Active & Passive Voices

“A Voice is very important factor in English Grammar. A voice may be Active or Passive. We use these
voices unknowingly in our daily life. Every sentence, we speak, includes either of the voice. Mostly, the
active voice is used in oral communication and the passive voice is used in written communication
especially in newspapers, articles, etc.”

TYPES OF VOICES

Active Voice

Passive Voice

ACTIVE VOICE

The sentences in which the subject performs the action and the object receives the action are said to be
in Active Voice.

The above sentence reveals clearly that he subject / the doer / an agent performs the action….it is
received by the object/receiver.

In the Active sentences, the importance or priority is given to only the subject. It gives the question ‘who
did the action’ rather than ‘what happened’.

PASSIVE VOICE

If the importance or priority is given to only the verb of a sentence, then it is said to be in Passive Voice.
In Passive voices, action is given the importance rather than the performer. In short, ‘what happened’ is
more important than ‘who did the action?’ Mostly, the passive voices are used in the newspapers,
invitations cards, articles or any other written communications. We use this Passive Voice when we
don’t know the subject / an agent who performed the actions.

# What happens while changing sentences from Active to Passive?

While changing a sentence from Active Voice to Passive Voice, several changes take place.

The object of the verb becomes the subject of the passive voice.

The verb form will be changed according to the tense.

The subject of the verb is written ‘by + subject ‘in the passive voice.

One more important point is that the tense form of the voice never changes i.e., if the tense form of the
active voice is Present perfect tense, it remains same in the Passive voice.
# Sample example of changing of voice.

(AV): Anil ate an apple.

(PV): An apple was eaten [by Anil].

In the above sentence, ‘Anil’ was the subject who performed the action ‘ate’ and the same action was
received by the object ‘an apple’.

In the Passive sentence, it is clear that both the subject and object interchanged their places and the
verb form was changed from ‘ate’ to ‘was eaten’. The change of verb form depends on the singular or
plural of subject and tense form.

# Rules to be followed for changing Active into Passive

(The common changes in the place of verb/tense forms)

PRESENT TENSE

TENSE NAME ACTIVE PASSIVE

Simple Present Tense Eats Is /are eaten

Present Perfect Tense Has/have eaten Has/have been eaten

Present Continuous Is/are eating Is/are being eaten

Present Perfect Continuous Tense Has/have been eating ————-

Examples:

I drink tea.

Tea is drunken by me.

He has drunk tea.

Tea has been drunken by him.

They are drinking tea.

Tea is being drunken by them.

We have been drinking tea.

Tea has (been being) drunken by us. [Cannot be written]

PAST TENSE

TENSE ACTIVE PASSIVE

Simple Past Tense Ate Was/ were eaten

Past Perfect Tense Had eaten Had been eaten

Past Continuous Tense Was/were eating Was/were being eaten

Past Perfect Continuous Tense Had been eating ————-

Examples:

I drank tea.

Tea was drunken by me.

He had drunk tea.

Tea had been drunken by him.

They were drinking tea.

Tea was being drunken by them.

FUTURE TENSE

TENSE ACTIVE PASSIVE

Simple Future Tense Will eat Will be eaten

Future Perfect Tense Will have eaten Will have been eaten

Future Continuous Tense Will be eating ————-

Future Perfect Continuous Tense Will have been eating ————-

Examples:

I will drink tea.

Tea will be drunken by me.

He will have drunken tea.

Tea will have been drunken by him.

Tea will (be being) drunken by them. [Cannot be written]

# The most common changes in the Subjects and Objects

Nouns Pronouns

I Me

We Us

They Them

She Her

He Him

It It

You You, Him

Exercise #1
Distinguishing between Active or Passive Voice (Indica se queste frasi
sono attive o passive)

Indicate if the below sentences are in the passive or active voice.

1. I have never been to Wichita.

2. I have never been arrested.

3. The tower was built in 1802 by a French Artist.

4. Nothing happened.

5. No one was injured by the fire.

7. We decided not to hire anyone.

8. The pizza was delicious.

9. The pizza was ordered.

10. The pizza made me sick.

11. I was made sick by the pizza.

Exercise #2
Change Active sentences to Passive (Present Simple and Past Simple) -
Trasforma queste frasi dalla forma attiva alla forma passiva

1. I didn’t fix the problem.

2. Police protect the town.

3. John’s mother raised him in a small town.

4. Someone painted the building last year.

5. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928.

6. Some students study grammar on the Internet.

Look at the subject and verb to determine if it is an active or passive sentence. Then add the appropriate
verb. Use the Past Simple tense for this exercise.

1. Many people _______________ (buy) tickets for the concert last year. All the tickets
_______________ (sell).

2. The child _______________ (help) by his father. His toys ___ (pick up) and put into a drawer.

4. Scientists _______________ (discover) a new species of frog.

5. The students _______________ (not/raise) their hands.

6. Last night’s dinner _______________ (prepare) by my wife.

7. The safety rules _______________ (not/follow), so an accident _______________ (happen).

8. Because the printer _______________ (damage), we couldn’t print.

9. The house _______________ (have) a swimming pool when I lived there.

10. I _______________ (not/allow) to drink alcohol when I was young.

Mark if the sentence is in the active or passive voice. (Remember to look for the BE + Past Participle
structure.)

1. The company was shut down by the police.

2. We had been given the wrong tickets.

3. She wishes she had been there.

4. He might not have been paying attention.

5. He should not have been asked to pay.

6. Chemicals can be toxic.

7. New regulations will be introduced next spring.

Exercise #5
Change Active sentences to Passive (Present Simple and Past Simple)
Trasforma queste frasi dalla forma attiva alla forma passiva
1. Someone had broken the window by 3:00 p.m.

2. A strange man was watching us.

3. Tokyo will hold the Olympics in 2020.

5. My manager has told him to arrive earlier.

6. They could not have made the mistake.

7. I hope they are going to hire me soon.

Exercise #6

All Verb Tenses

Inserisci la forma del passivo adeguata (To be + pasta

1. That car looks like it has never _______________ (wash).

2. If I were you, I would _______________ (contact) a lawyer.

3. Have you _______________ (inform) yet about the new policy?

4. Unfortunately, the budget has _______________ (not/approve) yet.

5. A smile _______________ (appear) on her face.

6. We _______________ (wait) for 30 minutes. Where is the bus?

7. The performance _______________ (happen) right now. Let’s go.

9. The server _______________ (order) to clean up the mess he had made.

10. The judge ordered that smoking _______________ (prohibit) in restaurants.

11. His grandfather _______________ (pass away) years ago.

12. The airplane, which _______________ (operate) by Singapore Airlines, _______________ (fly) by
an experienced pilot.

13. I wouldn’t have complained if the food _______________ (not/be) overcooked.