Active and Passive Voice Rules, Example,

In Active Voice, a sentence emphasizes subject performing an action while in Passive Voice
sentence emphasizes the action or the object of the sentence.

To know how a sentence is converted in Passive voice from Active voice, we need to go
through certain rules with examples based on it.

What is Voice?

The voice of a verb tells whether the subject of the sentence performs or receives the action.
i) Birds build nests.
ii) Nests are built by birds.

Types of Voice:

Active Voice: the subject performs the action expressed by the verb.
Usage: when more clarity and straightforward relation is required between verb and subject.
Passive Voice: the subject receives the action expressed by the verb.
Usage: when the action is the focus, not the subject or when the doer is unknown.

Rules of Conversion from Active to Passive Voice:

1. Identify the subject, the verb and the object: S+V+O

2. Change the object into subject (o+v+s)
3. Put the suitable helping verb or auxiliary verb
4. Change the verb into past participle of the verb
5. Add the preposition "by“
6. Change the subject into object
Example:
Active Voice: Sameer wrote a letter. (Subject) + (verb) + (object).
Passive Voice: A letter was written by Sameer. (Object) + (auxiliary verb) + (past participle)
+ (by subject).
Active and Passive Voice Rules for All Tenses

Here, we are listing out the Active and Passive Voice Rules for all tenses. You will come to
know how an auxiliary verb is used to change a sentence from Active to Passive voice.

Active and Passive Voice Rules for Present Simple Tense

Here in this table, we are elaborating Rules of Active and Passive Voice with examples for
Present Simple.

Passive Voice
Active Voice
(Auxiliary Verb – is/am/are)

(A) Subject + V1+s/es+ object Object+ is/am/are+ V3+ by + subject

(N) Subject + Do/does+ not + V1 + Object Object + is/am/are+ not + V3+ by Subject

(I) Does+ Subject+ V1+Object+? Is/am/are + Object+ V3+ by subject +?

Active and Passive Voice Example with Answers of Present Simple Tense

Active: He reads a novel.

Passive: A novel is read by him.

Active: He does not cook food.

Passive: Food is not cooked by him.

Active: Does he purchase books?

Passive: Are books purchased by him?

Active: They grow plants.

Passive: Plants are grown by them.

Active: She teaches me.

Passive: I am taught by her.

Active and Passive Voice Rules for Present Continuous Tense

Below we will explain the Rules of Active and Passive Voice with examples for Present
Continuous tense.

Passive Voice
Active Voice
(Auxiliary Verb- is/am/are + being)

Object+ is/am/are+ being+ V3+ by +

Subject + is/am/are+ v1+ ing + object
subject

Object + is/am/are+ not + being+V3+ by

Subject + is/am/are+ not+ v1+ ing+ object
Subject

Is/am/are+ subject+v1+ing + object+? Is/am/are + Object+ V3+ by subject +?

Active and Passive Voice Exercises of Present Continuous Tense

Active: Esha is singing a song.

Passive: A song is being sung by Esha.

Active: Kritika is not chopping vegetables.

Passive: Vegetables are not being chopped by Kritika.

Active: Is Ritika buying a table?

Passive: Is a table being bought by Ritika?

Active: They are serving poor people.

Passive: Poor people are being served by them.

Active: She is disturbing Dinesh.

Passive: Dinesh is being disturbed by her.

Active and Passive Voice Rules for Present Perfect Tense

 You can understand passive voice for present perfect tense from the list which are given
below.

Passive Voice
Active Voice
(Auxiliary Verb- has/have +been)

Subject + has/have+ v3+ object Object+ has/have+ been+ V3+ by + subject

Object + has/have+ not + been+V3+ by

Subject + has/have+ not+ v3+ object
Subject

Has/Have + Object+ been+V3+ by subject

Has/have+ subject+ v3 + object+?
+?

Active and Passive Voice Example with Answers of Present Perfect Tense

Active: Nitesh has challenged her.

Passive: She has been challenged by Nitesh.

Active: Radhika has not written an article.

Passive: An article has not been written by Radhika.

Active: Have they left the apartment?

Passive: Has apartment been left by them?

