Active Voice and Passive Voice – Definition, Rules, Examples & Exercises. Active Voice definition with examples. Passive Voice definition and examples. Active and Passive Voice Exercises.
Passive Voice is an important topic in English Grammar. After learning the tense with their rules and parts, we learn to change the sentences from Active Voice to Passive Voice.
In this post, you will learn about the active voice and passive voice with definition rules and examples in detail. At the end of the post, you will get some exercise of active voice and passive voice try to solve them to check your knowledge of the topic.
Active Voice and Passive Voice – Rules and Examples
What is Active Voice?
The sentences in which the real subject is kept in place of the subject, that is, it does the work itself, then such sentences are called sentences of Active Voice. For example:
- I close this door.
- You may use my mobile.
- Who is calling you?
- Does she buy fruits?
- Father bought a pen.
- Gagan will draw a picture.
- She tells us stories.
- Those players will win this match.
What is Passive Voice?
The sentences in which the object is placed in place of the subject and the real subject is placed at the end of the sentence with by, then that sentence is called a sentence of Passive Voice. For example:
- The door is closed by me.
- My mobile maybe used by you.
- By whom are you being called?
- Are fruits bought by her?
- A pen was bought by father.
- A picture will be drawn by Gagan.
- Stories are told by her.
- This match will be won by those players.
Rules to Make Passive Voice from Active Voice
- First of all find out the tense subject and object of the sentence.
- First of all, the object of Active voice is kept as the subject.
- After that the helping verb of Passive voice is kept.
- After the helping verb of Passive voice, the 3rd form of the main verb is kept.
- It is followed by ‘by’.
- After ‘by’, the subject of Active voice is kept as the object.
Helping Verbs of Passive Voice
Helping Verbs of Passive Voice are written according to following table. Read the given table below:
| Active Voice Helping Verb | Passive Voice Helping Verb |
| Present Indefinite Tense (Do, Does) | Is Am and Are |
| Present continuous Tense (Is, Am Are) | Is being, Am being, Are Being |
| Present perfect Tense (has/have ) | has been/have been |
| No change | – |
| Past Indefinite Tense (did ) | Was/Were |
| Past Continuous Tense (was /were) | Was being/Were Being |
| Past perfect tense (had) |
had been |
| No Change | – |
| Future Indefinite Tense (Will/Shall) | will be/shall be |
| No change | – |
| Future perfect Tense. (will have/ shall have) | will have been/shall have been |
| No change | – |
Change in Pronouns
If the subject of active voice is a pronoun, in the nominative form, it will be changed into objective form and will be written after ‘by’ in the sentences of Passive Voice.
| Active Voice | Passive Voice |
| I | me |
| We | us |
| You | you |
| He | him |
| She | her |
| It | it |
| They | them |
Other helping verb of Passive voice
Modals Verbs are used in the Active Voice. Modal Verbs are changed into the Helping Verbs of Passive Voice according to the table given below:
| Active Voice | Passive Voice |
| Can | can be |
| Could | could be |
| May | may be |
| Might | might be |
| Should | should be |
| Would | would be |
| Must | must be |
| Would | would be |
| Shall be/will be | shall be, will be |
| Ought to | ought to be |
| Has to, Have to | has to be, have to be |
| Is to, Am to, Are to | is to be, am to be, are to be |
| Was to, Were to | was to be, were to be |
Read also:
Passive Voice Examples with Structure
Simple Present Tense
Structure: Passive Subject + Helping Verb of Passive Voice + Verb III + By + Passive Object
1. He cleans his room.
His room is cleaned by him.
2. You write a letter.
A letter is written by you.
3. They do not play cricket.
Cricket is not played by them.
4. She does not drink milk.
Milk is not drunk by her.
5. I never clean my house.
My house is never cleaned by me.
Present Continuous Tense
Structure: Passive Subject + Is being/am being/am being/ are being + Verb III + By + Passive Object
1. He is learning his lesson.
His lesson is being learnt by him.
2. You are not obeying your teachers.
Your teachers are not being obeyed by you.
3. I am teaching you English.
You are being taught English by me.
4. That girl is not cleaning her room.
Her room is not being cleaned by that girl.
Present Perfect Tense
1. He has written a letter to his father.
A letter has been written to his father by him.
2. Those men have not caught their bus.
Their bus have not been caught by those men.
3. I have not cleaned my room .
My room has not been cleaned by me.
4. Rohan has read the newspaper.
The newspaper has been read by Rohan
Past Indefinite Tense
1. The man washed his clothes.
His clothes were washed by the man.
2. She bought a pen from the market yesterday.
A pen was bought from the market yesterday by her.
3. I did not hate him.
He did not hated by me.
4. You did not kill a lion.
A lion did not killed by you.
Past Continuous Tense
1. He was eating an apple.
An Apple was being eaten by her.
3. You were teaching him English.
He was being taught English by you.
4. They were not doing their work.
Their work was not being done by them.
5. I was not waiting for him.
He was not being waited for by me.
Past Perfect Tense
1. He had done his work before you went.
His work had been done by him before you went.
2. I had already clean my room.
My room had been already cleaned by me.
3. She had not taken medicine before the doctor came.
Medicine had not been taken by her before that doctor came.
4. You had not completed your work before the sunset.
Your work had not been completed by you before the sunset.
Future Indefinite Tense
1. You will read a story.
A story will not be read by you.
2. She will not invite you.
You will not be invited by her.
3. I shall not help you.
You will not be helped by me.
