English Unit 2

Unit 2 Active & Passive Voice,

Direct & Indirect Speech
Structure:
2.1 Introduction
Objectives
2.2 Active & Passive Voice
Active voice
Passive voice
2.3 Direct Indirect Speech
Direct speech
Indirect speech
Change direct speech into indirect speech
2.4 Summary
2.5 Terminal Questions
2.6 Answers

2.1 Introduction
In the previous unit, you studied about sentences. In this unit, we will cover
voices and speeches in English grammar.
In English grammar, voice doesn't mean the sound you make when you
speak. It shows whether the subject of a sentence is doing the action, or
having the action done to it.
Words are spoken or written in two ways:
(a) In your own words exactly called as direct speech.
(b) Mentioned without changing the meaning of the words called as indirect
speech.
The current unit provides you with an insight into all aspects of active-
passive voice and direct and indirect speech.
Objectives:
After studying this unit, you will be able to:
 define what is active and passive voice
 identify active and passive voice
 convert active into passive voice and vice versa
 define what is direct and indirect speech

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 identify direct and indirect speech

 convert direct into indirect speech and vice versa

2.2 Active & Passive Voice

There are two voices in English language known as:
1. Active voice
2. Passive voice
2.2.1 Active voice
The active voice is the "normal" voice. This is the voice that we use most of
the time. You are probably already familiar with the active voice. It can be
defined as the voice used to indicate that the subject of the sentence is
causing or performing the action. On the contrary, passive voice is the
voice used when the subject is the recipient of the action. Writers should
usually use the active voice rather than the passive. It’s considered to be a
more powerful and straightforward form of expression. The active voice also
uses less number of words to convey the same message.
In the active voice, the object receives the action of the verb.
active subject verb object
>
Cats eat fish

2.2.2 Passive voice

The active voice is the "normal" voice. But sometimes we need the passive
voice. The passive voice is less usual than the active voice. In this lesson
we look at how to construct the passive voice, when to use it and how to
blend it.
The structure of the passive voice is very simple:
subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past participle)
The main verb is always in its past participle form.

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Look at these examples:

subject auxiliary main verb (past participle)
verb (to be)
Water Is drunk by everyone.
1000 people Are employed by my organization.
I Am paid on 5th every month.
We Are not paid in euros.
Are They paid in rupees?

Though usually active voice is given preference over the others, it does not
mean that passive voice should not be used. But you should use it only in
the following instances:
 In order to intentionally make something true so as to minimize the guilt
of the subject. For example,
 A cheating wife might respond, "Yes, adultery was committed by me."
 In order to intentionally hide the subject of the sentence. For example,
 A political leader might say, "Mistakes were made."
 In order to make passive voice better emphasize the main point of the
passage. For example,
Children were harmed by unlicensed cab drivers
Note that we always use by to introduce the passive object (Fish are eaten
by cats). The passive voice is less usual.
Look at this sentence: He was killed with a bullet.
Normally we use by to introduce the passive object. But the bullet is not the
active subject. The bullet did not kill him. He was killed by somebody with a
bullet. In the active voice, it would be: Somebody killed him with a bullet.
The bullet is the instrument. Somebody is the "agent" or "doer".
Conjugation for the passive voice
Passive can be made in any tense. If we pay attention, we will find that the
conjugation of verbs in the passive tense is rather easy, as the main verb is
always in past participle form and the auxiliary verb is always be. To form
the required tense, we conjugate the auxiliary verb. So, for example:
 Present simple: It is made.
 Present continuous: It is being made.
 Present perfect: It has been made.

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Here are some examples with most of the possible tenses:

infinitive to be cooked
Simple Present It is cooked.
Past It was cooked.
Future It will be cooked.
Conditional It would be cooked.
Continuous Present It is being cooked.
Past It was being cooked.
Future It will be being cooked.
Conditional It would be being cooked.
Perfect Present It has been cooked.
simple Past It had been cooked.
Future It will have been cooked.
Conditional It would have been cooked.
Perfect Present It has been being cooked.
continuous Past It had been being cooked.
Future It will have been being cooked.
Conditional It would have been being cooked.

Activity 1:
Tell if the following sentences are in active voice or passive voice.
1. I ate a piece of apple pie.
2. The mother read the book to her daughter.
3. Peace talks were halted.
4. I am paid for Sundays.
5. The movie is being made in France.
6. I cooked my favourite dish three weeks ago.
7. His hair was cut by his friend.
8. I will introduce you to my husband this week.
9. It would have been fixed on some Sunday.
10. The national anthem is usually sung by our leader.
Self Assessment Questions
1. The ________ voice is the normal voice.
2. Normally we use ________ to introduce the passive object.
3. ________ voice is the voice used when the subject is the recipient of
the action.

