the design, the architect connected several cubic houses in a row. He intended the cubic house to be
a symbol of a forest, with the houses as the trees.

5. Use shelves not only for storage, but also to display interesting objects.

6. The new tenants will sign the lease tomorrow.

7. A Feng Shui expert is designing my home, and I can’t wait to see the final design.

8. We only agreed to let the contractor begin work on our home after both parties had signed the written
contract.

9. 
Don’t use carpets and rugs in the living room only. Use them also to separate the living area from other
areas, such as the dining area.

10. When you live in a tree house, you leave your worries behind you on the ground!

Passive: Page 2 of 2