Active: She has created this masterpiece.

Passive: This masterpiece has been created by her.

Active: I have read the newspaper.

Passive: The newspaper has been read by me.

Active and Passive Voice Rules for Past Simple Tense

Here in the below table, you can check Active and Passive Voice Rules for past simple tense.

Passive Voice
Active Voice
(Auxiliary Verb- was/were)

Subject + V2+ object Object+ was/were V3+ by + subject

Subject +did+ not+v1+ object Object + was/were+ not +V3+ by Subject

Did+ subject+V1+ object+? Was/were + Object+ V3+ by subject +?

Active and Passive Voice Exercises of Past Simple Tense

Active: Reema cleaned the floor.

Passive: The floor was cleaned by Reema.

Active: Aisha did not buy a bicycle.

Passive: A bicycle was not bought by Aisha.

Active: Naman called my friends.

Passive: My friends were called by Naman.

Active: I saved him.

Passive: He was saved by me.

Active: Miraya paid the bills.

Passive: The bills were paid by Miraya.

Active and Passive Voice Rules for Past Continuous Tense

We can easily convert sentences from Active to Passive Voice according to given rules
below.

Passive Voice
Active Voice
(Auxiliary Verb- was/were + being)

Object+ was/were +being+V3+ by +

Subject + was/were + v1+ing+ object.
subject

Object + was/were+ not +being+V3+ by

Subject +was/were+ not+v1+ing + object
Subject

Was/were + Object+ being+v3+ by+

Was/were+ Subject + V1+ing + object+?
subject+?

Active and Passive Voice Examples with Answers of Past Continuous Tense

Active: Nitika was painting the wall.

Passive: The wall was being painted by Nitika.

Active: Manish was repairing the car.

Passive: The car was being repaired by Manish.

Active: Were you reciting the poem?

Passive: Was the poem being recited?

Active: She was baking the cake.

Passive: The cake was being baked by her.

Active: She was watching me.

Passive: I was being watched by her.

Active and Passive Voice Rules for Past Perfect Tense

There are certain Active and Passive Voice Rules for Past perfect tense, with these only you
can convert any sentence in Passive Voice.

Passive Voice
Active Voice
(Auxiliary Verb- had +been)

Subject + had + v3+ object. Object+ had+been +V3+ by + subject

Subject +had+ not+v3+ object Object + had+ not +been+V3+ by Subject

Had+ Subject + V3+ object+? Had + Object+ been+v3+ by+ subject+?

Active and Passive Voice Exercises of Past Perfect Tense

Active: Misha had cleaned the floor.

Passive: The floor had been cleaned by Misha.

Active: Vidhi had not received the parcel.

Passive: The parcel had not been received by Vidhi.

Active: Vishal had solved the doubt.

Passive: The doubt had been solved.

Active: Had they caught the thief?

Passive: Had the thief been caught by them?

Active: I had paid fifty thousand.

Passive: Fifty thousand had been paid by me.

Active and Passive Voice Rules for Future Simple Tense

You can check Active Voice and Passive Voice Rules chart for future simple tense.

Passive Voice
Active Voice
(Auxiliary Verb- will+ be)

Subject + will+ v1+ object. Object+ will+ be +V3+ by + subject

Subject +will + not+ V1+object Object + will+ not +be+V3+ by Subject

Will+ Subject + V1+ object+? Will + Object+ be +v3+ by+ subject+?

We can better understand Rules of Active and Passive Voice with examples for future simple
tense.

Active and Passive Voice Examples with Answers of Future Simple Tense
Active: Kriya will sew the bag.

Passive: The bag will be sewed by Kriya.

Active: Disha will not arrange the things.

Passive: The things will not be arranged by Disha.

Active: Will you mop the floor?

Passive: Will the floor be mopped by you?

Active: They will post the letter.

Passive: The letter will be posted by them.

Active: Reena will save money.

Passive: Money will be saved by Reena.

Active and Passive Voice Rules for Future Perfect Tense

Here, we are sharing the Active Voice and Passive Voice Rules chart for future perfect tense.

