Past Indefinite Tense|Passive Voice

Past Indefinite Tense or Simple Past Tense(Passive Voice) is used to represent the passive habitual actions of the past time. Active Voice Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense or Simple Past Tense can be converted to Passive Voice Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense, just by following the following General Rules.

Rules to Convert Past Indefinite Tense(Active Voice) Sentences to Passive Voice Sentences

The following are some rules that one can easily use to convert active voice sentences from Past Indefinite Tense to Passive Voice Sentences.

• First of all, convert the Objective Case(me, us, you, them, him, her, it) of the Active Voice Sentences into Subjective Case(I, we, you, they, he, she, it) to make the Passive Voice Sentences.
• Then, use “was/were” as a helping verb according to Singular and Plural types of Nouns and Pronouns.
• Then, write the 3rd Verb to indicate that the action is in the passive state.
• Then, write the preposition “by” to indicate the actual doer of the action.
• Then, convert the Subjective Case(I, we, you, they, he, she, it) of Active Voice Sentences into Objective Case(me, us, you, them, him, her, it) to form Passive Voice Sentences.
• At the end, write the remaining words, if there are any in the Active Voice Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense.

Helping Verb of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice)

Following are 2 helping verbs that are used in Passive Voice Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense.

• Was
• Were

“Was” As Helping Verb in Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice)

“Was” is used as a helping verb in Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice) with a Singular Number of Nouns and Pronouns(I, he, she, it) to indicate the passive habitual actions of the past time. Thus, Passive Voice Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense with “was” as a helping verb have the following Sentence Structure.

Singular Number Nouns/Pronouns+ was+ 3rd Verb+ by+ Subject+ Remaining Words

“Were” As Helping Verb in Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice)

“Were” is used as a helping verb in Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice) with Plural Number Nouns and Pronouns(We, You, They) to indicate the passive habitual actions of the Past time. Thus, Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice) Sentences with “were”, as a helping verb have the following Sentence Structure.

Plural Number Nouns/Pronouns+ were+ 3rd Verb+ by+ Subject+ Remaining Words

Sentence Structure of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice) Sentences

Following are Sentence Structural formulas for Assertive, Negative, Interrogative, and Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice).

Assertive Sentence Structure of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice)

Assertive Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice) takes “was/were” as helping verbs according to Singular and Plural Number Nouns and Pronouns to indicate the passive habitual actions of the past time. Thus, Assertive Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice) have the following Sentence Structural formula.

He/she/it/I/we/you/they/Singular or Plural Nouns+ was/were+ 3rd Verb+ by+ Subject+ Remaining Words

Examples of Assertive Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice)

Following are some examples of Assertive Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice).

1. I bought two watches.
   • Two watches were bought by me.
2. We met him yesterday.
   • He was met by us yesterday.
3. You repaired this pen.
   • This pen was repaired by you.
4. They killed the snake.
   • The snake was killed by them.
5. He received a telegram from his father.
   • A telegram was received by him from his father.
6. She sent a telegram to your friend.
   • A telegram was sent by her to your friend.
7. The storm broke the window.
   • The window was broken by the storm.
8. The teacher praised me for my work.
   • I was praised for my work by the teacher.
9. Our friend helped us with our homework.
   • We were helped with our homework by our friends.
10. The manager informed you about the meeting.
    • You were informed by the manager about the meeting.
11. The doctor examined them for direction.
    • They were examined by the doctor for direction.
12. The officer warned him about the danger.
    • He was warned by the officer about the danger.
13. Her parents surprised her with a gift.
    • She was surprised by her parents with a gift.
14. They repaired the car.
    • The car was repaired by them.

Negative Sentence Structure of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice)

Negative Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice) takes “not” after the helping verbs “was/were”, to indicate the negativity of passive habitual actions of the past time. Thus, Negative Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice) have the following Sentence Structural formula.

He/she/it/I/we/you/they/Singular or Plural Number Nouns+ was/were+ not+ 3rd Verb+ by+ Subject+ Remaining Words

Examples of Negative Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice)

Following are some examples of Negative Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice).

