Active and Passive Voice Rules for Competitive Exams

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Active & Passive Voice

Active and Passive voice is a particularly essential grammatical structure used in the
English language. Understanding the rules governing their usage is crucial for effective
communication. In this article, we will delve into the fundamentals of the active and
passive voice. we will also explore the usage, rules, and conversion of Active and
Passive voices. The English Language is utterly essential for all competitive exams, and
you must understand the significance of the Voice section if you are preparing for one.

Table of Content
Voice of a verb
Active and Passive Voice Rules Chart
Active And Passive Voice Rules For Conversion
Active and Passive Voice Rules For All Tenses
FAQs on Active and Passive Voice Rules

Voice of a verb
The voice of a verb is the form of the verb that indicates whether the subject of the
sentence is performing the action or the subject is receiving the action. In the English
Language, verbs can be classified into two types of voices – Active voice and Passive
voice.

There are Two Basic Kinds of Voice in English Grammar:

1. Active Voice
2. Passive Voice

What is Active Voice?

When the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed by the verb then it
is Active Voice.
For Example: “Nisha ate the apple”. Here “Nisha” is the subject performing the
action”ate”.

What is Passive Voice?

When the subject of the sentence receives the action expressed by the verb or is
acted upon then it is Passive Voice.
For Example: “The apple was eaten by Nisha.” Here, ” The apple” is the subject
receiving the action “was eaten”.

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 “Active voice defines that the subject is doing the action and the passive
voice refers to that the subject is being acted upon.”

Active and Passive Voice Rules Chart

Tense Active voice Passive voice

Present Indefinite Does/Do Is/Are/Am

Present Continuous Is/Am/Are Is/Am/Are + Being

Present Perfect Has / Have Has been / Have been

Present Perfect Continuous Has / Have been Has / Have been + Being

Past Indefinite Did Was / Were

Past Continuous was/were was/ were + being

Past Perfect had had been

Past Perfect Continuous had been had been + being

Future Indefinite Will Will be

Future Continuous Will be Will be + Being

Future Perfect Will have Will have been

Future Perfect Continuous Will have been Will have been + being

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.

Active and Passive Voice Rules For All Tenses:

1. Simple Present/ Past/ Future Tense

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 Active: Subject + V1/ V2/ will V1/ shall V1 + object…
Passive: Object + Is/are/am/was/were/will be/shall be + verb (III forms) + by +
subject…

2. Present/ Past Continuous Tense

Active: Subject + Is/are/am/was/were + verb (ing) + object…
Passive: Object + Is/are/am/was/were + being + verb (III from) + by + subject…

3. Present/ Past/ Future Perfect Tense

Active: Subject + has/have/had/shall have/will have + verb (IIIrd form) + object…

Passive: Object + has/have/had/shall have/will have + been + verb (IIIrd form) + by
+ subject…

NOTE: Generally, there is no voice change with Present Perfect

Continuous,Past Perfect Continuous, Future Continuous, or Future Perfect
Continuous.

4. Interrogative Sentences

Present and Past Tense:

Structure 1:
Active: Do/does/did + subject + V1 + object….?
Passive: Is/are/am/was/were + object + V3 + by + subject….?
Structure 2:
Active: Is/are/a/was/were + subject + verb (ing) + object…?
Passive: Is/are/am/was/were + object + being + verb (III from) + by + subject…?
Structure 3:
Active: Has/have/had + subject + verb (IIIrd form) + object…
Passive: Has/have/had + object + been + verb (IIIrd form) + by + subject…
Structure 4:
Active: Who + verb (s or es)/verb (IInd form) + object…?
Passive: By whom + is/are/am/was/were + object + verb (IIIrd form)?
Structure 5:
Active: Wh-question word + do/does/did + subject + verb (I form) + object…?
Passive: Wh-question word + Is/are/am/was/were + object + verb (III from) + by +
subject…?

Future Tense:

Structure 1:
Active: Shall/ will + subject + verb (Ist form) + object….?
Passive: Is/are/am Shall/ will + object + be + verb (IIIrd form) + by + subject….?

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 Structure 2:
Active: Shall/ will + subject + have + verb (IIIrd form) + object…
Passive: Shall/ will + object + have + been + verb (IIIrd form) + by + subject…
Structure 3:
Active: Who + Shall/ will + V1 + object…?
Passive: By whom + Shall/ will + object + be + verb (IIIrd form)?
Structure 4:
Active: Wh-question word + Shall/ will + subject + verb (Ist form) + object…?
Passive: Wh-question word + Shall/ will + object + be + verb (IIIrd from) + by +
subject…?

