Voice, mood, tense, person, and number are the five qualities of verbs in English grammar; we’re only concerned with voice here. The active and passive voices are the two grammatical voices. Voice refers to the form of a verb that indicates when a subject acts or is the receiver of the action. When the subject performs the action it is active voice and when the subject receives the action it is passive voice.
Examples of Active and Passive Voice
Active– He loves me.
Passive- I am loved by him.
The subject of the active voice example above is “he,” the verb is “loves,” and the object is “me.” The subject of the passive voice phrase is “I,” the verb is “am loved,” and the object is “him.”
The active sentence’s subject becomes the passive sentence’s object. The components of both statements are the same, but the structure differs. Passive sentences describe what happens to the person or object that performs an action, whereas active sentences describe what happens to the person who does the activity.
The active voice has a stronger, clearer tone than the passive voice, which is more subtle and weak. So, while passive voice sounds more elegant, it is better to use active voice if you want to get your point across effectively.
There are times when passive voice is useful and called for. For example, “The squirrel was chased by the dog”. The sentence construction would be helpful if the squirrel were the focus of our writing and not the dog.
Structure of Active and Passive Voice
Subject + Verb+ Object
Object + verb +subject
Some examples of Active and Passive Voice
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Active (A) |
Passive(B) |
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They will do the work |
The work will be done by them. |
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The mother is feeding the baby. |
The baby is being fed by the mother. |
You’ve probably noticed that when we transform from active to passive voice, the verb form changes. There are two types of verbs employed now: The main and auxiliary verbs. An auxiliary verb is usually used in conjunction with the main verb. The auxiliary verb, such as “be, do, or have”, expresses the verb’s tense or mood.
One thing to note here is that the exact meaning of the sentence does not change even if the structure differs.
Here are Certain Rules for Active and Passive Voice
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The subject of the verb in the active voice(they) becomes the object in the Passive voice sentences.
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It is a thumb rule that passive voice phrases, as a rule, always use the third form of the verb, also known as the past participle form of the verb (example- eat, ate, eaten- eaten is the third form of a verb).
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Auxiliary verb ‘be’ (am, is are, was, were) is added before the past participle according to the tense of the verb.
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Generally ‘by’ is used before the object of the passive voice sentences.
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If the notion you’re attempting to express is obvious, you may sometimes drop the subject entirely from the passive voice. You just have to make a judgement call for that. For example:
Active- weight is measured in kilograms.
Passive voice: Kilograms is a measurement unit for weight.
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The certain verb takes fixed prepositions after them that replaces ‘by’. Some of these verbs are- known to, surprised by/at, vexed by, amazed by, contained in, annoyed with/at, tired of, filled with, decorated with, engulfed in. For example
Active- The fire engulfed the building.
Passive- The building was engulfed in the fire.
To differentiate between active and passive voice, simply ask the following three questions:
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What/who is the subject of the statement?
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What is the action/verb in the sentence?
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Is the subject of the sentence performing the action/verb?
If the answer to the last question comes out to be ‘yes’, then the sentence is in active voice, and if the answer is ‘no’, then the passive voice is used.
Changes in the auxiliary word’s tense: When the main verb’s verb form changes, the auxiliary word’s tense changes as well. Let’s look at a few examples to understand them more clearly:
Voice and Tenses
Present Tense- Use the simple present tense to make a generalisation, present a state of being, or indicate a habitual or repeated action.
Active- I write a novel.
Passive- A novel is written by me.
Structure- Subject + auxiliary verb + past participle of the main verb+ by + object.
Present Continuous- Use the present progressive to describe an ongoing activity or a temporary action.
Active- I am eating breakfast.
Passive- The breakfast is being eaten by me.
Structure- Subject + auxiliary verb + being + by + object
Present Perfect- Use the present perfect to describe an action occurring in the past but relevant to the present or extending to the present.
Active- I have played the game.
Passive- A game has been played by me.
Structure- Subject + has/have been + past participle + by + object
Past Tense- Use the simple past to indicate a general or habitual action occurring in the past or at a specific time in the past.
Active- I invited you to the party.
Passive- You were invited by me to the party.
Structure- Subject+be+ past participle+by+ object
Questions
Active- Did you show me the dress?
Passive- Was I shown the dress by you?
Past Continuous- Use the past progressive to indicate an ongoing action in the past or an action continuing through a specific past time.
Active- I was playing video games.
Passive- The video games were being played by me.
Structure- Subject+auxiliary verb + being+ past participle + by +object
Past Perfect- Use the past perfect to indicate an action completed before a particular time or before another action in the past.
Active- You had done the work.
Passive- The work had been done by you.
Structure- Subject+had+been+past participle + by + object
Future Tense- Use the future to indicate an action that is expected to take place at a future time.
Active- He will play the match.
Passive- The match will be played
Structure- Subject+will+be+past participle +by+object
Future perfect tense
Active- you will have started the job.
Passive- The job will have been started by you.
Structure- subject shall/will have been past participle by subject.
Note that Future continuous and perfect continuous tenses do not form passive voice.
The more you practice the more you will understand the idea of changing active to passive and passive to active voice.
Here are a Few Questions to practise Your Skills:
Identify active and passive from the following-
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The building seemed empty.
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Will you have started the job?
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They had not completed the assignment.
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My heart is filled with love.
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She is known to me.
Convert the Given Active Voice into Passive Voice-
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Sun sets in the west.
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She bought a new phone.
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Was he driving a car?