Active And Passive Voice By Digital English
Active And Passive Voice is an important English grammar. Here I have explained it step by step. I hope if you read the article carefully and follow the rules, you must learn voice change. I have taught many students and have teaching experience for more than 12 years.
- What is voice change?
Changing the meaning of a sentence from one sentence to another without changing its meaning is called Active Voice.
- What is active voice?
A sentence in which the subject is main and the verb follows the person of the subject is called the active voice.
- What is passive voice?
A sentence in which the object is main and the verb is formed according to the person of the object is called Passive Voice.
Active And Passive Voice [Affirmative Sentence]
Chart and Table of Voice Change
| No | Active | Passive |
| 01. | Eat/eats | Am/is/are + eaten |
| 02. | Am/is/are + eating | Am/ is/are + being eaten |
| 03. | Have/has +eaten | Have/has + been+ eaten |
| 04. | Ate | Was/were |
| 05. | Was/were + eating | Was/ were + being + eaten |
| 06. | Had + eaten | Had + been +eaten |
| 07. | Shall/will + eat | Shall/will +be + eaten |
| 08. | Shall/will + have + eaten | Shall/will + have + been + eaten |
| 09. | Can/ could/ may/ might/ should/ would/ must/ ought to / used to/ + eat | Can/ could/ may/ might/ should/ would/ must/ ought to / used to/+be + eaten |
Example:
Active: I eat two mangoes.
Passive: Two mangoes are eaten by me.
Active: I am writing a letter.
Passive: A letter is being written by me.
Active: You have bought a camera.
Passive: A camera has been bought by you.
Active: The cat killed a rat.
Passive: A rat was killed by the cat.
Active: They were cooking meat.
Passive: Meat was being cooked by them.
Active: She had washed the clothes.
Passive: The clothes had been washed by her.
Active: We shall sell the old house.
Passive: The old house will be sold by us.
Active: Mina will have seen the Tajmahal.
Passive: The Tajmahal will have been seen by Mina.
Active: You can sing a song.
Passive: A song can be sung by you.
Active: We should plant trees.
Passive: Trees should be planted by us.
| If you want to learn voice change of Affirmative Sentences in detail, click here….. |
Active and Passive Voice (Negative Sentences)in Table
Chart of Voice Change [Negative Sentences]
| No | Active | Passive |
| 01. | Do/Does not + eat | Am/is/are + not + eaten |
| 02. | Am/is/are + not + eating | Am/ is/are + not + being eaten |
| 03. | Have/has + not + eaten | Have/has + not + been+ eaten |
| 04. | Did + not + eat | Was/were + not + eaten |
| 05. | Was/were + not + eating | Was/ were + not + being + eaten |
| 06. | Had + not + eaten | Had + not + been +eaten |
| 07. | Shall/will + not + eat | Shall/will + not + be + eaten |
| 08. | Shall/will + not + have+ eaten | Shall/will + not + have + been + eaten |
| 09. | Can/ could/ may/ might/ should/ would/ must/ ought to / use to/ + not + eat | Can/ could/ may/ might/ should/ would/ must/ ought to / use to/+ not + be + eaten |
Example:
Active: Rahul does not take a cup of coffee daily.
Passive: A cup of coffee is not taken daily by Rahul.
Active: I am not writing a letter.
Passive: A letter is not being written by me.
Active: You have not bought a camera.
Passive: A camera has not been bought by you.
Active: The cat did not kill a rat.
Passive: A rat was not killed by the cat.
Active: They were not cooking meat.
Passive: Meat was not being cooked by them.
Active: She had not washed the clothes.
Passive: The clothes had not been washed by her.
Active: We shall not sell the old house.
Passive: The old house will not be sold by us.
Active: Mina will not have seen the Tajmahal.
Passive: The Tajmahal will not have been seen by Mina.
Active: You can not sing a song.
Passive: A song can not be sung by you.
Active: We should not plant trees.
Passive: Trees should not be planted by us.
Active: She might not use my scale.
Passive: My scale might not be used by her.
| If you want to learn voice change of Negative Sentences in detail, click here….. |
Interrogative Sentences [Active And Passive Voice]
The interrogative sentence is two kinds.
