Active and Passive Voice

Passive Voice
Active & Passive Voice

Active Voice Passive Voice
When using the active voice, the In the passive voice, the verb takes an object.
subjects are the ones performing O V S
the action. •All men | are loved | by God.
S V O •Nests | are built | by birds.
•God | loves |all men. •Bones | are eaten | by dog.
•Birds | build | nests.
•Dog | eats | bones.
These sentences are in passive voice.
In these three sentences the subject
does the action. Hence they are in the The Passive voice is used in English
active voice. (a) To stress the action done rather than the
doer of the action
(b) If the doer is unknown
(c) When it is more convenient.
Change of auxiliary verbs:
Infinitive To be washed
Simple present It is washed.
past It was washed.
future It will be washed.
conditional It would be washed.
Continuous present It is being washed.
past It was being washed.
future It will be being washed.
conditional It would be being washed.
Perfect present It has been washed.
simple past It had been washed.
future It will have been washed.
conditional It would have been washed.
Perfect present It has been being washed.
continuous past It had been being washed.
future It will have been being washed.
conditional It would have been being washed.
Change of Pronouns:
I me
we us
you you
he him
she her
it it
they them
Active to Passive Voice
Rules for changing Active Voice into Passive Voice:
•Identify the subject, the verb and the object: SVO

•Change the object into subject
•Put the suitable helping verb or auxiliary verb. In case helping verb
is given, use the same. But note that the helping verb given agrees
with the object.
•Change the verb into past participle of the verb.
•Add the preposition "by"
•Change the subject into object
Imperative sentences
If the given sentence in the active voice is in the imperative, to get the passive
voice use ‘Let’. Hence, Passive Voice = Let + Object + be + Past Participle
Help me Let me be helped
Open the door Let the door be opened

Don’t eat this fruit Let not this fruit be eaten
Sing a song Let a song be sung
Interrogative sentences
If the question in the active voice begins with a helping verb the passive voice
must also begin with a suitable helping verb. Supposing the question begins with
‘Wh or How’ form (what, when, how ...) the Passive Voice must begin with the same.

Are you writing a letter? Is a letter being written by you?
Is she beating the child? Is the child beaten by her?
Will the position be accepted by

Will you accept the position?
you?
If a sentence contains two objects namely indirect object and
direct object in the active voice, two forms of passive voice can be
formed.
 She brought me a cup of coffee. (AV)

• I was brought a cup of coffee by her. (PV) (or)
• A cup of coffee was brought [to] me by her. (PV)
The teacher teaches us grammar. (AV)

•We are taught grammar by the teacher. (PV) (or)
•Grammar is taught to us by the teacher. (PV)
Beware of complement
•They made him king. (AV)

He was made king by them. (PV)
Infinitive and Gerund :
•I want to shoot the tiger. (AV)
I want the tiger to be shot. (PV)
•I remember my father taking me to the theatre.
I remember being taken to the theatre by my father.
Passive to Active Voice
While changing passive voice into active voice, we
must keep in mind all the rules of the active voice
in the reverse order. we come across sentences in
the passive voice without subject or agent. in this
case, supply the appropriate subject.
To decide whether the given passive voice

sentence is in passive voice, any one of the
following constructions should be present.
1. is, was ,are, were, am + past participle

2. be + past participle
3. being + past participle
4. been + past participle
5. Let ...be + past participle
Passive to Active Voice
Passive Voice Active Voice
The thief was finally arrested The police finally arrested the thief
We were taught grammar The teacher taught us grammar
My purse has been stolen Somebody has stolen my purse
The patients were looked after The doctor looked after the patients
My pocket has been picked. Someone has picked my pocket.
Our army has been defeated. The enemy has defeated our army.
I shall be obliged to go. Circumstances will oblige me to go.

Impersonal Passive
Look at these two sentences:
•Last year, the Green-India scheme was announced by the Government.

•Rare plants are found in Silent Valley.
In the first sentence, the doer/agent is explicitly mentioned because the doer is
important in that sentence. But in the second sentence it is not so, because
either the agent or doer of the action is too obvious or unknown. The emphasis
is on the action or process or thing that is described. So the ‘by’ phrase is
generally omitted in these type of sentences. It is called Impersonal Passive.
Passive
•They say that might is right. (AV)

It is said that might is right. (PV)
•One finds mosquitoes everywhere. . (AV)

Mosquitoes are found everywhere. (PV)
•He gave us a drink. . (AV)

A drink was given to us. (PV)
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Passive Voice

Active & Passive Voice

•Identify the subject, the verb and the object: SVO

Active Voice Passive Voice

Help me Let me be helped

Open the door Let the door be opened

Active Voice Passive Voice

Is she beating the child? Is the child beaten by her?

Will the position be accepted by

 She brought me a cup of coffee. (AV)

The teacher teaches us grammar. (AV)

•They made him king. (AV)

To decide whether the given passive voice

1. is, was ,are, were, am + past participle

We were taught grammar The teacher taught us grammar

My purse has been stolen Somebody has stolen my purse

My pocket has been picked. Someone has picked my pocket.

I shall be obliged to go. Circumstances will oblige me to go.

•Last year, the Green-India scheme was announced by the Government.

•They say that might is right. (AV)

•One finds mosquitoes everywhere. . (AV)

•He gave us a drink. . (AV)

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