Voice
Voice is the form of the verb which expresses whether a subject in a sentence performed or received the action. There are two kinds of voice:
1. Active Voice
The verb is in the active voice when the subject of the sentence performs an action. In other words, when the subject performs an action, the verb is in the active voice. Active voice is used to show the straightforward relations and clarity between the subject and the verb.
Basic formula for Active Voice Sentence: Subject + Verb + Object
Examples: I am playing cricket. He is drinking tea. She taught me. Ram is writing a letter.
2. Passive Voice
The verb is in the passive voice when the action is performed on the subject of the sentence. In other words, when an action is performed on the subject, the verb is in the passive voice. Passive voice is used to bring focus on the action and not the subject. Passive voice is also used when it is not known who performed the action.
Basic formula for Passive Voice Sentence: Object (subject of Active Voice) + Verb + Subject (object of Active Voice)
Examples: Cricket is being played by me. Tea is drunk by him. I was taught by her. A letter is written by Ram.
Rules to change the Active Voice into Passive Voice
1. In passive voice, the subject and object of active voice get interchanged. Sometimes the subject of active voice is omitted to give importance to the action or the subject is insignificant. When the subject of active sentence is changed into an object of passive sentence, it is often preceded by a preposition (by, with, to, etc.).
2. The base verb of active sentence is changed in the past participle (third form verb) in a passive sentence and suitable helping verb (is/am/are/was, etc.) in accordance with the tense of the sentence is used before the main verb.
3. While converting the active voice sentence to passive voice sentence, the pronoun gets changed from nominative caste in active voice sentence to the objective case in a passive voice sentence.
Formula of Active Voice Sentence and Passive Voice Sentence for all tense:
1. Simple Present Tense
Active Voice Sentence structure: a) Subject + verb (base) + s/es + object b) Subject + do/does + not + verb (base) + object c) Do/does + subject + verb (base) + object +? Examples: He writes a letter. She reads a novel. She does not cook food. Does she purchase new dress?
Passive Voice Sentence structure: a) Object + is/am/are + verb (past participle) + by + subject b) Object + is/am/are + not + verb (past participle) +by + subject c) Is/am/are + object + verb (past participle) + by + subject +? Examples: A letter is written by him. A novel is read by her. Food is not cooked by him. Is new dress purchased by her?
2. Present Continuous Tense
Active Voice Sentence structure: a) Subject + is/am/are + verb (ing) + object b) Subject + is/am/are + not + verb (ing) + object c) Is/am/are + subject + verb (ing) + object +? Examples: I am writing a letter. He is driving a car. My mother is not cooking the food. Is she buying a designer dress?
Passive Voice Sentence structure: a) Object + is/am/are + being + verb (past participle) + by + subject b) Object + is/am/are + not + being + verb (past participle) +by + subject c) Is/am/are + object + verb (past participle) + by + subject +? Examples: A letter is being written by me. A car is being driven by him. Food is not being cooked by my mother. Is a designer dress bought by her?
3. Present Perfect Tense
Active Voice Sentence structure: a) Subject + has/have + verb(past participle) + object b) Subject + has/have + been + verb(past participle) + object c) Has/have + subject + verb (past participle) + object +? Examples: I have written a letter. She has eaten a chocolate. He has not bought a dress for her. Has she written a letter to principal?
Passive Voice Sentence structure: a) Object + has/have + been + verb(past participle) + subject b) Object + has/have + not + been + verb(past participle) + by + subject c) Has/have + object + been + verb (past participle) + by + subject +? Examples: A letter has been written by him. A chocolate has been eaten by her. A dress has not been brought by him for her. Has a letter to principal been written by her?
4. Simple Past Tense
Active Voice Sentence structure: a) Subject + verb (past tense) + object b) Subject + did + not + verb (base) + object c) Did + subject + verb (base) + object +? Examples: He bought a mobile. She washed the clothes. I did not teach her. Did Sita purchase a bicycle?
Passive Voice Sentence structure: a) Object + was/were + verb (past participle) + by + subject b) Object + was/were + not +verb (past participle) + by + subject c) Was/were + object + verb (past participle) + by + subject +? Examples: A mobile was bought by him. The cloths were washed by her. She was not taught by me. Was a bicycle purchased by Sita?
5. Past Continuous Tense
Active Voice Sentence structure: a) Subject + was/were + verb (ing) + object b) Subject + was/were + not + verb (ing) + object c) Was/were + subject + verb (ing) + object +? Examples: I was eating a chocolate. He was riding a motorbike. She was not washing clothes. Were they cleaning the utensils?
Passive Voice Sentence structure: a) Object + was/were + being + verb (past participle) + by + subject b) Object + was/were + not + being + verb (past participle) + by + subject c) Was/were + object + being + verb (past participle) + by + subject +? Examples: A chocolate was being eaten by me. A motorbike was being ridden by him. Clothes were not being washed by her. Were the utensils being cleaned by them?
