Converting past indefinite (past simple) sentences to passive voice follows the same logic as present tense, with one difference: the helping verb changes to “was” or “were,” and the verb takes its 3rd form instead of staying in its base form.
Formula of Past Indefinite Tense
This guide covers the formula, step-by-step rules, and solved examples for positive, negative, interrogative, and interro-negative sentences in the past indefinite tense.
Table of Contents
- Formula of Past Indefinite Tense
- Formula of Active and Passive Voice
- Positive Sentences: Solved Examples
- Negative Sentences: Solved Examples
- Interrogative Sentences: Solved Examples
- Interro-Negative Sentences: Solved Examples
- Common Mistakes Students Make
- Present Indefinite vs Past Indefinite: Passive Voice Comparison
- FAQs
- Conclusion
Formula of Active and Passive Voice
Active voice: Subject + 2nd form of verb + Object
Passive voice: Object + was/were + 3rd form of verb + by + subject
Take this sentence: I wrote a letter. (A.V)
Step 1 — Swap the object and subject: the object (“a letter”) becomes the new subject, and the old subject (“I”) moves to the end. This is the same core rule used across every tense.
Step 2 — Place the helping verb (was/were) right after the new subject, matching it in number.
Step 3 — Change the 2nd form of the verb to its 3rd form.
Result: A letter was written by me. (P.V)
Positive Sentences: Solved Examples
1. He ate bread. (A.V) → The bread was eaten by him. (P.V)
2. He played cricket. (A.V) → Cricket was played by him. (P.V)
| Active Voice | Passive Voice |
|---|---|
| 3. He took tea. | Tea was taken by him. |
| 4. They wore a cricket kit. | A cricket kit was worn by them. |
| 5. She cleaned her room. | Her room was cleaned by her. |
| 6. We plucked the flowers yesterday. | The flowers were plucked by us yesterday. |
| 7. A plumber repaired all the taps. | All the taps were repaired by a plumber. |
| 8. The children made a pinching noise. | A pinching noise was made by the children. |
| 9. She drove the car carefully. | The car was driven by her carefully. |
| 10. Asma beat her younger sister. | Her younger sister was beaten by Asma. |
| 11. Usman used a laptop. | A laptop was used by Usman. |
| 12. The old people told interesting stories. | Interesting stories were told by the old people. |
| 13. Amina switched on the computer. | The computer was switched on by Amina. |
| 14. The teacher punished the students regularly. | The students were punished by the teacher regularly. |
| 15. We did our homework. | Our homework was done by us. |
| 16. The peon opened the door. | The door was opened by the peon. |
| 17. The students asked productive questions. | Productive questions were asked by the students. |
| 18. He wrote articles on different topics. | Articles on different topics were written by him. |
| 19. You gave a lecture on Biology. | A lecture on Biology was given by you. |
| 20. The engineers designed a new car. | A new car was designed by the engineers. |
Want to practice with your own sentences? Try our free active and passive voice sentence conversion tool for instant passive-voice conversions.
Negative Sentences: Solved Examples
They did not like hockey. (A.V)
Step 1 — Drop the negative to get a simple sentence: They liked hockey.
Step 2 — Convert to passive: Hockey was liked by them.
Step 3 — Add “not” right after the helping verb “was”: Hockey was not liked by them.
| Active Voice | Passive Voice |
|---|---|
| 21. We did not do our homework. | Our homework was not done by us. |
| 22. He did not eat bread. | Bread was not eaten by him. |
| 23. She did not clean her room. | Her room was not cleaned by her. |
| 24. A plumber did not repair the taps. | The taps were not repaired by a plumber. |
| 25. The peon did not open the door. | The door was not opened by the peon. |
| 26. The students did not ask productive questions. | Productive questions were not asked by the students. |
| 27. She did not solve grammar sentences. | Grammar sentences were not solved by her. |
| 28. The engineers did not design a new car. | A new car was not designed by the engineers. |
| 29. Imran Nazir did not make a big hundred. | A big hundred was not made by Imran Nazir. |
| 30. Ronaldo did not score five goals in one match. | Five goals were not scored by Ronaldo in one match. |
| 31. I did not exercise daily. | Exercise was not done by me daily. |
| 32. He did not chase me. | I was not chased by him. |
| 33. She did not choose the red shoes. | The red shoes were not chosen by her. |
| 34. He did not save money. | Money was not saved by him. |
| 35. They did not run a restaurant. | A restaurant was not run by them. |
Interrogative Sentences: Solved Examples
Did you learn a lesson? (A.V)
Step 1 — Turn the question into a statement: You learned a lesson.
