Changing an active sentence to the passive should change its focus, not its timeline. A completed action must not become an ongoing one during the transformation.
The passive-formation sections in Writing Excellence in OET for Physiotherapists provide the basis for this short grammar practice.
Keep the original tense
A passive construction normally combines an appropriate form of be with the main verb's past participle. The form of be carries the tense and agrees with the new subject.
Original examples
“The tutor reviewed the letter yesterday” becomes “The letter was reviewed yesterday.”
“The tutor is reviewing the letter now” becomes “The letter is being reviewed now.”
These sentences describe different stages. “Was reviewed” does not preserve the meaning of the second example.
Check irregular participles
Write becomes written, give becomes given and take becomes taken. Do not use the past simple form after the passive auxiliary merely because the event happened in the past.
Correct the two errors
Draft: “The instructions was wrote yesterday.”
Revision: “The instructions were written yesterday.”
The plural subject needs “were,” and the passive needs “written.”
Keep the actor when needed
You can retain the person with a “by” phrase. If responsibility matters, an active sentence may be clearer than a passive that hides it.
Try three transformations using yesterday, now and already. Compare the new sentence with the original for timing, completion and responsibility before judging its style.
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Source: Grammar oet sp.epub, Jobins Training. Examples labelled original or illustrative were written for this article. Independent exam preparation; no affiliation with or endorsement by the examining body. Practice does not predict an official score.