Adult Literacy Advanced Quiz: Using Passive Voice
10 questions · exam conditions
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Using Passive VoiceQuestion 1 of 10

The housing office follows a three-stage review procedure. Staff members first screen all applications for completeness. Applications that meet the basic requirements then go to a review panel, which evaluates them for funding.

Which sentence most effectively summarizes the procedure while keeping the focus on the applications throughout?

After the applications have been screened for completeness, those meeting the basic requirements are forwarded to the review panel.
After staff have screened the applications for completeness, the review panel is evaluating those that meet the basic requirements.
After the applications have screened for completeness, those meeting the basic requirements forward to the review panel.
After the review panel has been screened for completeness, qualifying applications are forwarded there by the office staff.
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Adult Literacy Advanced Quiz

Adult Literacy Advanced Quiz: Using Passive Voice

Practice Using Passive Voice in Adult Literacy Advanced with focused quiz questions that help you check what you know, review explanations, and build confidence with test-style prompts.

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Using Passive Voice, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for Adult Literacy Advanced.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

All questions

Question 1

The housing office follows a three-stage review procedure. Staff members first screen all applications for completeness. Applications that meet the basic requirements then go to a review panel, which evaluates them for funding.

Which sentence most effectively summarizes the procedure while keeping the focus on the applications throughout?

  1. After the applications have been screened for completeness, those meeting the basic requirements are forwarded to the review panel. (correct answer)
  2. After staff have screened the applications for completeness, the review panel is evaluating those that meet the basic requirements.
  3. After the applications have screened for completeness, those meeting the basic requirements forward to the review panel.
  4. After the review panel has been screened for completeness, qualifying applications are forwarded there by the office staff.
Explanation: When a question asks you to keep focus on a specific subject throughout a summary, you're being tested on two skills at once: grammatical consistency and accurate verb forms. The goal here is to find a sentence where "the applications" remain the grammatical subject — acting or being acted upon — from start to finish, without errors in verb construction. Choice A does this perfectly. "The applications have been screened" is a correct passive construction, and "those meeting the basic requirements are forwarded" continues the passive voice, keeping applications as the subject throughout. The tense is consistent, the grammar is clean, and the meaning accurately reflects the passage. Choice B starts well but breaks down midway. "The review panel is evaluating" shifts the subject away from the applications and onto the panel — which violates the requirement to keep focus on the applications. It also mixes past and present tense unnecessarily. Choice C contains a critical grammatical error: "the applications have screened" is missing the word "been," making it an incomplete passive construction. Applications cannot screen themselves. Similarly, "those…forward to the review panel" omits the verb "are," producing a sentence fragment. Choice D introduces a factual distortion that the original passage doesn't support: it says "the review panel has been screened for completeness," which confuses the panel with the applications. This reverses who is doing what to whom — a meaning error, not just a style issue. A useful strategy: whenever a question specifies a perspective or subject to maintain, trace each answer choice sentence by sentence to confirm that same subject is doing or receiving the action throughout — and double-check for missing words in passive verb phrases.

Question 2

A grant announcement explains that sending documents by the deadline is not sufficient. To be considered, applicants must ensure that the grant office actually has all supporting documents no later than 4:00 p.m. on September 30.

Which sentence uses passive voice to state the requirement most precisely?

  1. Supporting documents must receive at the grant office no later than 4:00 p.m. on September 30.
  2. Supporting documents should be sent toward the grant office by 4:00 p.m. on September 30.
  3. Supporting documents must be received by the grant office no later than 4:00 p.m. on September 30. (correct answer)
  4. Supporting documents must have sent by applicants before 4:00 p.m. on September 30.
Explanation: When a question asks you to identify passive voice and evaluate precision, you need to check two things: (1) Is the sentence grammatically passive? and (2) Does it accurately reflect the requirement described in the passage? Passive voice follows the pattern subject + form of "to be" + past participle. The key distinction in the passage is critical: sending documents isn't enough — the grant office must actually receive them by the deadline. Choice C — "Supporting documents must be received by the grant office no later than 4:00 p.m. on September 30" — is correctly passive ("be received" = to be + past participle) and precisely captures the requirement. The focus is on the documents arriving, not on the act of sending. This matches the passage exactly. Choice A fails grammatically. "Must receive" is active voice, and it's also awkward — documents can't perform the action of receiving. The sentence is structurally broken. Choice B uses correct passive construction ("be sent"), but it contradicts the passage. The passage explicitly says sending isn't sufficient. Using "should" also weakens the requirement, replacing the mandatory "must" with a softer suggestion. Both problems make B wrong. Choice D uses "must have sent," which is grammatically incorrect passive voice. The correct passive form would require "been sent" — "must have been sent." It also shifts focus back to the applicants' action of sending, which again misses the passage's point. Your strategy: on questions combining grammar and comprehension, always verify both the sentence structure and whether the meaning aligns with the source. A grammatically correct passive sentence can still be the wrong answer if it misrepresents the content.