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2.3 Direct Indirect Speech

Speech may be of two kinds,
 Direct
 Indirect
2.3.1 Direct speech
You use Direct Speech whenever words of a speaker are recorded/written
exactly as they are spoken. Whenever you use direct speech in writing or
speaking, the words spoken or written are put in inverted commas ("....")
and there is no change in these words. You may be reporting something
that's being said NOW (for example writing a letter), or telling someone later
about an earlier conversation.
Example 1:
Suresh said to his mother that he went to the market to buy potatoes,
onions and tomatoes. His mother asked him how much money he had in his
pocket and how much he spent on the vegetables. Suresh replied that he
had ` 200 out of which he spent ` 105/- in all as he also bought a candy on
his way back. His mother pleaded with him not to eat too much candy.
How will you change this into direct speech?
Solution:
Suresh said, “Mother, I went to the market to buy potatoes, onions and
tomatoes.”
Mother said to Suresh, “How much money did you have in your pocket and
how much did you spend on vegetables?”

Suresh said, “Mother, I had ` 200 out of which I spent ` 105 in all because I
also bought a candy on my way back.”
His mother said,” Please Suresh, do not eat so much candy.”

Activity 2:
Write an imaginary conversation between your brother and his teacher
regarding career choice after Class XII. Please note that it should be in
direct speech.

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2.3.2 Indirect speech

You use Indirect Speech (also called as Reported Speech) to present in
writing or verbally what someone else said, but without using the exact
words. The tense of the verbs are often changed. Reported speech is
ordinarily used to talk about the past, so you should normally change the
tense of the words spoken into past. You should use reporting verbs like
'tell', ’say’, 'ask', and may use the word 'that' to talk about the reported
words. You should not use Inverted commas at all for recording indirect
speech.
Example:
Vanshika’s teacher gave her a sheet and said, “Please go and give it to the
sports incharge.
Vanshika returned after sometime and said, “Sorry Madam, I went
everywhere but was unable to find Sir.” “What should I do now?”
Her teacher said, “Oh you must have missed him by a few seconds. He
came in after you left.
Give it to me. I shall give it to him when I meet him.”
How will you change the above into indirect speech?
Solution:
Vanshika’s teacher gave her a sheet and requested her to go and give it to
the sports in charge.
Vanshika returned back after sometime and asking to be forgiven told her
that she had gone everywhere but was unable to find him. She enquired
from her teacher what she should do next.
Her teacher exclaimed that she must have missed him by a few seconds.
He had come in just after she left.
The teacher told her to give the sheet to her. She herself would give it to
him when she meets him.
2.3.3 Change direct speech into indirect speech
Direct: The dentist said, “I do not have an appointment for 4 PM”.
Indirect: The dentist said that he did not have an appointment for 4 PM.

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The inverted commas in the first sentence are used to convey the exact
sentence said by the dentist.
How is the first sentence different from the second?
If you notice carefully,
 Conjunction ‘that’ has been added
 The ‘I’ has become [he]
 Present tense has become past
So, you see the change in the person of the pronoun and the tense of the
verb and the adverb when you change from Direct to Indirect.
You will now be introduced to changes in statement, a question, an
order/instruction and an exclamatory sentence in this section.
Changes in the statement
When you use the reporting verb in the past tense, then the present tense of
the direct speech is changed into the corresponding past tense.

Changes in Indirect Speech

Direct Speech Indirect Speech Examples

Simple Present Simple Past He said, “We are tall.”

He said that they were tall.
Present Past continuous She said, “I am eating my lunch.”
continuous She said that she was eating her
lunch.
Present perfect Past Perfect He said, “I have eaten.”
He said that he had eaten.
Simple past Past Perfect Nisha said, “I gave the driving
test.”
Nisha said that she had given the
driving test.
Past Past perfect continuous Vivek said, “I was driving well.”
continuous Vivek said that he had been
driving well.
Shall, will Should, would Nimesh said, “I will see you in the
evening.”
Nimesh said that he would see
me in the evening.

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Changes in pronoun
What do think is meant by “Person” of a pronoun?
You are already aware that there are three person[s] where a pronoun is
concerned. They are the 1st person, the 2nd person and the 3rd person.
The 1st person is the ‘Person speaking’.
The 2nd person is the ‘Person spoken to’.
The 3rd person is the ‘Person spoken of/about’.
Why do you think there can’t be a 4th Person?
It is because in a conversation there can only be a ‘person speaking’, ‘a
person spoken to’ or a “person spoken of”. There cannot be a fourth
‘person’.
Let us suppose that there are two people ‘Altaf’ and ‘Brij’. If Altaf says to Brij
“I want to go there”, he is the ‘person speaking’ and he refers to himself as
‘I’, so ‘I’ is the first person.
Assume that he asks Brij “Do you want to come?” Brij is the ‘person spoken
to’ and he is being addressed as ‘you’, so ‘you’ is the second person.
Assume that ‘Altaf’ goes away and ‘Chitra’ arrives and Brij tells Chitra what
Altaf told him, saying, ‘He wanted to go there’. ‘Altaf’ is the ‘person spoken
of’ and so ‘He’ is the third person.
For direct speech, you change first person pronouns according to the
subject of the reporting verb in the indirect speech.
Direct: She said, “I am ready to go.”
Indirect: She said that he was ready to go.
Direct: Dharna said, “I am unwell.”
Indirect: Dharna said that she was unwell.
Direct: Ikram said, “I will be late.”
Indirect: Ikram said that he would be late.
Direct: The teachers said, “We will not permit this.”
Indirect: The teachers said that they would not permit that.
Direct: We said, “We need to buy some clothes.”
Indirect: We said that we needed to buy some clothes.