4. We shall ride our bikes tomorrow.
Our bikes will be ridden tomorrow by us .
Future Perfect Tense
1. I shall have completed my work.
My work will have been completed by me.
2. He will not have bought a car by morning .
A call will not have been bought by him by morning.
3. We shall not have watched this movie before he comes.
This movie will not have been watched by us before he comes.
4. Rohan will not have opened the door.
The door will not have been opened by Rohan.
Rules for making Passive Voice of Interrogative Sentences
Yes-No Type
Rule (1): If a sentence starts with a helping verb, then to convert that sentence into Passive voice, we start with the helping verb of the Tense of that sentence. Tense wise examples are given below:
Structure: Helping Verb of Passive Voice + Passive Subject + Verb III + By + Passive Object + ?
Examples:
1. Do you read your book?
Is your book read by you?
2. Are you washing the clothes?
Are the clothes been washed by you?
3. Has she bought a pen?
Has a pen been bought by her?
4. Did you see him yesterday?
Was he seen yesterday by you?
5. Was I teaching you English?
Were you being taught English by me?
6. Had he given you money before she came?
Had you been given money by him before she came?
7. Will you help me?
Shall I helped by you?
8. Shall I have broken a chair?
Will a chair have been broken by me?
Wh-Word Type Passive Voice Sentences
If a sentence of active voice start with a question word, we must start the sentence of its passive voice with that question word.
Structure: Helping Verb of Passive Voice + Passive Subject + Verb III + By + Passive Object + ?
Examples:
1. What do you write a letter?
What is a letter written by you?
2. What are you saying?
What is being said by you?
3. Why have you brought the gun here?
Why has the gun been brought here by you?
4. When had she broken this chair ?
When has this chair been broken by her?
5. Why did the lose the match?
Why was the match lost by them?
6. Where was she singing a song?
Where was a song being sung by her?
Passive Voice Sentences of Who
Structure : By whom + helping verb of P.V. + Passive subject + verb 3rd + ?
Examples:
1. Who call you?
By whom are you called?
2. Who teaches you English?
By whom are you taught English?
3. Who does not beat him?
By whom is he not beaten?
4. Who will help me?
By whom shall I be helped?
5. Who invited your friends?
By whom were you friends invited?
‘Which’
1. Which girl is singing a sweet song?
By which girl is a sweet song being sung ?
2. Which book will he read?
By which book will he read by him?
‘Whose’
1. Whose son is giving you a book?
By whose son is a book being given you?
2. Whose work has he done?
Whose work has been done by him?
Rule for making Passive voice of Imperative sentences.
Identity: If a sentence starts with the verb 1st, do not, Please/Kindly + verb 1st, never, always, let etc, it is called an Imperative sentences.
Examples :
- Come here.
- Do not pluck an apple.
- Please help me.
- Kindly start now.
- Never abuse anyone.
- Always work hard.
- Let me read a book.
Rule for making Passive voice of Imperative sentences.
Rule – 1. If the sentence starts with verb 1st then follow the structure given below to make Passive voice.
Structure: Let + object + be + verb III.
Examples:
1. Open the door.
Let the door be opened.
2. Write a letter.
Let a letter be written.
Rule – (2) If the sentence is based on the structure of do not + verb 1st then follow the structure given below.
Structure: Let + object + not + be + verb III.
Examples:
1. Do not open the door.
Let the door not be opened.
2. Do not write a letter.
Let a letter not be written.
Rule no.3 – If the sentence is based on the structure of please/kindly+ verb 1st, then remove please or kindly and add You are requested to.
Examples:
2. Please open the book.
You are requested to open the book.
2. Please write a letter.
You are requested to write a letter.
Rule no.4 – If the sentence starts with never/always + verb 1st then add ‘you are advised not to’ by removing ‘never’ and add ‘you are advised to’ by removing always.
Examples:
1. Never abuse anyone.
You are advised not be abuse anyone.
2. Always work hard.
You are advised to work hard.
Rule no.5 – If the subject is based on the structure of Let + object + verb 3rd then
Structure : Let + Passive voice + be + Verb 3rd + by + object .
Examples:
1. Let me read this book.
Let this book be read by me.
2. Let him do his work.
Let his work be done by him.
Active Voice to Passive Voice Exercises
- He opens the door.
- You write a letter.
- She does not close the door.
- He is cooking the food.
- My father has read the newspaper.
- Do you love me?
- Is she singing a song?
- Have you ever seen the Taj Mahal?
- Will you help me?
- Were they playing the match yesterday?
- Are you not doing your work?
- The king did not attack his enemy.
- He was searching for his bag.
- Open the window now.
- Let me complete this work.
- The police are searching the thieves.
- Someone has called you.
- People elected him as a chairman.
- No one can harm you.
- Shall I teach you?
- Never hurt anyone.
- She always helps me.
- Why do you not teach him?
- Was the man driving his car?
- Were you singing a song?
Read also:
- Parts of Speech Exercise
- Noun Exercises with answers
- Pronouns Exercises with Answers
- Verb Exercises with Answers
- Common and Proper Noun Exercises
- Collective Noun Exercises
- Abstract and Material Noun Exercises
- Article Exercises
- More Pronoun Exercises
Conclusion
In this post, you have a learnt about the active and passive voice with rules examples and exercises. Now you are aware how to change the sentences from active voice to passive voice. If you are learning English, this post of active voice and passive voice will be very helpful for you because it has every rule of changing the sentences into active voice to passive voice.
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