We can express a sentence in two different voices: Active and Passive. The voice of a sentence shows whether the subject is performing the action (Active Voice) or receiving the action (Passive Voice). We will look at active and passive voices and their examples.
Active Voice: In Active Voice, the subject performs the action of the verb.
- The structure of an active sentence is:
Subject + Verb + Object
Sentence example: The teacher (subject) teaches (verb) the students (object).
Passive Voice: In Passive Voice, the subject receives the action of the verb.
- The structure of a passive sentence is
Object + Verb (in the past participle form) + “by” + Subject
Sentence example: The students (object) are taught (verb in past participle form) by the teacher (subject).
To convert a sentence from active to passive voice, follow these steps:
- Identify the subject, verb, and object in the active sentence.
- Then, we move the object to the beginning of the sentence.
- After this, we need to change the verb to its past participle form.
- Then, we add “by” followed by the subject (doer) of the action.
Sentence Example:
Active: The chef (subject) prepares (verb) delicious meals (object).
Passive: Delicious meals (object) are prepared (verb in past participle form) by the chef (subject).
Conversion Rules for Tenses
1. Present Tense
Simple Present Tense:
Active Voice: Subject + Verb (base form) + Object
Passive Voice: Object + is/are + Past Participle + (by Subject)
Example:
Active: She writes novels.
Passive: Novels are written by her.
Present Continuous Tense:
Active Voice: Subject + is/are + Verb (-ing form) + Object
Passive Voice: Object + is/are being + Past Participle + (by Subject)
Example:
Active: They are building a house.
Passive: A house is being built by them.
Present Perfect Tense:
Active Voice: Subject + has/have + Past Participle + Object
Passive Voice: Object + has/have been + Past Participle + (by Subject)
Example:
Active: He has completed the task.
Passive: The task has been completed by him.
Present Perfect Continuous Tense:
Active Voice: Subject + has/have been + Verb (-ing form) + Object
Passive Voice: Object + has/have been being + Past Participle + (by Subject)
Example:
Active: They have been painting the room.
Passive: The room has been painted by them.
2. Past Tense
Simple Past Tense:
Active Voice: Subject + Verb (past form) + Object
Passive Voice: Object + was/were + Past Participle + (by Subject)
Example:
Active: The chef prepared a delicious meal.
Passive: A delicious meal was prepared by the chef.
Past Continuous Tense:
Active Voice: Subject + was/were + Verb (-ing form) + Object
Passive Voice: Object + was/were being + Past Participle + (by Subject)
Example:
Active: They were fixing the car.
Passive: The car was being fixed by them.
Past Perfect Tense:
Active Voice: Subject + had + Past Participle + Object
Passive Voice: Object + had been + Past Participle + (by Subject)
Example:
Active: She had finished the work.
Passive: The work had been finished by her.
Past Perfect Continuous Tense:
Active Voice: Subject + had been + Verb (-ing form) + Object
Passive Voice: Object + had been being + Past Participle + (by Subject)
Example:
Active: I had been teaching English.
Passive: English had been being taught by me.
3. Future Tense
Simple Future Tense:
Active Voice: Subject + will + Verb (base form) + Object
Passive Voice: Object + will be + Past Participle + (by Subject)
Example:
Active: She will write a poem.
Passive: A poem will be written by her.
Future Continuous Tense:
Active Voice: Subject + will be + Verb (-ing form) + Object
Passive Voice: Object + will be being + Past Participle + (by Subject)
Example:
Active: They will be painting the house.
Passive: The house will be being painted by them.
Future Perfect Tense:
Active Voice: Subject + will have + Past Participle + Object
Passive Voice: Object + will have been + Past Participle + (by Subject)
Example:
Active: He will have completed the project.
Passive: The project will have been completed by him.
Future Perfect Continuous Tense:
Active Voice: Subject + will have been + Verb (-ing form) + Object
Passive Voice: Object + will have been being + Past Participle + (by Subject)
Example:
Active: They will have been working on this assignment.
Passive: This assignment will have been being worked on by them.
Common Mistakes
- Avoid changing the meaning of the sentence when converting between active and passive voice.
- Be careful with the tense of the verb while converting.
- Passive voice is not always necessary; use it when the focus is on the receiver of the action rather than the doer.
To convert a sentence from Passive to Active Voice:
- Identify the subject, verb, and doer (subject following “by”) in the passive sentence.
- Move the doer (subject following “by”) to the beginning of the sentence.
- Change the verb from its past participle form to the corresponding active verb.
- Remove “by” and the subject from the end of the sentence.
Sentence Example:
Passive: The movie (object) was watched (verb in past participle form) by the audience (subject).
Active: The audience (subject) watched (verb) the movie (object).
Question: Change the following sentences from active voice to passive voice.
- The chef prepares delicious meals.
- The students are writing an essay.
- The company will launch a new product.
- The gardener waters the plants every morning.
- The mechanic fixed the car.
Answers:
- Delicious meals are prepared by the chef.
- An essay is being written by the students.
- A new product will be launched by the company.
- The plants are watered by the gardener every morning.
- The car was fixed by the mechanic.