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Second person pronouns in the direct speech change according to the

object of the reporting verb in the indirect speech.
Direct: Tapan said to me, “You have to come to the party.”
Indirect: Tapan told me that I had to go to the party.
Direct: Sheela said to me, “You can leave.”
Indirect: Sheela told me that I could leave.
Direct: Sheela said to him, “You can go.”
Indirect: Sheela told him that he could go.
You do not change third person pronouns in the direct speech when/while
making change in the indirect speech.
Direct: Hemu said, “She is a good player.”
Indirect: Hemu said that she was a good player.
Direct: Sheeba said, “They have invited us for lunch.”
Indirect: Sheeba said that they had invited them for lunch.
Direct: They said, “He does not have the experience for the job.”
Indirect: They said that he did not have the experience for the job.
Note:
When you change the pronouns in the manner mentioned earlier, you need
to note that the new (changed) pronoun will have the same case and
number as the original one. I will change into he, she, you or it.
We will change into you or they.
Singular you will change into I, she, he or it.
Plural you will change into we or they.
He, she and it will change into I only.
They will change into you or we.
Me will change into him, her, you or it.
Us will change into you or them.
Singular you used as object will change into me, him, her or it.
Plural you used as object will change into us or them.
Him, her or it will change into me or you.
Them will change into us or you.
My will change into your, his, her or its.
Our will change into your or their.
His, her and its will change into my or your.
Their will change into our or your.
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Activity 3:
Carefully note the conversation taking place between two of your friends
and identify the following:
Is it first person/second person or third person?
How will it be recorded in indirect speech?

Change of adverb
Besides the changes in the tenses and the pronouns, you should change
words expressing nearness in direct speech into words expressing distance
in indirect speech. The rules are as follows:

This that
These those
Thus so/that way
Here There
Tomorrow the next day
This week that week
Hence thence
Now/just then
Ago before
Yesterday the day before/the previous day
Today that day
Last night the night before/the previous night
Last week the week before
The next day/week/year the following day/week/year

Self Assessment Questions

4. Whenever you use ___________ speech in writing or speaking, the
words spoken or written are put in inverted commas.
5. Words are spoken or written in ___________ ways.
6. The most important point to change a direct speech into an indirect
speech is to the ___________.
7. Reporting verbs like ___________ are used while recording indirect
speech.
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8. In case of change of pronoun I becomes ___________.

9. In case of pronoun we becomes ___________.
10. In case of change of adverb ___________ becomes the next day.
11. In case of change of adverb ___________ become that day.

2.4 Summary
In English grammar, voice doesn't mean the sound you make when you
speak. It shows whether the subject of a sentence is doing the action, or
having the action done to it. The first one is active and the second, passive.
There are two main ways of reporting people’s thoughts, words, beliefs etc., viz.
direct speech in which we can repeat or quote the exact words spoken and
indirect speech, in which we can make a speaker's words or thoughts part of
our sentence, using conjunctions and changing pronouns, tenses and other
words when necessary.

Glossary
Auxiliary verb: Auxiliary verbs are used together with a main verb to give
grammatical information and therefore add extra meaning to a sentence,
which is not given by the main verb.
Reported speech: We often have to give information about what people
say or think. In order to do this you can use direct or quoted speech, or
indirect or reported speech.
Modal verb: All the auxiliary verbs except be, do and have are called
modals. Unlike other auxiliary verbs modals which only exist in their helping
form; they cannot act alone as the main verb in a sentence.

2.5 Terminal Questions

1. What do you keep in mind while writing/talking in active voice?
2. What do you mean by passive voice?
3. What do you mean by direct-indirect speech?
4. What are the main rules you keep in mind while changing a direct
speech into an indirect one?

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2.6 Answer
Self Assessment Questions
1. Active
2. By
3. Passive
4. Direct
5. Two
6. Tense
7. Tell, say, ask
8. He/she
9. They
10. Tomorrow
11. Today

Terminal Questions
1. Refer to 2.2 – The active voice is the "normal" voice.
2. Refer to 2.2 – The passive voice is less usual than the active voice.
3. Refer to 2.3 – You use Direct Speech whenever words of a speaker are
recorded/written exactly as they are spoken
4. Refer to 2.3 – Whenever you use direct speech in writing or speaking,
the words spoken or written are put in inverted commas.

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