Question 3

Investigators issued a preliminary statement today about last week's power failure. Current evidence suggests—but does not yet prove—that the outage began several minutes before the monitoring system produced its first alarm.

Which sentence uses passive voice to present the investigators' current conclusion with appropriate caution and accurate timing?

  1. The outage was believed to begin several minutes before the monitoring system had produced its first alarm.
  2. The outage is believed to have begun several minutes before the monitoring system produced its first alarm. (correct answer)
  3. The outage has believed to begin several minutes before the monitoring system was producing its first alarm.
  4. The outage is believing to have begun several minutes before the monitoring system produces its first alarm.
Explanation: When a question asks you to match passive voice with a specific level of certainty and a specific time relationship, you need to check three things at once: (1) Is the verb structure genuinely passive? (2) Does the tense signal ongoing belief versus completed action at the right moment? (3) Does the phrasing reflect suggested but not proven evidence? Answer B does all three correctly. "Is believed" is present passive — it reflects what investigators currently conclude — and "to have begun" is a perfect infinitive, which is exactly how English expresses that a past event preceded another past event in this kind of passive construction. The alarm came later; the outage came first. That sequence is captured cleanly and cautiously. Answer A swaps in "was believed," shifting the belief itself into the past, as if investigators no longer hold this view — which contradicts the passage's "current evidence." It also uses "had produced," an unnecessary past perfect that doubles up on past markers awkwardly. Answer C uses "has believed," which treats the outage as the one doing the believing — that's a subject-verb mismatch that makes no logical sense. An outage cannot believe anything. This is not passive voice at all; it's a broken active construction. Answer D uses "is believing," a present progressive, which is wrong because verbs of mental state (believe, know, think) almost never take progressive forms in standard English. "The outage is believing" is both grammatically unnatural and logically absurd. Your study tip: when evaluating passive constructions about past events, remember that "is believed to have [past participle]" is the standard English pattern for expressing present belief about a completed past action — it appears frequently in formal and academic writing.

Question 4

A technician arrived at a processing facility at 6:30 a.m. and discovered that a drainage valve was open. The valve had apparently remained open for several hours, although the investigation did not determine who opened it. The technician closed the valve, and the spill was fully contained by 7:00 a.m.

Which sentence best reports the incident by emphasizing the conditions and outcomes rather than assigning unsupported responsibility?

  1. When the technician arrived, someone left the valve open, but the technician contained the spill by 7:00 a.m.
  2. When the technician had arrived, the valve remained opening, but the spill contained itself by 7:00 a.m.
  3. When the technician arrived, the valve had been left open, but the spill was contained by 7:00 a.m. (correct answer)
  4. When the technician was arriving, the valve was left open, but someone had contained the spill by 7:00 a.m.
Explanation: When writing incident reports, word choice carries real consequences. The goal is to describe what happened accurately — including conditions and results — without implying blame where none has been established. This question tests your ability to recognize passive voice constructions that report facts neutrally versus phrasing that either assigns responsibility or introduces grammatical errors. Choice C handles this perfectly: "the valve had been left open" uses the passive voice to acknowledge that someone opened the valve without identifying who, which matches the passage's conclusion that responsibility was undetermined. "The spill was contained" likewise reports the outcome without specifying an agent unnecessarily. The past perfect "had been left" also correctly signals that the valve's open state preceded the technician's arrival — an accurate timeline. Choice A fails because "someone left the valve open" directly implies a known human actor, which the investigation never confirmed. It assigns unsupported responsibility rather than describing a condition. Choice B contains grammatical errors that distort the meaning: "had arrived" implies the arrival was already completed before another past event, and "remained opening" is simply incorrect phrasing — the valve was open, not in the process of opening. Additionally, "the spill contained itself" suggests the spill resolved without intervention, contradicting the passage. Choice D misuses progressive tense ("was arriving") to describe a simple arrival, and "someone had contained the spill" reintroduces an unidentified actor, undermining the neutral reporting goal. Your strategy: when a question asks for neutral, fact-based reporting, look for passive voice constructions. Passive voice lets you describe what happened to something without naming who caused it — a powerful tool in professional writing when responsibility is unknown.

