ACTIVE
VOICE AND PASSIVE VOICE
There are two basic rules for converting sentences from active to
passive which are common for all tenses.
1 the places of subject and object will be interchanged
2 only third form of the verb or past participle can be used in the
passive form of sentences
3 Present perfect continuous, past perfect continuous, future
continuous, future perfect continuous, and sentence with intransitive verbs
can’t be changed into passive form
See the below tabular column
PASSIVE FORM OF SENTENCES FOR ALL TENSES
S.NO ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE
1 he writes a
letter a
letter is written by him
2 he does not
write a a
letter is not written by him
3 does he write a
letter? is the
letter written by him?
4 they sell the
books books are sold by them
5 she is singing a
song a song is being sung by her
6 she is not
singing a song a song is not being sung by her
7 is she singing a
song? is
the song being sung by her?
8 they are eating
apples apples
are being eaten by them
9 he has completed
the work the work has been completed by him
10 he has not
completed the work a work has not been completed by him
11 has he completed
the work? has the work been completed by him?
12 she has written
five poems five poems have been written by her
13 I have made some
cakes some cakes have been made by me
14 he bought a car a car was bought by him
15 he did not buy a
car a car was not bought by him
16 did he buy a car? was a
car bought by him?
17 she decorated the
walls the
walls were decorated by her
18 she was washing a
shirt a shirt was being washed by her
19 she was not
washing a shirt a
shirt was not being washed by her
20 was she washing a
shirt? was the
shirt being washed by her?
21 boys were singing
songs songs were being sung by the boys
22 they had won the
game the game had been won by them
23 they had not won
the game the game had not been won by them
24 had they won the
game? had the game been won by them?
25 he had collected
the coins the coins had been collected by him
26 she will write a
poem a poem will be written by her
27 she will not write
a poem a poem will not be written by her
28 will she write a
poem? will a
poem be written by her?
29 you will receive
the letter the letter will be received by you
30 he will have received
the letter the
letter will have been received by him
31 he will not have
received the letter the letter will
not have been received by him
32 will he have received
the letter? will the letter have been received by
him?
ACTIVE TO PASSIVE IN AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES:
Affirmative can be defined as affirming or assenting, or asserting
the Truth, validity or fact.
Let us see how to change an affirmative sentence from active to
passive
Examples:
1 She wrote the book in 1811.
The book was written by her in
1811.
2 They will present the diplomas to the students at the end of the
ceremony.
The diplomas will be
presented to the students at the end of the ceremony. ... or... The students
will be presented the diplomas at the end of the ceremony.
3 You should change the oil every 3 months.
The oil should be changed
every 3 months.
4 You can fry or bake potatoes.
Potatoes can be fried or
baked.
In some cases, the agents like “someone”, “no one” in the sentences
can be omitted in passive form
Note: (Add ‘not’ to the verb for nobody, none, no one)
Examples:
1 Someone has fixed my computer!
My computer has been fixed!
2 Someone has stolen my car!
My car has been stolen!
3 No one has bought the tickets
The tickets have not been
bought
4 The painters were painting the Agriculture Building last week.
The Agriculture Building was
being painted last week.
5 When I got home, I saw that...someone had eaten my sandwich!
When I got home, I saw
that...my sandwich had been eaten!
6 Bats eat insects.
Insects are eaten by bats.
7 Children must listen to mothers.
Mothers must be listened to.
8 Million of people have visited Mecca.
Mecca has been visited by
millions of people.
ACTIVE TO PASSIVE IN IMPERATIVE SENTENCES:
An imperative sentence is a type of sentence that gives instructions
or advice, and expresses a command, an order, a direction, a suggestion, a
wish, a warning or a request. It is also known as a jussive or a directive.
Let’s see how to change an imperative sentence from active to
passive
Examples:
An imperative sentence in the passive voice has the following form:
Let + object + be + past participle.
1 Carry it home.
Let it be carried home.
2 Do it at once.
Let it be done at once.
3 Open the door.
Let the door be opened.
4 Throw the ball.
Let the ball be thrown.
When the active voice is in the negative, the passive voice takes
the form: Let + object + not + be + past participle.
Note that do is not used in the passive form.
Examples:
1 Do not beat the dog.
Let the dog not be beaten.
2 Don’t pluck the flowers
Let the flowers not be
plucked
We can begin the passive sentence with you if we want to put
emphasis on the person addressed to.
1 Please help me.
Let me be helped.
You are requested to help
me.
2 Please do not use mobile phones here.
Let the mobile phones not be
used here
You are requested not to use
mobile phones here.
3 Learn the poem.
Let the poem be learned.
You are asked to learn the
poem.
4 Don’t touch it.
Let it not be touched.
You are warned not to touch
it.
Note that the passive form has to begin with you when the object of
the active verb is not mentioned.
Work hard.
Here the active verb does not have an object. Therefore, the passive
form should begin with you.
You are advised to work hard.
Examples:
1 Get out.
You are ordered to get out.
2 Let me do it
Let it be done by me
ACTIVE TO PASSIVE IN INTROGATIVE SENTENCES:
When sentences are changed to Passive, they begin with a verb (in
‘Yes/No’ questions) or with a question word followed by the verb (in ‘Wh’
questions).
a. Questions beginning with Auxiliary verbs
Examples:
1 Did he write a letter? (Active)
Was a letter written by him?
(Passive)
2 Is he watching us? (Active)
Are we being watched by him?
(Passive)
b. Questions beginning with ‘wh’ words
Examples:
1 Who will accept this? (Active)
By whom will this be
accepted? (Passive)
2 Who has arranged this meeting? (Active)
By whom has this meeting
been arranged? (Passive)
3 When will you finish the building? (Active)
When will the building be
finished by you? (Passive)
(the agent ‘by you’ is optional)
4 How did they do this? (Active)
How was this done by them?
(Passive)
(the agent ‘by them’ is optional)
ACTIVE TO PASSIVE OF A SENTENCE HAVING TWO OBJECTS:
In these types of sentences first object having proximity to verb is
brought out and changed. The other object remains as it was and is placed after
verb.
In the following sentences the verbs have two objects namely Direct
and Indirect
objects.
Here in the examples using direct object as the subject in one and
indirect in the other.
Examples:
1. John gave a bar of chocolate to Jill.
a. Jill was given a bar of chocolate by John.
b. A bar of chocolate was given to Jill by John.
2. Parvathi lent a pencil to Kamala.
a. A pencil was lent to Kamala by Parvathi.
b. Kamala was lent a pencil by Parvathi.
3. Sudha told the truth to her friend.
a. The truth was told to her friend by Sudha.
b. Sudha’s friend was told the truth by her.
4. They offered the job to Venkat.
a. The job was offered to Venkat by them.
b. Venkat was offered the job by them.
5. The boss showed the new computer to Kavya.
a. The new computer was shown to Kavya by the boss.
b. Kavya was shown the new computer by the boss.
6 Who teaches you English?
By whom are you taught English?
By whom is English taught to you?
7 He told me an interesting story.
I was told an interesting story by him.
An interesting story was told to me by him.
8 She gave him a book.
He was given a book by her.
A book was given to him by her.