Past Simple Passive Voice Exercises

The past simple passive is formed with was/were + past participle and describes completed actions in the past when the focus is on what happened rather than who did it. Use "was" with singular subjects (I, he, she, it) and "were" with plural subjects and "you" (we, you, they). This tense appears frequently in news reports, historical writing, and storytelling.

For example, "The bridge was built in 1890" focuses on the bridge and the date, not on the builders. "The letters were sent yesterday" highlights the letters and the timing. To form negatives, add "not" after was/were: "The parcel wasn't delivered on time." For questions, put was/were before the subject: "Was the window broken during the storm?" The past simple passive is one of the most common passive forms in English and is tested in Cambridge B1 and B2 exams. Practising it helps you describe past events clearly and naturally, especially when the doer is unknown or less important than the action itself.