Active & Passive Voice
Active and Passive Voice are two ways to express the relationship between the subject
and the action in a sentence.
1. Active Voice
In the active voice, the subject performs the action of the verb.
Structure:
Subject + Verb + Object
Examples:
o The dog chased the cat.
o She is writing a letter.
Characteristics:
o The subject is the doer of the action.
o The sentence is direct and concise.
o Commonly used in everyday communication.
2. Passive Voice
In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb.
Structure:
Object of the active sentence + Form of "to be" + Past Participle + (Optional: by +
Subject)
Examples:
o The cat was chased by the dog.
o A letter is being written by her.
Characteristics:
o The focus shifts to the action or the receiver of the action.
o Common in formal writing, scientific reports, or when the doer is unknown or
unimportant.
3. Converting Active Voice to Passive Voice
Steps:
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 appropriate form of the verb to be + the past participle of the main verb.
4. Add the original subject after "by" (optional).
Examples:
Active: The chef cooked the meal.
Passive: The meal was cooked by the chef.
Active: They will complete the project.
Passive: The project will be completed by them.
4. Verb Tense Changes in Passive Voice
Tense Active Passive
Present Simple She writes a letter. A letter is written by her.
Past Simple He repaired the car. The car was repaired by him.
Future Simple They will deliver the package. The package will be delivered.
Present Continuous She is baking a cake. A cake is being baked by her.
Past Continuous He was cleaning the room. The room was being cleaned by him.
Present Perfect They have finished the task. The task has been finished by them.
Past Perfect She had completed the work. The work had been completed by her.
Future Perfect He will have signed the document. The document will have been signed.
5. When to Use Passive Voice
1. Focus on the action or result:
The bridge was built in 1920.
2. When the doer is unknown or unimportant:
The documents were stolen. (Doer unknown)
3. To maintain objectivity:
The experiment was conducted successfully.
6. Avoiding Common Mistakes
Overusing Passive Voice: Can make writing wordy or less engaging.
Passive: The homework was completed by the student.
Active: The student completed the homework.
Incorrect verb forms: Ensure the correct form of to be and the past participle.
Incorrect: The work is completed by him yesterday.
Correct: The work was completed by him yesterday.
