Present Simple Passive — Exercises on is made, are grown
Practice the present simple passive: is/are + past participle for processes, facts and routines, plus questions like 'Is breakfast included?'
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English ___ in many countries around the world.
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is spoken
English doesn't speak — people speak it. Passive: 'is' + past participle → 'is spoken'. 'Is speaking' would mean English itself is talking.
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Our office ___ every evening after everyone goes home.
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is cleaned
A regular action ('every evening') done to the office → present simple passive: 'is cleaned'. The office can't clean anything itself.
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Most of the vegetables in this shop ___ by local farmers.
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are grown
The subject is 'vegetables' (plural), so 'are'. The participle of 'grow' is 'grown' — 'grew' is the past simple.
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___ breakfast included in the price of the room?
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Is
Questions in the passive move 'be' to the front: 'Breakfast is included' → 'Is breakfast included?' 'Does' is for active verbs.
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Paper ___ from wood.
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is made
A general fact about how something is produced → present simple passive: 'is made'. Paper doesn't make anything, so the active forms are wrong.
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The names of the winners ___ at the end of every show.
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are announced
The subject is 'the names' (plural), not 'the winners' or 'the show' → 'are announced'. Someone announces them every time, so present simple passive.
The Present Simple Passive: is / are + Past Participle
The present simple passive describes things that are done regularly or that are generally true, when the action matters more than the person doing it: English is spoken in many countries, Paper is made from wood, Our office is cleaned every evening. It is the natural form for describing processes — how chocolate is made, how votes are counted, how a product is checked before it leaves a factory — because in a process the steps matter and the workers are obvious. The form is am, is or are plus the past participle, and be agrees with the real subject, which in a long noun phrase is not always the nearest noun: The names of the winners are announced, because the subject is names. Questions move be to the front — Is breakfast included? — and never use do or does, which belong only to active verbs.