Answer: “Recently, a law was passed requiring all drivers under the age of 18 to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.”  One way to recognize the passive voice is to see whether 1) the sentence offers a subject for the verb, and 2) if not, can you insert “by _____” after the verb?  The passive voice is considered “passive” because the person or thing actually doing the action is either missing (therefore you add “by _____”) or appears to be the recipient of the verb.  Here we’re told that “a law was passed” but we don’t know who passed the law (it didn’t just pass itself). You could, however, add “by congress” after the verb “was passed” and it would tell you who did it.  This is a classic example of the passive voice.

Answer:"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." The clause “all men are created equal” uses the passive voice in that the “doer” of the creation is not mentioned, but the recipient of the action of creation (“all men”) is given as the subject of the clause. The passive voice is notable for the use or implication of the phrase “by _______” - here that clause implies that all men are created equal by someone or something, a classic indicator of the passive voice.

Answer: “The umpire was angry”  The difference between active and passive voice is that with the active voice, the person/thing doing the action is the subject of the sentence, but with the passive voice the person/thing receiving the action is the subject.  Note that with “the ball is kicked” the ball doesn’t do the kicking; it’s the subject of the sentence but the recipient of the action so that is passive voice. Similarly with “the rule was broken” - the rule didn’t do the breaking. And “the coach was ejected” is the same - someone (likely the umpire) ejected the coach, but the coach was the recipient of the action.  With “the umpire was angry” the umpire is the actor, the person who is actively being angry. So that is the choice using the active voice.

Francisco Goya's painting, "Portrait of the Duke of Wellington" was stolen in 1961 by Kempton Bunton and was missing for four years. The phrase “was stolen” is written in passive voice. If a sentence is in passive voice, the subject receives the action. In passive voice sentences or phrases, the verb phrase includes a form of to be plus a past participle.

Nazis stole Pierre Auguste Renoir's "Deux Femmes Dans Un Jardin," painted in 1919, from a Paris bank vault in 1941. If a sentence is in an active voice, the subject performs the action. In the correct answer choice, the phrase “Nazis stole” is in an active voice and the subject (Nazis) is performing the action. The other choices are in a passive voice and the subject is receiving the action.

At dinner, a dozen shrimp and a juicy steak were eaten by Sharon. This answer choice is written in passive voice. The phrase “were eaten” is in a passive voice and shows the subject being acted upon. The other choices are in active voice and the subject (Sharon) is performing the action: “Sharon ate” or “Sharon had”.

 After shopping, Jessie stopped in the food court and two slices of pizza and soda were consumed by her. This sentence is in passive voice while the remaining sentences are in an active voice. “Were consumed by her” shows the subject being acted upon rather than the subject acting. 

Mannie’s bike tires screeched as he slammed on the brakes. In the passive voice sentence, the phrase “the brakes were slammed on” shows the subject being acted upon. To change the sentence to active voice the subject must perform the action. In the correct sentence choice, the phrase “he slammed on the brakes” is in active voice and the subject (Mannie/he) is performing the action.

The research will be presented at the conference by Patrick in front of his peers. This answer choice is written in passive voice. The phrase “will be presented” is in a passive voice and shows the subject being acted upon. The other choices are in active voice and the subject (Patrick) is performing the action: “Patrick will present” or “Patrick’s presenting”.

Tourists can see geysers, hike trails, go bird watching, or take nature photographs. This sentence is in an active voice because of the phrase “Tourists can see”. This shows the subject acting upon something rather than being acted on as in the other choices. The other choices are all a passive voice because of the phrasing “will be”.