Question 5

A software company is preparing a formal notice about a completed system migration. An early draft says, "During the migration, some customer accounts got locked by mistake, but access was restored within two hours." The company wants a professional tone and wishes to emphasize the temporary outcome rather than the technicians involved.

Which revision uses passive voice most appropriately for the formal notice?

  1. During the migration, some customer accounts were inadvertently locked, but access was restored within two hours. (correct answer)
  2. During the migration, some customer accounts had locked inadvertently, but technicians were restoring access within two hours.
  3. During the migration, some customer accounts have been locking accidentally, but access restored itself within two hours.
  4. During the migration, some customer accounts were being locked deliberately, but access had restored within two hours.
Explanation: When you see a question about passive voice in a professional context, ask yourself two things: Is the passive construction grammatically correct, and does it serve the stated purpose — here, shifting focus away from the actors (technicians) and onto the outcome (restored access)? Passive voice follows a specific structure: a form of to be + a past participle (e.g., "were locked," "was restored"). Choice A does exactly this. "Were inadvertently locked" correctly shifts blame away from specific technicians, the word "inadvertently" maintains a professional, non-accusatory tone, and "was restored" keeps the focus on the positive outcome — all matching what the company wants. A is the correct answer. Choice B fails on two fronts: "had locked" is not passive voice at all — it's active past perfect — and "were restoring" uses passive incorrectly here, since "technicians" are the explicit subject performing the action, which contradicts the goal of de-emphasizing who was involved. Choice C contains a grammatical error ("access restored itself" implies the system acted on its own volition, which sounds unnatural and unpolished) and "have been locking" uses an awkward progressive tense that doesn't fit formal writing. Choice D undermines the company's intent entirely. Changing "inadvertently" to "deliberately" reverses the meaning, suggesting accounts were locked on purpose — a damaging claim in a formal notice. Additionally, "had restored" is grammatically inconsistent with the context. A quick strategy: in formal writing questions, passive voice is appropriate when the action or result matters more than who did it. Watch for answer choices that sneak in active constructions disguised as passive — a common trap on this exam.

Question 6

The Department of Public Works will close the East River Bridge from 9:00 p.m. Friday until 5:00 a.m. Monday. During that period, construction crews will replace the damaged bridge deck. The notice is intended primarily to help commuters plan alternate routes.

Which revision uses passive voice most appropriately for the notice's purpose and audience?

  1. Construction crews will be replacing the damaged deck after Public Works closes the East River Bridge on Friday night.
  2. Public Works is closing the bridge while construction crews are being replaced along with the damaged bridge deck.
  3. The damaged bridge deck, replaced by construction crews, will cause Public Works to close the bridge through Monday.
  4. The East River Bridge will be closed from Friday night through Monday morning while the damaged deck is replaced. (correct answer)
Explanation: When a question asks about passive voice and purpose, you need to think about what the writer wants to emphasize. Passive voice ("the bridge will be closed") shifts focus to the thing being acted upon rather than who's doing the action. For a public notice aimed at commuters, the bridge closure itself — not the agency or workers — is what matters most to the reader. Choice D does this correctly: "The East River Bridge will be closed from Friday night through Monday morning while the damaged deck is replaced." Both clauses use passive voice to keep the focus squarely on what affects commuters — the closed bridge and the deck replacement — without burying that information behind who's responsible. This directly serves the notice's purpose of helping people plan alternate routes. Choice A uses active voice throughout, centering "construction crews" and "Public Works" as the subjects. That's not wrong grammatically, but it misses the point — commuters don't care who is acting; they care what is happening to the bridge. Choice B is grammatically confused: "construction crews are being replaced" implies the workers themselves are being swapped out, which distorts the meaning entirely — a significant factual error. Choice C makes the damaged deck the subject that "will cause" the closure, which is both awkward and misleading; the deck isn't the reason — the repair work is. A good strategy: when a question links passive voice to audience and purpose, ask yourself what the reader needs to prioritize. If the action matters more than the actor, passive voice is the appropriate tool. Don't automatically treat passive voice as a weakness — context determines correctness.