5. Imperative Sentences
Positive
Active: Verb + object
Passive: (i) Let + object + be + past participle
(ii) You are requested/ordered/suggested + to + verb (Ist form) + object
Negative
Active: Do + not + Verb + Object
Passive: (i) Let + object + not + be + past participle
(ii) You are requested/ordered/suggested + not + to + verb (Ist form) + object

6. “To be” Sentences

Active: Subject + Is/Are/Am/Was/Were/Has/Have/Had + To + Verb (Ist form) +
Object..
Passive: Object + Is/Are/Am/Was/Were/Has/Have/Had + To + Be + Verb (III form) +
By + Subject.

7. Verb + Preposition + Object

Active: Subject + verb + preposition + object…
Passive: Object + to be + verb (III form) + preposition + by + subject…

NOTE: While converting such sentences into passive voices, the verb is
always followed by the particular preposition.

8. Modal Verbs
Active: Subject + modal verb + (V1) + object…
Passive:Object + modal verb + be + V3 + by + subject…

9. Di-Transitive Verbs

Some verbs take two objects, for example:

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 Active: Samdish gave the beggar an old t-shirt.
Passive:(i) An old t-shirt was given to the beggar by Samdish.
(ii) The beggar was given an old t-shirt by Samdish.

10. Sentences with the Intransitive Verb:

Such sentences are known as Mid-voice or Quasi-Passive voice. They seem in active
voice, but their meaning is in passive voice, and they have intransitive verbs, like without
a direct object.

Active: Honey tastes sweet.

Passive: Honey is sweet when it is tasted.

TENSE Active Voice Passive Voice

Simple Present I write a letter. A letter is written by me.

Present Continuous I am writing a letter. A letter is being written by me.

Present Perfect I have written a letter. A letter has been written by me.

Present Perfect I have been writing a A letter has been being written by
Continuous letter. me.

Simple Past I wrote a letter. A letter was written by me.

Past Continuous I was writing a letter. A letter was being written by me.

Past Perfect I had written a letter. A letter had been written by me.

Past Perfect I had been writing a A letter had been being written by
Continuous letter. me.

Simple Future I will write a letter. A letter will be written by me.

Future Continuous I will be writing a letter. A letter will be being written by me.

Future Perfect I will have written a A letter will have been written by
letter. me.

Future Perfect I will have been writing a A letter will have been being
Continuous letter. written by me.

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FAQs on Active and Passive Voice Rules

Q1. What are examples of Active Passive Voice?

Active – I gave him a book for his Birthday

Passive- He was given a book for his Birthday.
Active – The Hunter killed the Lion
Passive- The Lion was killed by Hunter.

Q2. When can we use Passive Voice?

When we want to frame a sentence in such a condition where the main subject,
who is doing the action is not known then we can use passive voice.

Q3. How do we identify Active-Passive Voice Sentences?

When the Subject is doing the action it means the sentence is in Active Voice. And
when the Subject is only receiving the action it means the sentence is in Passive
Voice.

Q4. What are Passive voice examples?

1. Active Voice: “She writes a book.”

Passive Voice: “A book is written by her.”

2. Active Voice: “They will complete the project.”

Passive Voice: “The project will be completed by them.”

3. Active Voice: “He repaired the car.”

Passive Voice: “The car was repaired by him.”

In passive voice, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject, and the
verb is changed, often with the addition of “by” to indicate the doer of the action.

Q5. Give some Passive exercises

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 Exercise 1: Change the following active voice sentences into passive voice:

1. The teacher teaches the students.

2. They built a new house.
3. She will sing a song.
4. The chef cooked a delicious meal.
5. The company has developed a new product.

Exercise 2: Rewrite the following sentences in passive voice:

1. The cat chased the mouse.

2. He has completed the assignment.
3. They are repairing the car.
4. The gardener is planting flowers.
5. She will bake a cake.

Exercise 3: Identify whether the following sentences are in active or passive

voice:

1. The letter was written by Mary.

2. They are watching a movie.
3. The door was opened by John.
4. She will be awarded a prize.
5. He fixed the computer.

Q6. What are Passive voice tenses

Passive voice can be used in different tenses to indicate when an action happens:

1. Present Simple Passive: Happens now.

– The book is read by the students.

2. Past Simple Passive: Happened in the past.

– The car was repaired by the mechanic yesterday.

3. Future Simple Passive: Will happen in the future.

– The project will be completed by the team next week.

And so on, with each tense indicating a specific time frame for the action.

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