Yes/No or without wh-words interrogative sentence
With wh-words interrogative sentence
-
Yes/No or without wh-words Interrogative Sentences
These types of interrogative sentences always give the answer “Yes/No”.
In these sentences of active voice, the helping verb is always at the start or before the subject and we notice the question mark at the end. In the case of passive voice, we will put the helping verb before the subject or starting the sentence and the interrogation mark at the end of the sentence.
Example:
Active: Do you like tea?
Passive: Is tea liked by you?
Active: Does he play cricket?
Passive: Is cricket played by him?
Active: Could you cross the river?
Passive: Could the river be crossed by you?
Active: Did Mahan take coffee?
Passive: Was coffee taken by Mahan?
Active: Will you borrow the phone?
Passive: Will the phone be borrowed by you?
Active: Has he completed the homework?
Passive: Has the homework been completed by him?
Active: Can you build a house?
Passive: Can a house be built by you?
Active: Should they miss the train?
Passive: Should the train be missed by them?
-
Interrogative Sentences with Wh-words
We can not give the answer to these types of interrogative sentences with “Yes/No”. The answers to those kinds of questions are narrative.
There are some different rules of voice change of interrogative sentences with wh-words. Read the examples, I have given below.
Example:
Active: What are you looking for?
Passive: What is being looked for by you?
Active: What can she do?
Passive: What can be done by her?
Active: Which shirt has she washed?
Passive: Which shirt has been washed by her?
Active: Whose purse should you return?
Passive: Whose purse should be returned by you?
Active: When are you planting the tree?
Passive: When is the tree being planted by you?
Active: Where will Gopal start a new business?
Passive: Where will a new business be started by Gopal?
Active: Why were you asking the question repeatedly?
Passive: Why was the question being asked repeatedly by you?
Active: How many times do you practise spoken English?
Passive: How many times is Spoken English practised by you?
If we notice the sentence begins with “Who” in the active voice, the term “Who” will turn into “By whom” in the passive voice.
Again if we find the sentence starts with “Whom” in active voice, the word “Whom” will turn into “Who”.
Active: Who broke the glass?
Passive: By whom was the glass broken?
Active: Who wrote Gitanjali?
Passive: By whom was Gitanjali written?
Active: Whom do you love?
Passive: Who is loved by you?
Active: Whom are you teaching English?
Passive: Who is being taught English by you?
| If you want to learn voice change of Interrogative Sentences in detail, click here….. |
Imperative Sentences [Active And Passive Voice]
Order/Command
If we get order or command in the imperative sentence of active voice, and the verb is transitive, the below rules are suitable.
Affirmative: Let + Object + be + V-3.
Negative: Let + not + Object + be + V-3.
Example:
Active: Shut the door.
Passive: Let the door be shut.
Active: Submit the form.
Passive: Let the form be submitted.
Active: Do not pluck flowers.
Passive: Let not flowers be plucked.
Active: Do not waste time.
Passive: Let not time be wasted.
Advice/Suggestion
If we find advice and a transitive verb in the imperative sentence of active voice, we should follow the below rule.
Object + should + be + V-3.
Example:
Active: Take medicine on time.
Passive: Medicine should be taken on time.
Active: Always speak the truth.
Passive: The truth should be always spoken.
Active: Never tell a lie.
Passive: A lie should be never told.
If the verb is intransitive, the below rules are applicable.
For Affirmative Sentences
You are told to …………..
You are ordered to ……………
You are advised to …………..
Example:
Active: Come in.
Passive: You are told to come in.
Active: Go to bed.
Passive: You are ordered to go to bed.
Active: Speak clearly.
Passive: You are told to speak clearly
For Negative Sentences
You are told not to …………..
You are ordered not to ……………
You are advised not to …………..
Example:
Active: Don’t talk.
Passive: You are told not to talk.
Active: Don’t play here.
Passive: You are ordered not to play here.
Active: Don’t talk much.
Passive: You are ordered not to talk much.
Request
If we find a request in the active voice of imperative sentences, we must follow the below rules.
The imperative sentence starts or ends with “Please/Kindly”.
Affirmative: You are requested to …………….
Negative: You are requested not to …………….
Example:
Active: Please help me.
