Active and Passive Voice

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

BY
SOBIA KHAN

​​Voice refers to the form of a verb that indicates when a grammatical subject performs the action or is the receiver of the action.

Multiple Choice

The award-winning chef prepares each meal with loving care.

• Active

• Passive

Multiple Choice

Sonia is taught by Professor Brown.

• Active

• Passive

Multiple Choice

All humans are created equal.

• Active

• Passive

Multiple Choice

I am working at McDonald’s until I finish school.

• Active

• Passive

Multiple Choice

Hunter has opened a language institute in East Harlem.

• Active

• Passive

Multiple Choice

The language institute has been opened to relocate students off the main campus.

• Active

• Passive

​Active and Passive Voice Rules for Conversion:

• The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb.

• The active sentence’s subject becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped). The finite form of the verb is changed to past participle or V3 form.

• The preposition “by” is used before the passive object.

Open Ended

Shakespeare wrote the Merchant of Venice

Open Ended

Moni is washing clothes.

Open Ended

Rita has cooked the dinner.

Open Ended

I will finish the book in a few days.

Open Ended

The dog bites strangers.

Open Ended

Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife.

Open Ended

He invited his friends to the party.

Open Ended

They elected him their leader.

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES

Normal structure of interrogative sentence in active voice, starting with do/does is

Do/does + subject + verb + object ? (Active Voice)

Ex: Does she cook the food? (Active Voice)
(Here ‘she’ is subject, ‘cook’ is verb and ‘the food’ is object.)

While changing the sentence into passive, this structure becomes

Am/is/are + subject + V-3 + by + agent ? (Passive Voice)

Ex: Is the food cooked by her? (Passive Voice)
(Here ‘The food’ becomes subject in passive voice, ‘cooked’ is V-3 (past participle) of cook, and ‘her’ is agent (doer))

Examples

• Does Shubham write homework? (Active Voice)
  Is homework written by Shubham? (Passive Voice)

• Does Simran learn English? (Active Voice)
  Is English learnt by Simran? (Passive Voice)

• Does Sachin play cricket? (Active Voice)
  Is cricket played by Sachin? (Passive Voice)

Questions beginning with am/is/are

Normal structure of interrogative sentence in active voice starting with am/is/are is

Am/is/are + subject + verb + ing + object ? (Active Voice)

Ex: Is she cooking the food? (Active Voice)
(Here ‘she’ is subject, ‘cooking’ is verb and ‘the food’ is object.)

While changing the sentence into passive, this structure becomes

Am/is/are + subject + being + V-3 + by + agent ? (Passive Voice)

Ex: Is the food being cooked by her? (Passive Voice)
(Here ‘The food’ becomes subject in passive voice, ‘cooked’ is V-3 (past participle) of cook, and ‘her’ is agent (doer))

Examples

• Is Shubham writing homework? (Active Voice)
  Is homework being written by Shubham? (Passive Voice)

• Is Simran learning English? (Active Voice)
  Is English being learnt by Simran? (Passive Voice)

• Is Sachin playing cricket? (Active Voice)
  Is cricket being played by Sachin? (Passive Voice)

‘Wh’ questions

Questions starting with what, why, where, when, who, whom etc are known as ‘wh’ questions

Normal structure of ‘wh’ questions in active voice is

‘Wh’ word + auxiliary + subject + verb + object ? (Active Voice)

Ex: Why did she punish you? (Active Voice)
(Here ‘she’ is subject, ‘punish’ is verb and ‘you’ is object.)

While changing the sentence into passive, this structure becomes

‘Wh’ word + auxiliary + subject + V-3 + by + agent ? (Passive Voice)

Why were you punished by her? (Passive Voice)
(Here ‘you’ becomes subject in passive voice, ‘punished’ is V-3 (past participle) of punish, and ‘her’ is agent (doer))

Examples

• Why have you bought this ticket? (Active Voice)
  Why has this ticket been bought by you? (Passive Voice)

• When will you return the book? (Active Voice)
  When will the book be returned by you? (Passive Voice)

• What did she buy? (Active Voice)
  What was bought by her? (Passive Voice)

Open Ended

Do you know her?

Open Ended

What is she doing?

Open Ended

Did you see him last night?

Open Ended

Has the boy kicked the door?

Open Ended

Is the dog eating meat?

Open Ended

Will you do this work?

Open Ended

Who has built this house?

Open Ended

How will you do this work?