Question 7

An audit found that the department director personally decided not to act on repeated security warnings. Months later, electronic records connected with the warnings were automatically deleted under the agency's standard retention policy.

Which sentence uses active and passive voice most appropriately to preserve accountability for the decision while focusing on the later outcome?

  1. The warnings were ignored during the review, and the computer system automatically deleted the related electronic records.
  2. The department director was ignored by repeated warnings, and the related records were deleting under the retention policy.
  3. The department director ignored repeated warnings, and the related electronic records had automatically deleted under the policy.
  4. The department director ignored repeated warnings, and the related electronic records were later deleted automatically under the policy. (correct answer)
Explanation: When a question asks about active and passive voice in context, your job isn't just to spot grammatical correctness — it's to ask who should be visible in each clause and why. Accountability questions demand that human decision-makers appear as active subjects when they make choices, while systemic or automatic outcomes can appropriately appear in passive constructions. In this passage, two distinct events occurred: a person made a deliberate decision, and a routine process produced an outcome. The ideal sentence should reflect that distinction. Choice D does exactly this — "the department director ignored repeated warnings" uses active voice to pin responsibility squarely on a named individual, while "the related electronic records were later deleted automatically under the policy" shifts to passive voice appropriately, since the deletion was an impersonal, automated process rather than anyone's deliberate act. The word "later" also preserves the chronological clarity the passage requires. Choice A obscures accountability entirely by opening with "the warnings were ignored" — passive voice that erases the director from the sentence just when accountability matters most. Choice B is grammatically broken in two ways: logically, a person cannot "be ignored by warnings" (warnings don't do the ignoring), and "were deleting" is an incorrect verb form. Choice C gets the first clause right but then uses "had automatically deleted," which is both grammatically incorrect (the verb needs a passive construction — "had been deleted") and stylistically awkward. A useful strategy: whenever a passage establishes who made a consequential decision, the sentence describing that decision should use active voice with that person as the subject. Save passive voice for outcomes driven by systems, policies, or processes rather than individual choices.

Question 8

After inspectors declared an apartment garage unsafe, the city granted temporary street-parking permits to 120 displaced residents. A community newsletter wants to emphasize the residents who received assistance rather than the city department that processed the permits.

Which sentence best uses passive voice to establish the residents as the main topic without changing the meaning?

  1. Temporary street-parking permits were granted to the city after 120 displaced residents declared the garage unsafe.
  2. One hundred twenty displaced residents were granting temporary permits after inspectors had been declared unsafe.
  3. One hundred twenty displaced residents were granted temporary street-parking permits after the garage was declared unsafe. (correct answer)
  4. One hundred twenty displaced residents had granted temporary permits after the garage was declaring unsafe.
Explanation: When a question asks you to use passive voice to emphasize a particular subject, you need to think about two things simultaneously: who gets placed at the front of the sentence (the grammatical subject), and whether the passive construction is formed correctly. Passive voice follows the pattern: subject + a form of "to be" + past participle. The original sentence has the city acting and the residents receiving — so flipping to passive means the residents become the grammatical subject while still receiving the permits. Choice C does this precisely: "One hundred twenty displaced residents were granted temporary street-parking permits after the garage was declared unsafe." The residents lead the sentence, "were granted" is a correctly formed passive construction, and the meaning of the original scenario is fully preserved. This is your answer. Choice A fails immediately on meaning — it states the city received the permits after residents declared the garage unsafe, which reverses the logic of the passage entirely. Choice B contains a serious grammatical error: "inspectors had been declared unsafe" makes the inspectors the unsafe party, not the garage. It also uses "were granting," which is active progressive voice, not passive. Choice D uses "had granted," which is active voice with the residents doing the granting — the opposite of what passive requires — and "was declaring unsafe" is malformed. A reliable strategy: when checking passive voice, find the past participle and confirm it follows a "to be" verb (was, were, had been). Then check that the intended receiver of the action is at the front of the sentence. If both conditions are met and the meaning holds, you have correct passive voice.