6. Past Perfect Tense
Active Voice Sentence structure: a) Subject + had + verb (past participle) + object b) Subject + had + not + verb (past participle) + object c) Had + subject + verb (past participle + object +? Examples: I had written a letter. She had visited the temple. He had not read the book. Had John caught the bike thief?
Passive Voice Sentence structure: a) Object + had + been + verb (past participle) + by + subject b) Object + had + not + been + verb (past participle) + by + subject c) Had + object + been + verb (past participle) + by + subject +? Examples: A letter had been written by me. The temple had been visited by her. The book had not been read by him. Had the thief been caught by John?
7. Future Simple Tense
Active Voice Sentence structure: a) Subject + will + verb (base) + object b) Subject + will + not + verb (base) + object c) Will + subject + verb (base) + object +? Examples: I will sing a song. He will write a letter. She will not arrange the party. Will you clean the clothes?
Passive Voice Sentence structure: a) Object + will + be + verb (past participle) + by + subject b) Object + will + not + verb (past participle) + by + subject c) Will + object + be + verb (past participle) + by + subject +? Examples: A song will be sung by me. A letter will be written by him. The party will not be arranged by her. Will the clothes be cleaned by you?
8. Future Perfect Tense
Active Voice Sentence structure: a) Subject + will + have + verb (past participle) + object b) Subject + will + not + have + verb (past participle) + object c) Will + subject + have + verb (past participle) + subject +? Examples: I will have watched a movie. You will have written a letter. She will not have eaten the dinner. Will they have won the match?
Passive Voice Sentence structure: a) Object + will + have + been + verb (past participle) + by + subject b) Object + will + have + not + been + verb (past participle) + by + subject c) Will + object + have + been + verb (past participle) + by + subject +? Examples: A movie will have been watched by me. A letter will have been written by them. The dinner will have not been eaten by her. Will the match have been won by them?
Note: There is no Passive Voice formation for Present Perfect Continuous Tense, Past Perfect Continuous Tense, Future Continuous Tense, and Future Perfect Continuous Tense. It is also not possible to convert Intransitive Verbs sentences into Passive Voices. The example of Intransitive verb sentences is as follows: I am sleeping. He was walking. They are lying.
9. Modal Verb
a) To make passive of may, might, can, must, should, and ought, auxiliary verb “be” is used.
Active Voice Sentence structure: Subject + modal verb + verb (base) + object Examples: He may eat an apple. Fisherman might kill the crocodile. I can drive a car. He must not learn history. Should I sing a song? You ought to respect your teacher.
Passive Voice Sentence structure: Object + modal verb + be + verb (past participle) + by + subject Examples: An apple may be eaten by him. The crocodile might be killed by fisherman. A car can be driven by me. A history must not be learned by him. Should song be sung by me? Your teacher ought to be respected by you.
b) To make passive of may have, might have, should have, must have, and ought have, auxiliary verb “been” is used.
Active Voice Sentence structure: Subject + modal verb + verb (past participle) + object Examples: You may have taught her. They might have killed the snake. She should have purchased new dress. She must have participated in dance competition. You ought to have completed the homework.
Passive Voice Sentence structure: Object + modal verb + been + verb (past participle) + subject Examples: She may have been taught by you. The snake might have been killed by them. New dress should have been purchased by her. Dance competition must have been participated by her. The homework ought to have been completed by you.
10. Imperative Sentence
An imperative sentence should be changed in the passive sentence by adding, “you are requested to”, “you are ordered to”, or “you are advised to” in the beginning of a sentence. For examples:
Active Voice Sentence Please help me. Kindly close the door. Sit down. Stand up. Be punctual. Keep quite.
Passive Voice Sentence You are requested to help me. You are requested to close the door. You are ordered to sit down. You are ordered to stand up. You are advised to be punctual. You are advised to keep quite.
11. Yes-No Question
Rules to change yes-no questions into passive voice:
a) Convert the yes-no questions into a statement For examples: Did you help him? = You helped him. Had he written a letter? = He had written a letter. Can you read English? = You can read English.
b) Change the voice of statement For examples: You helped him. = He was helped by you. He had written a letter. = A letter had been written by him. You can read English. = English can be read by you.
c) Finally, convert the statement into a question For examples: Was he helped by you? Had a letter been written by him? Can English be read by you?
12. Wh-Questions
Rules to change Wh-questions into passive voice:
d) Remove the wh-word and convert the sentence into a statement For examples: Why is he reading English? = He is reading English. When you write me a letter? = You write me a letter.
e) Change the voice of statement For examples: He is reading English = English is being read by him. You write me a letter. = A letter is written by you.
f) Add the wh-word followed by auxiliary verb and other words. For examples: Why is English being read by him? When is a letter written by you?