Step 2 — Convert to passive: A lesson was learned by you.
Step 3 — Move the helping verb “was” to the front: Was a lesson learned by you?
| Active Voice | Passive Voice |
|---|---|
| 36. Did he eat bread? | Was bread eaten by him? |
| 37. Did he play cricket? | Was cricket played by him? |
| 38. Did they wear a cricket kit? | Was a cricket kit worn by them? |
| 39. Did she clean her room? | Was her room cleaned by her? |
| 40. Did we pluck the flowers daily? | Were the flowers plucked by us daily? |
| 41. Did a plumber repair all the taps? | Were all the taps repaired by a plumber? |
| 42. Did we do our homework? | Was our homework done by us? |
| 43. Did the peon open the door? | Was the door opened by the peon? |
| 44. Did the students ask productive questions? | Were productive questions asked by the students? |
| 45. Did Imran Nazir make a big hundred? | Was a big hundred made by Imran Nazir? |
| 46. Did the engineers design a new car? | Was a new car designed by the engineers? |
| 47. Did I exercise daily? | Was exercise done by me daily? |
| 48. Did he chase me? | Was I chased by him? |
| 49. Did she choose the red shoes? | Were the red shoes chosen by her? |
| 50. Did you give a lecture on Biology? | Was a lecture on Biology given by you? |
Interro-Negative Sentences: Solved Examples
Did she not cook food? (A.V)
Step 1 — Simplify to a negative statement: She did not cook food.
Step 2 — Simplify further to a positive statement: She cooked food.
Step 3 — Convert to passive: Food was cooked by her.
Step 4 — Add “not” after the helping verb: Food was not cooked by her.
Step 5 — Move the helping verb to the front: Was food not cooked by her?
| Active Voice | Passive Voice |
|---|---|
| 51. Did he not eat bread? | Was bread not eaten by him? |
| 52. Did he not play cricket? | Was cricket not played by him? |
| 53. Did they not wear the cricket kit? | Was the cricket kit not worn by them? |
| 54. Did she not clean her room? | Was her room not cleaned by her? |
| 55. Did a plumber not repair the taps? | Were the taps not repaired by a plumber? |
| 56. Did we not do our homework? | Was our homework not done by us? |
| 57. Did the peon not open the door? | Was the door not opened by the peon? |
| 58. Did the students not ask productive questions? | Were productive questions not asked by the students? |
| 59. Did Imran Nazir not make a big hundred? | Was a big hundred not made by Imran Nazir? |
| 60. Did the engineers not design a new car? | Was a new car not designed by the engineers? |
| 61. Did I not exercise daily? | Was exercise not done by me daily? |
| 62. Did he not chase me? | Was I not chased by him? |
| 63. Did a farmer not kill a dangerous snake? | Was a dangerous snake not killed by a farmer? |
| 64. Did they not run a restaurant? | Was a restaurant not run by them? |
| 65. Did you not give a lecture on Biology? | Was a lecture on Biology not given by you? |
Common Mistakes Students Make
These are the errors that show up most often in past indefinite passive voice exercises:
- Using “is/are” instead of “was/were.” Past tense passive always needs “was” or “were” — “Cricket is played by him” should be “Cricket was played by him” when the whole exercise is in the past.
- Forgetting to change the verb to its 3rd form. “The letter was write by me” is wrong; it must be “The letter was written by me.”
- Misplacing “not” in negative and interro-negative sentences. “Not” goes right after “was/were,” never after “by”: “The door was not opened by him,” not “The door was opened not by him.”
- Losing subject-verb agreement. “The flowers was plucked” should be “The flowers were plucked” — plural subjects take “were.”
