What is Active voice?
It is a form or set of forms of a verb in which “the subject is typically the person or thing performing the action and which can take a direct object”.
Example:
He loved her very much. (Subject: He)
The dog ate the bone. (Subject: dog)
In the above example, the focus is on the subject which performs the action or which plays the main role.
What is Passive voice?
“Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action”. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.
Example:
She was loved by him. (Object: she)
The bone was eaten by the dog. (Object: bone)
On comparison, the above example focuses on the action and the state of objects (like ‘the bones’ and ‘she’).
Active and Passive voice rules and usage for all the tenses: –
English learners or non-native speakers often find arduous, when get a crossing this topic. Almost, all the competitive exams contain questions based on it. So, every candidate must be having a good command over such topics to get placed with a good rank. English has now been an essential part of every competitive exam and grammar being its core.
Based on the above definition, in ‘Active Voice’, a sentence emphasizes subject performing an action while in Passive Voice sentence emphasizes the action or the object of the sentence.
To know how a sentence is converted in Passive voice from Active voice, we need to go through certain rules with examples based on it.
(i) Rules for Simple present tense:
Common rule: [auxiliary verb- is/am/are]
- [Subject + V1 + s/es + object] – Active voice (Declarative)
Example:
She cooks Apple pie.
- [Object+ is/am/are+ V3+ by + subject] – Passive voice
Example:
The Apple pie is cooked by her.
- [Subject + Do/does+ not + V1 + Object]- Active voice (Negative)
Example:
She does not cook Apple pie.
- [Object + is/am/are+ not + V3+ by Subject] – Passive voice
Example:
The Apple pie is not cooked by her.
- [Does/Do+ Subject+ V1+Object+?] – Active voice (Interrogative)
Example:
Does he read books? or
Do they read books?
- [Is/am/are + Object+ V3+ by subject +?] – Passive voice
Example:
Are the books read by him? or
Are the books read by them?
More examples: –
- She grows cactus. (Active)
- The cactus is grown by her. (Passive)
- He teaches me French. (Active)
- I am taught French by him. (Passive)
(ii) Rules for Present continuous tense:
Common rule: [Auxiliary verb – is/am/are + being]
- [Subject + is/am/are+ v1+ ing + object] – Active voice (Declarative)
Example:
Sharon is playing a guitar.
- [Object+ is/am/are+ being+ V3+ by + subject]
Example:
A guitar is being played by Sharon.
- [Subject + is/am/are+ not+ v1+ ing+ object] – Active voice (Negative)
Example:
Alia is not doing her homework.
- [Object + is/am/are+ not + being+V3+ by Subject] – Passive voice
Example:
The homework is not being done by Alia.
- [Is/am/are+ subject+v1+ing + object+?] – Active voice (Interrogative)
Example:
Is Reena cooking noodles?
- [Is/am/are + Object+ V3+ by subject +?] – passive voice
Example:
Are the noodles being cooked by Reena?
More examples:
- They are cleaning their house. (Active)
- Their house is being cleaned by them. (Passive)
- She is distributing chocolates. (Active)
- The chocolates are being distributed by her. (Passive)
(iii) Rules for Present perfect tense:
Common rule: [Auxiliary Verb- has/have +been]
- [Subject + has/have+ v3+ object] – Active voice (Declarative)
Example:
Ravi has changed his plans.
- [Object+ has/have+ been+ V3+ by + subject] – Passive voice
Example:
The plan has been changed by Ravi.
- [Subject + has/have+ not+ v3+ object] – Active voice (Negative)
Example:
I have not submitted my assignment.
- [Object + has/have+ not + been+V3+ by Subject] – Passive voice
Example:
The assignment has not been submitted by me.
- [Has/have+ subject+ v3 + object+?] – Active voice (Interrogative)
Example:
Have they finished their work?
- [Has/Have + Object+ been+V3+ by subject +?] – Passive voice
Example:
Has the work been finished by them?
More examples:
- She has cleaned the entire house. (Active)
- The entire house has been cleaned by her. (Passive)
- I have read the newspaper. (Active)
- The newspaper has been read by me. (Passive)
(iv) Rules for Simple past tense:
Common rule: [Auxiliary Verb- was/were]
- [Subject + V2+ object] – Active voice (Declarative)
Example:
Sita spilled the water.
- [Object+ was/were V3+ by + subject] – Passive voice
Example:
The water was spilled by Sita.
- [Subject +did+ not+v1+ object] – Active voice (Negative)
Example:
She did not clean the room.
- [Object + was/were+ not +V3+ by Subject] – Passive voice
Example:
The room was not cleaned by her.
