Looking for a fun and engaging grammar game to teach or revisit active and passive verbs with pupils in Year 6?
This pack contains a loop card game that is perfect for a whole class or small groups to develop their understanding of active and passive verbs. This simple game asks pupils to find the same sentence written using a passive verb and vice versa, with each card having an answer and a new question. There are 32 cards, allowing the game to be played by the whole class as a starter activity to revisit previous learning or groups could create the loop as part of a main teaching activity on contracted words.
Once the resource is created, it can be used time and time again to revisit this area of learning as part of whole class teaching or an intervention for pupils who may need further support.
What are active and passive verbs?
A verb can be active or passive depending on its relationship to the subject. This is also sometimes referred to as using the active or passive voice. Most sentences use active verbs.
When the verb is active, the subject of the sentence completes the action.
- Mike ate all the biscuits.
In this sentence, Mike is eating the biscuits. Mike is the subject in the sentence and the word ate is an active verb.
When the verb is passive, the subject is having the action done to it. It is used to focus on what is happening rather than who is completing the action.
- The biscuits were eaten by Mike.
In this sentence, the focus is on what was eaten (the biscuits). The subject is the word biscuits and the words were eaten form a passive verb.
The subject and object in the active sentence have changed positions and the past tense form of the verb plus the verb form for ‘to be’ is used (were eaten).
The original subject in the active sentence becomes the object using the preposition by (by Mike). Sometimes this can be removed. (The biscuits were eaten.)
National Curriculum programme of study links
Year 5/6
- Pupils should be taught to develop their understanding of the concepts set out in English Appendix 2 by using passive verbs to affect the presentation of information in a sentence.