Question 9

Inspectors identified several hazards during a site visit. The facility's safety committee later approved a revised safety plan. A draft report states: "The revised safety plan was approved after several hazards were identified by the committee."

Which revision uses passive voice while clearly identifying who performed each action?

  1. The revised safety plan was approved after the committee was identified by inspectors as presenting several hazards.
  2. After several hazards were identified by inspectors, the revised safety plan was approved by the committee. (correct answer)
  3. After the committee identified several hazards, inspectors were approved by the revised safety plan.
  4. Several hazards were identified after the revised safety plan had been approved by inspectors and the committee.
Explanation: When a question asks you to revise a sentence using passive voice while clearly identifying who performed each action, you need to check two things: (1) Is the verb construction passive (a form of "to be" + past participle)? and (2) Does each passive clause include a "by  " phrase naming the actor? Answer B does both successfully. "Several hazards were identified by inspectors" tells you who spotted the hazards, and "the revised safety plan was approved by the committee" tells you who approved it. Every passive construction has its actor named — no information is lost, and the chronological order from the original passage is preserved. Answer A fails because it says the committee "was identified by inspectors as presenting hazards," which completely distorts the meaning. In the original passage, inspectors identified hazards — not the committee itself. This revision introduces a logical error, not just a stylistic one. Answer C is nonsensical. It claims "inspectors were approved by the revised safety plan" — a document cannot approve people. This scrambles subject and object in a way that destroys the sentence's meaning entirely. Answer D reverses the timeline. The original passage states hazards were identified first, then the safety plan was approved. D says the plan was approved before hazards were identified, which contradicts the source material. A useful strategy: when evaluating passive voice revisions, trace each action back to its original actor in the passage and confirm the revised sentence still correctly assigns responsibility. Passive voice can hide actors — your job is to find choices that keep them visible.

Question 10

A public-health laboratory began testing water samples in January. Testing is still underway. As of today's reporting date, the laboratory has completed the analysis of 800 samples, and additional samples remain in the queue.

Which sentence best uses passive voice to emphasize the completed result while showing its relevance to the continuing project?

  1. To date, 800 water samples have been analyzed, and additional samples remain in the testing queue. (correct answer)
  2. By January, 800 water samples were analyzed, and additional samples had remained in the testing queue.
  3. To date, 800 water samples are being analyzed, while the remaining samples have completed the queue.
  4. Before testing began, 800 water samples had been analyzed, and additional samples were placed in the queue.
Explanation: When a question asks you to match verb tense and voice to a specific scenario, focus on three things: the grammatical construction (passive vs. active), the time reference the tense signals, and whether the sentence accurately reflects the situation described. Here, the passage establishes an ongoing project with a completed milestone as of today — so you need passive voice, present relevance, and accurate timing. Answer A does this perfectly. "Have been analyzed" is present perfect passive — it signals an action completed in the past with direct relevance to now, which mirrors "as of today's reporting date." "Remain in the testing queue" correctly shows the project is still ongoing. This is your answer. Answer B uses simple past passive ("were analyzed") and pins the action to "By January," implying the 800 samples were finished before January even ended. That contradicts the passage, which says testing began in January and is still underway. "Had remained" also uses past perfect incorrectly, suggesting the queue was already cleared — the opposite of what's described. Answer C uses "are being analyzed" (present progressive passive), which means the 800 samples are currently mid-analysis — not completed. It also states the remaining samples "have completed the queue," which reverses the actual situation and makes no logical sense. Answer D places the completed analysis before testing began, which is a direct contradiction of the passage. The past perfect "had been analyzed" signals action completed before another past event — illogical here since nothing was analyzed before testing started. Your takeaway: present perfect passive ("has/have been + past participle") is your go-to construction when you need to show a completed result that still matters right now.