- [Did+ subject+V1+ object+?] – Active voice (Interrogative)
Example:
Did Ram complete his assignments?
- [Was/were + Object+ V3+ by subject +?]
Example:
Were the assignments completed by Ram?
More examples:
- My father paid the bills. (Active voice)
- The bills were paid by my father. (Passive voice)
- My cousin bought a new car. (Active voice)
- A new car was bought by my cousin. (Passive voice)
(v) Rules for Past Continuous Tense:
Common rule: [Auxiliary Verb- was/were + being]
- [Subject + was/were + v1+ing+ object] – Active voice (Declarative)
Example:
My father was planting new saplings.
- [Object+ was/were +being+V3+ by + subject] – Passive voice
Example:
New saplings were being planted by my father.
- [Subject +was/were+ not+v1+ing + object] – Active voice (Negative)
Example:
They were not painting the wall.
- [Object + was/were+ not +being+V3+ by Subject] – Passive voice
Example: The wall was not being painted by them.
- [Was/were+ Subject + V1+ing + object+?] – Active voice (Interrogative)
Example:
Were you singing a song?
- [Was/were + Object+ being+v3+ by+ subject+?]
Example:
Was a song being sung by you?
More examples:
- I was baking cookies. (Active)
- The cookies were being baked by me. (Passive)
- They were watering the plants. (Active)
- The plants were being watered by them. (Passive)
(vi) Rules for Past Perfect Tense: –
Common rule: [Auxiliary Verb- had +been]
- [Subject + had + v3+ object] – Active voice (Declarative)
Example:
Leela had forgotten her passport.
- [Object+ had +been +V3+ by + subject] – Passive voice
Example:
The passport had been forgotten by Leela
- [Subject +had+ not+v3+ object] – Active voice (Negative)
Example:
She had not received her certificates.
- [Object + had+ not +been+V3+ by Subject] – Passive voice
Example:
The certificates had not been received by her.
- [Had+ Subject + V3+ object+?] – Active voice (Interrogative)
Example:
Had they submitted their files?
- [Had + Object+ been+v3+ by+ subject+?] – Passive voice
Example:
Had the files been submitted by them?
More examples:
- My father had paid the bills. (Active)
- The bills had been paid by my father. (Passive)
- Had she brought the tickets? (Active)
- Had the tickets been brought by her? (Passive)
(vii)Rules for Future Simple Tense:
Common rule: [Auxiliary Verb- will+ be]
- [Subject + will+ v1+ object] – Active voice (Declarative)
Example:
My sister will cook lunch today.
- [Object+ will+ be +V3+ by + subject]- Passive voice
Example:
The lunch will be cooked by my sister.
- [Subject +will + not+ V1+object] – Active voice (Negative)
Example:
Manoj will not use his spectacles.
- [Object + will+ not +be+V3+ by Subject] – Passive voice
Example:
The spectacles will not be used by Manoj.
- [Will+ Subject + V1+ object+?] – Active voice (Interrogative)
Example:
Will you clean the garden?
- [Will + Object+ be +v3+ by+ subject+?] – Passive voice
Example:
Will the garden be cleaned by you?
More examples:
- She will send the email. (Active)
- The email will be sent by her. (Passive)
- They will cut the wood. (Active)
- The wood will be cut by them. (Passive)
(viii) Rules for Future Perfect Tense:
- [Subject + will+ have +v3+ object] – Active voice (Declarative)
Example:
They will have bought the tickets
- [Object+ will+ have+ been +V3+ by + subject] – (Passive)
Example:
The tickets will have bought by them.
- [Subject + will+ have +not+v3+ object] – Active voice (Negative)
Example:
Sita will not have changed her plan.
- [Object + will+ have +not+been+v3+ by + subject] – Passive voice
Example: –
The plan will not have been changed by Sita.
- [Will+ Subject+have+v3+ object+?] – Active voice (Interrogative)
Example:
Will she have sent a letter?
- [Will + object+have+been+v3+by +subject+?] – Passive voice
Example:
Will the letter have been sent by her?
More examples:
- He will have won the match. (Active)
- The match will have been won by him. (Passive)
- Ram will have washed the car. (Active)
- The car will have been washed by Ram. (Passive)
There are certain tenses which doesn’t contain Passive formation. They are as follows:
1) Present Perfect Continuous Tense
2) Past Perfect Continuous Tense
3) Future Perfect Continuous Tense
4) Future Continuous Tense
Following the above set of rules, ‘Active voice’ and ‘Passive voice’ sentences can be individually framed as well as converted.