Looking at language: active vs. passive

a)

Michael Owen presented the prizes. The prizes were presented by Michael Owen.

The active sentence is the first sentence where the subject is/was doing something, because Michael Owen is the subject and he presented the prize (=did something).

The passive sentence is the second sentence where an action is described (=prizes were presented). If you want to say who causes the action, you have to add "by" and an object (=by Michael Owen).

b)

The Lowry was opened in 2000.

It´s named after a famous painter.

Lowry’s paintings are shown in the galleries with other modern art.

In 1953 a competition for football art was held by the Football Association.

The first prize was won by L.S. Lowry…

Almost 900 entries were received and 100 were shown in the Lowry.

On 30 November the winners were announced and the prizes were presented by football star Michael Owen.

c)

is/are/am + past participle (present)

was/were + past participle (past)