Passive: You are requested to help me.
Active: Don’t pluck flowers, please.
Passive: You are requested not to pluck flowers.
Active: Please come to the point.
Passive: You are requested to come to the point.
| If you want to learn voice change of Imperative Sentences in detail, click here….. |
Active and Passive Voice Imperative Sentence with “Let”
If the active voice of an imperative sentence begins with “Let”, the following rule is used to change the sentence into passive.
Voice Change Rule: Let + Object (Nonliving) + V-3 + by + Object (Living).
- Write “Let”
- Nonliving object
- Past Participle of the verb
- “By” preposition
- Living object
Example:
Active: Let me do the work now.
Passive: Le the work be done by me now.
Active: Let us forget the matter.
Passive: Let the matter be forgotten by us.
Active: Let me give the chance.
Passive: Let the chance be given by me.
| If you want to learn voice change of Imperative Sentences with “Let”in detail, click here….. |
Optative Sentences [Active And Passive Voice]
When we do voice change of optative sentence, at first we write “May” then object, “Be” then the past participle form of the verb then “By” and subject.
Rule: May + Object +be + V-3 + by + Subject.
Example:
Active: May God bless you.
Passive: May you be blessed by God.
Active: May they win the match.
Passive: May the match be won by them.
Active: May he buy a car.
Passive: May a car be bought by him.
| If you want to learn voice change of Optative Sentences in detail, click here….. |
Complex Sentences [Active And Passive Voice]
There are several rules of voice change in complex sentences. Read the examples.
There are two parts to the complex sentence. The first is the principal clause and the second is the subordinate clause. You have to change the active voice of the principal clause and subordinate clause into the passive voice according to the situation.
Example:
Active: I know that she will sing a song.
Passive: That a song will be sung by her is known to me.
Or
It is known to me that a song will be sung by her.
Active: They consider that he is honest.
Passive: It is considered by them that he is honest.
Active: You want that I welcome it.
Passive: That I welcome is wanted by you.
| If you want to learn voice change of Complex Sentences in detail, click here….. |
Quasi-Passive with Complement [Active And Passive Voice]
If we find a complement in the quasi-passive voice, we must follow the below rule.
- Removing the main verb.
- Put a be verb (am/is/are) in the place of the main verb.
- Follow the structure When + it + be verb (am/is/are) + Past Participle form of main verb (V3).
Example:
Active: The bed feels soft.
Passive: The bed is soft when it is felt.
Active: Stone feels hard.
Passive: Stone is hard when it is felt hard.
Active: The book reads well.
Passive: The book is well when it is read.
Active: The rose smells sweet.
Passive: The rose is sweet when it is smelt.
| If you want to learn voice change of Quasi-Passive with Complement in detail, click here….. |
Quasi-Passive without Complement [Active And Passive Voice]
If we do not find a complement in the quasi-passive voice, we have to follow a different rule.
Rules:
We use “Being” after the helping verb and then the past participle form of the verb at the time of voice change of those sentences.
Example:
Active: The book is printing.
Passive: The book is being printed.
Active: The cows are milking.
Passive: The cows are being milked.
Active: The house is building.
Passive: The house is being built.
Active: The book is printing.
Passive: The book is being printed
| If you want to learn voice change of Quasi-Passive without Complement in detail, click here….. |
Without By Preposition [Active And Passive Voice]
In the passive voice, we normally use “By” prepositions before subject or doer. But there are some verbs that do not follow the “By” preposition that follow different prepositions. I have given the verbs and prepositions in the box.
List of the verbs
|
Verb |
Preposition |
| Marry, know |
To |
| Alarm, surprise, annoy, shock |
At |
| Interest, pleased, change, offend, disgust |
With |
| Contain |
With/In |
Example:
Active: The dust covers the table.
Passive: The table is covered with dust.
Active: The matter interested the girl.
Passive: The girl was interested in the matter.
Active: I know the boy.
Passive: The boy is known to me.
| If you want to learn voice change without the “By” Preposition in detail, click here….. |
Passive Voice to Active without Doer/ Subject/ Agent
Many times we notice that who has completed the work is not mentioned in passive voice.
