Active Voice and Passive Voice

 

1. What is Active Voice?

In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action of the verb. It follows the typical structure of subject + verb + object.

• Example (active voice):
  "The dog (subject) chased (verb) the cat (object)."

2. What is passive Voice?

In passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb, while the performer of the action (the "doer") may or may not be mentioned.

• Example (Passive Voice):
  "The cat (subject) was chased (verb) by the dog (doer)."

Passive constructions in the form of table:

Active Verb

Passive Verb

Form of verb (active voice)	Tense (passive voice)	3rd Form
Write	Is, am, or are	+written
wrote	Was, were	+written
Will writing	Will be	+written
Is writing	is , am, are + being	+written
Was writing	Was, were + being	+written
Has, have written	Has, have + been	+written
Had written	Had +been	+written
Should write	Should be	+written
To write	To be	+written

Note: 3rd form of the verb is fixed for all the passive voice sentences.

Basic Structure of Active and Passive Sentences

Tense	Active Voice Example	Passive Voice Example
Simple Present	The teacher explains the lesson.	The lesson is explained by the teacher.
Present Continuous	The chef is cooking the meal.	The meal is being cooked by the chef.
Present Perfect	They have completed the task.	The task has been completed by them.
Simple Past	The company hired a new manager.	A new manager was hired by the company.
Past Continuous	She was washing the dishes.	The dishes were being washed by her.
Past Perfect	He had repaired the car.	The car had been repaired by him.
Simple Future	She will bake a cake.	A cake will be baked by her.
Future Perfect	They will have finished the work.	The work will have been finished by them.

How to Change Active Voice into Passive Voice

1. Identify the subject, verb, and object in the active sentence.

2. Move the object of the active sentence to the subject position in the passive sentence.

3. Use the correct form of the verb "to be" (am, is, are, was, were, etc.) based on the tense of the original sentence.

4. Use the past participle form of the main verb (e.g., explained, cooked, chased).

5. Optionally include "by" + the doer (subject of the active sentence), if necessary. Note: The doer is the person who does the action. 

6. Change the pronouns, if needed (e.g., "me" to "I," "him" to "he").

Examples of Active to Passive Conversions

1. Active: The gardener waters the plants.

• Passive: The plants are watered by the gardener.

2. Active: The students are writing the report.

• Passive: The report is being written by the students.

3. Active: He had completed the project.

• Passive: The project had been completed by him.

4. Active: She will deliver the speech.

• Passive: The speech will be delivered by her.

5. Active: They have solved the problem.

• Passive: The problem has been solved by them.

Key Differences Between Active and Passive

• Active Voice: More direct and focuses on who is doing the action.

• Example: "The police caught the thief."

• Passive Voice: Often used when the doer of the action is unknown, less important, or implied, or when the focus is on the action itself.

• Example: "The thief was caught by the police."

When to Use Passive Voice

When the focus is on the action or the object of the action rather than the doer.