- Forgetting to invert the helping verb in questions. “Was” must move to the very start of the sentence in both interrogative and interro-negative forms — leaving it in the middle turns the question into a statement.
Present Indefinite vs Past Indefinite: Passive Voice Comparison
Once you know one, the other is mostly a matter of swapping the helping verb. Here’s a side-by-side comparison to make the difference clear:
| Feature | Present Indefinite → Passive | Past Indefinite → Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Helping verb | am / is/are | was / were |
| Verb form used | 3rd form (same as past) | 3rd form (same as present) |
| Active voice formula | Subject + 1st form of verb + Object | Subject + 2nd form of verb + Object |
| Passive voice formula | Object + am/is/are + 3rd form + by + subject | Object + was/were + 3rd form + by + subject |
| Positive example | He plays cricket. → Cricket is played by him. | He played cricket. → Cricket was played by him. |
| Negative example | He does not play cricket. → Cricket is not played by him. | He did not play cricket. → Cricket was not played by him. |
| Interrogative example | Does he play cricket? → Is cricket played by him? | Did he play cricket? → Was cricket played by him? |
| Interro-negative example | Does he not play cricket? → Is cricket not played by him? | Did he not play cricket? → Was cricket not played by him? |
| Time markers commonly used | daily, usually, every day | yesterday, last week, ago |
Related reading: Present Indefinite to Passive Voice — full guide and exercises.
FAQs
What is the passive voice formula for the past indefinite tense?
Object + was/were + 3rd form of the verb + by + subject. For example: She wrote a letter becomes A letter was written by her.
How do I know whether to use “was” or “were”?
Use “was” with singular subjects (I, he, she, it, and singular nouns) and “were” with plural subjects (we, they, you, and plural nouns). Check the new subject — the one that used to be the object — not the original one.
Why does my passive sentence sound wrong even when the grammar is right?
That’s usually a word-order issue rather than a grammar one. Double-check that “by + subject” comes at the very end, and that time expressions like “daily” or “yesterday” sit in a natural spot — usually right before “by,” as in “The flowers were plucked by us daily.”
What is the main difference between present indefinite and past indefinite passive voice?
Only the helping verb changes. Present indefinite passive uses am/is/are; past indefinite passive uses was/were. The verb still takes its 3rd form in both cases, and the sentence structure is otherwise identical.
Can I use the same verb form for both present and past passive voice?
Yes — the main verb always takes its 3rd form in passive voice, whether the sentence is present or past tense. What changes is the helping verb: am/is/are for present, was/were for past. That’s why the 3rd-form list is worth memorising once and reusing across every passive-voice tense.
Conclusion
Converting past indefinite sentences to passive voice comes down to three moves: swap the subject and object, add “was” or “were” based on the new subject, and change the verb to its 3rd form. Once that sequence feels automatic for positive sentences, negatives, questions, and interro-negatives all follow the same logic with one extra step each.
If you mix up “was” and “were,” or forget to move the helping verb in questions, go back to the Common Mistakes section above — those five errors cover almost everything that trips students up in exams. And if you want to practice past indefinite alongside present indefinite, the comparison table is the fastest way to see exactly what changes and what stays the same.
Ready to test yourself? Try our free sentence converter tool with your own sentences, or move on to Present Indefinite to Passive Voice if you haven’t covered it yet.
You Should Also Learn
- Present Indefinite to Passive Voice
- Future Indefinite to Passive Voice
- Present Continuous to Passive Voice
- Past Continuous to Passive Voice
- Present Perfect to Passive Voice
- Past Perfect to Passive Voice
- Future Perfect to Passive Voice
- Imperative Sentences to Passive Voice
- Active Voice to Passive Voice – All Tenses, Definition, Exercises
- Active Voice vs Passive Voice: Learn the Difference with Examples
- Active Voice and Passive Voice: When to Avoid It and When to Use It
- 15 Differences Between Active and Passive Voice
- Passive to Active Voice Converter | Solved Sentences
- How to Identify Active and Passive Voice
- Active Passive Voice for Class 6