When we change the passive voice into the active voice, we have to mention the subject. But there is no particular rule to select the subject. We can use one, someone, people, they, circumstance and so on as a subject depending on the situation.
Example:
Passive: Traffic rules should be obeyed.
Active: People should obey traffic rules.
Passive: They were misguided.
Active: Someone misguided them.
Passive: He was misguided.
Active: Someone misguided him.
Passive: I was robbed on the way.
| If you want to learn voice change without Doer/Subject/ Agent in detail, click here….. |
Active Voice with Two Objects
We get sometimes two objects in a sentence of active voice. But most of the students get nervous and they cannot understand which object they will write first in passive voice. I hope you will quickly understand the matter if you read the examples.
- Object (Living or nonliving)
- Helping Verb (Tense wise)
- Past Participle Form of Verb (V3)
- Object (Living or nonliving)
- By Preposition
- Subject
Example:
Active: He gave me a book.
Passive: A book was given me by him. / I was given a book by him.
Active: Biplab teaches us English.
Passive: English is taught us by Biplab./ We are taught English by Biplab.
Active: My mother told us the story.
Passive: We were told the story by my mother.
| If you want to learn voice change Active Voice with two objects in detail, click here….. |
Active Voice with Phrasal Verb
If we find a phrasal verb or group verb in the active voice, we should use the phrasal verb in the proper way.
All the basic rules of voice change are followed when we change active voice with phrasal verbs into passive voice. Only we should remember that the prepositions with the verb are not rejected or changed its place.
Example
Active: We should not look down upon the poor.
Passive: The poor should not be looked down upon by us.
Here “Look down upon” is a phrasal verb or group verb in an active sentence. If you look at the phrasal verb, you will find prepositions with verbs like down and upon. The place of the proposition is not changed or rejected.
More Examples:
Active: The boy laughed at the bagger.
Passive: The bagger was laughed at by the boy.
Active: She spoke to me.
Passive: I was spoken to by her.
Active: Call in the doctor.
Passive: Let the doctor be called in.
Active: The bus ran over a dog.
Passive: A dog was run over by the bus.
Active: I send for the doctor.
Passive: The doctor is sent for by me.
| If you want to learn voice change Active Voice with Phrasal Verbs or Group verbs in detail, click here….. |
Active and Passive Voice with Infinitive
If we find an infinitive in the active voice, we should follow three rules according to the sentences.
Rule No. 01
Object + helping verb + to + be + V-3 + by + subject.
Active: Gopal was to sell his mobile.
Passive: His mobile was to be sold by Gopal.
Rule No. 02
There + be verb + N/P + to + be + v-3.
Active: There is no time to think.
Passive: There is no time to be thought.
Rule No. 03
It + be verb + ______ for + _____ to + be + V-3.
Active: It is time to take breakfast.
Passive: It is time for breakfast to be taken.
Example:
Active: You have to do this sum.
Passive: This sum has to be done by you.
Active: You have to do the work.
Passive: The work has to be done by you.
Active: I have to help you.
Passive: You have to be helped by me.
Active: Gopal was to sell his mobile.
Passive: His mobile was to be sold by Gopal.
Active: I had to invite him.
Passive: He had to be invited by me.
Active: I have to admit my mistake.
Passive: My mistake has to be admitted by me.
Reflexive Object in the Active Voice
If you find a “Reflexive Object” in an active voice, the reflexive object is not used in the passive voice as a subject. In this case, we use be verb according to tense and write the “by” preposition before the reflexive object.
Rule: Subject + be verb + past participle of the main verb (V3) + by + reflexive object.
Example:
Active: He killed himself.
Passive: He was killed by himself.
Active: They punish themselves.
Passive: They are punished by themselves.
Active: She will beat herself.
Passive: She will be beaten by herself.
Read More:
- 600 + Narration Change Exercise
- Narration Change
- Voice change
- Type of sentence
- Degree Change
- All Conditional Sentences
- Transformation of Sentences [Affirmative to Negative]
- Transformation of sentences [Simple, Complex and Compound]
If you think that this article (Active And Passive Voice) is good and necessary, you can share it with your friends and relatives through social media like WhatsApp, Facebook and Messenger. Thank you! – Prakash sir