1. I did not sell six hundred eggs.
   • Six hundred eggs were not sold by me.
2. We did not count the balls.
   • The balls were not counted by us.
3. You did not obtain pass marks in English.
   • Pass marks were not obtained by you in English.
4. They did not stop the train at once.
   • The train was not stopped by them at once.
5. He did not wear ready-made shirts.
   • Ready-made shirts were not worn by him.
6. She did not win those prizes.
   • Those prizes were not won by her.
7. The clock did not strike twelve.
   • Twelve was not struck by the clock.
8. They did not invite me to the concert.
   • I was not invited by them to the concert.
9. The teacher did not thank us for our participation.
   • We were not thanked by the teacher for our participation.
10. The storm did not catch you by surprise.
    • You were not caught by the storm by surprise.
11. The coach did not congratulate them on their victory.
    • They were not congratulated by the coach on their victory.
12. The company did not reward him for his hard work.
    • He was not rewarded by the company for his hard work.
13. The stranger did not ask her for help.
    • She was not asked for help by the stranger
14. He did not paint the house.
    • The house was not painted by him.

Interrogative Sentence Structure of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice)

Interrogative Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice) take “was/were” as a helping verb at the start of Sentences, just to show the interrogative/questionable nature of the past-time passive habitual actions. Thus, Interrogative Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice) have the following Sentence Structural formula.

Was/were+ he/she/it/I/we/you/they/Singular or Plural Nouns+ 3rd Verb+ by+ Subject+ Remaining Words+?

Examples of Interrogative Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice)

Following are some examples of Interrogative Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice).

1. Did I push the door?
   • Was the door pushed by me?
2. Did we please them with our work?
   • Were they pleased with our work by them?
3. Did you laugh at them?
   • Were they laughed at by you?
4. Did they lose their bag in the garden somewhere?
   • Was their bag lost by them in the garden somewhere?
5. Did he drink cold water?
   • Was cold water drunk by him?
6. Did she cross the river?
   • Was the river crossed by her?
7. Did the machine print the documents?
   • Were the documents printed by the machine?
8. Did he warn me about the traffic?
   • Was I warned by him about the traffic?
9. Did the officer stop us for speeding?
   • Were we stopped by the officer for speeding?
10. Did the customer service representative assist you?
    • Were you assisted by the customer service representative?
11. Did the doctor advise them to rest?
    • Were they advised to rest by the doctor?
12. Did your boss promote him last month?
    • Was he promoted by your boss last month?
13. Did the neighbor invite her to the barbecue?
    • Was she invited by the neighbor to the barbecue?
14. Did we complete the project?
    • Was the project completed by us?

Negative-Interrogative Sentence Structure of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice)

Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice) take “was/were” at the start of Sentences to show the interrogative/questionable nature of negative actions that had been practiced habitually during the past time. And “not” comes after the Object of the sentences to indicate the negative nature of interrogative actions. Following is the Sentence Structure formula for Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice).

Was/were+ he/she/it/I/we/you/they/Singular or Plural Nouns+ not+ 3rd Verb+ by+ Subject+ Remaining Words+?

Examples of Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice)

Following are some examples of Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense(Passive Voice).

1. Did I not cook some meat?
   • Was some meat not cooked by me?
2. Did we not break two cups?
   • Were two cups not broken by us?
3. Did you not select eggs?
   • Were eggs not selected by you?
4. Did they not light two lamps?
   • Were two lamps not lighted by them?
5. Did he not invite me to dinner?
   • Was I not invited by him to dinner?
6. Did she not fly the kites?
   • Were the kites not flown by her?
7. Did it not heat the room?
   • Was the room not heated by it?
8. Did the teacher not praise me for my hard work?
   • Was I not praised by the teacher for my hard work?
9. Did the coach congratulate us on our victory?
   • Were we not congratulated by the coach on our victory?
10. Did the teacher teach you a new lesson?
    • Were you not taught a new lesson by the teacher?
11. Did the audience not applaud them after the performance?
    • Were they not applauded by the audience after the performance?
12. Did the director not cast him in the play?
    • Was he not cast in the play by the director?
13. Did the company not hire her for the new project?
    • Was she not hired by the company for the new project?
14. Did they not build the bridge?
    • Was the bridge not built by them?