Past Simple Passive — Exercises on was built, were taken
Practice the past simple passive: was/were + past participle for finished events, irregular participles and questions like 'When was it built?'
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The Eiffel Tower ___ in 1889.
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was built
'In 1889' is finished past time, so 'be' goes into the past: 'was built'. Without 'was' the tower would be doing the building.
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My bike ___ outside the station last night.
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was stolen
Passive = 'was' + past participle. The participle of 'steal' is 'stolen', not 'stole' (that's the past simple). 'Stolen' alone has no 'be', so it isn't a full verb.
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Two people ___ to hospital after the accident on the motorway.
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were taken
'Two people' is plural → 'were'. The participle of 'take' is 'taken'; 'took' is the past simple and can't follow 'were'.
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When ___ penicillin discovered?
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was
'When' asks about a finished time → past simple passive. The question form puts 'was' before the subject: 'When was it discovered?' 'Has' doesn't go with 'when'.
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The old castle ___ by fire in 1720.
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was destroyed
'In 1720' is a finished past time → 'was destroyed'. Present perfect can't go with an exact past date, and 'destroyed by fire' without 'was' isn't a full sentence.
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These photos ___ by my grandfather more than fifty years ago.
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were taken
'Ago' → past simple; 'photos' is plural → 'were'. Then the participle 'taken', not the past form 'took'.
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A family chocolate factory
The Brown Bean chocolate factory {1} in 1923 by two brothers in a small town in the north of England. At first, all the chocolate {2} by hand in a small kitchen, and it {3} only to people in the town. Today the factory is much bigger, but some things haven't changed. The cocoa beans {4} from Ghana and Ecuador, and then they {5} in the factory at a low temperature to keep their flavour. Every single bar {6} by a member of staff before it leaves the factory. In the last few years, the old building {7}, and a café {8} next to it, so visitors can now see how chocolate is made and then taste it.
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1. was founded — 'In 1923' is finished past time, and someone founded the factory → past simple passive 'was founded'.
2. was made — 'At first' points to the past, and people made the chocolate by hand → 'was made'.
3. was sold — 'It' (the chocolate) is singular → 'was sold', not 'were sold'. Someone sold it to people in the town.
4. are imported — This is how things work today → present simple passive. 'The cocoa beans' is plural → 'are imported'.
5. are roasted — A regular step in the process today, done to the beans (plural) → 'are roasted'.
6. is checked — 'Every single bar' is singular, and it happens every time → present simple passive 'is checked'.
7. has been renovated — 'In the last few years' + a result now → present perfect passive. The building didn't renovate anything, so not 'has renovated'.
8. has been built — A recent change with a result now (the café is there) → present perfect passive 'has been built'.
The Past Simple Passive: was / were + Past Participle
The past simple passive describes finished past events when the result or the thing affected is the focus: The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889, My bike was stolen last night, These photos were taken more than fifty years ago. It is the passive of history, biography and news, where dates and results matter and the people involved are often unknown or unimportant. The form is was or were plus the past participle, and two errors dominate. The first is using the past simple instead of the participle with irregular verbs — was wrote, were took — because the two forms differ and the past simple feels more “past”. The second is leaving be in the present when a past time expression such as in 1990 or ago is in the sentence. The tense lives in was and were, not in the participle.