Active Voice Passive Voice

Object+ will+ have+ been +V3+ by +

Subject + will+ have +v3+ object.
subject

Object + will+ have +not+been+v3+

Subject + will+ have +not+v3+ object.
subject

Will+ Subject+have+v3+ object+? Will + object+have+been+v3+by

 +subject+?

Active and Passive Voice Exercises of Future Perfect Tense

Active: They will have brought the toy.

Passive: The toy will have been brought by them.

Active: Nimesh will not have changed the table cover.

Passive: The table cover will not have been changed by Nimesh.

Active: Will she have written the notes.

Passive: Will the notes have been written by her?

Active: They will have won the match.

Passive: The match will have been won by them.

Active: Vijay will have washed a shirt.

Passive: A shirt will have been washed by Vijay.

There is no Passive Voice formation for these tenses-

1.) Present Perfect Continuous Tense

2.) Past Perfect Continuous Tense

3.) Future Perfect Continuous Tense

4.) Future Continuous Tense

Tips on using Voice:

Tip #1: Let

If the given sentence in the active voice is in the imperative form, to get the passive voice
use ‘Let’.
Formation of Passive Voice = Let + Object + be + Past Participle
Examples:
Active: Help me.
Passive: Let me be helped.
Active: Open the door.
Passive: Let the door be opened.

Tip #2: Helping verbs like am, is, are, was, were, will, have, should, could, will
If the question in the Active Voice begins with a Helping verb the Passive voice must also
begin with a suitable helping verb.
Active: Are you writing a letter?
Passive: Is a letter being written by you?
Active: Will you write a letter?
Passive: Will a letter be written by you?
What, When, Who, Why, How:
If the question begins with ‘Wh’ or How’ form (what, when, how, etc.) the Passive Voice
must begin with the same. Only ‘who’ gets replaced by ‘By whom’.
Active: Why did you break the box?
Passive: Why was the box broken by you?
Active: Who broke the window?
Passive: By whom was the window broken?

Tip #3: Gerund, Infinitive

When used in passive form, gerund and Infinitive are formed differently.
Infinitive: passive is formed as ‘to be + past participle’
Active: I want to shoot the tiger.
Passive: I want the tiger to be shot.
Gerund: passive is formed as ‘being + past participle’
Active: I remember my father taking me to the theatre.
Passive: I remember being taken to the theatre by my father.

The forms of the gerund

aspect
form
gerund
passive
perfect
simple
The gerund is an -ing form. It can be simple or perfect, active or passive:

Active Passive

Simple gerund Writing being written

Perfect gerund having written having been written

Note the changes in spelling when forming the simple gerund:

read » reading
study » studying
grow » growing
relax » relaxing
answer » answering
write » writing; argue » arguing (a final -e is omitted)
agree » agreeing (a final -ee does not change)
lie » lying (a final -ie changes to -y-)
put » putting; regret » regretting; readmit » readmitting (we double the final consonant if the
verb ends in consonant-vowel-consonant, with the exception of w, x and y, and only has one
syllable or has the stress on the last syllable)

In the negative, not usually comes before the gerund:

There is no point in applying for the grant.

There is no point in not applying for the grant.

In some cases, the verb in the main clause is negative, not the gerund:
I like getting up early.
I don't like getting up early.

As the gerund has no tense, it does not in itself indicate the time of the action that it refers to.
However, it can show whether this time is the same as or earlier than the time of the verb in
the main clause.

Simple gerund

The simple gerund can refer to the same time as that of the verb in the main clause:

I hate arguing with you. (arguing refers to the same time as hate: I hate when we argue.)
Tom suggested going back to our tents. (going refers to the same time as suggested: Tom
suggested that we should go back to our tents.)

The simple gerund can also refer to a time before that of the verb in the main clause:

I don't remember saying anything like that. (saying refers to a time before don't remember: I
don't remember that I said anything like that.)
She regretted not studying harder when she was at school. (not studying refers to a time
before regretted: She regretted that she hadn't studied harder when he was at school.)

Perfect gerund

The perfect gerund refers to a time before that of the verb in the main clause. However, it is
only used if the time of the action expressed by the gerund is not obvious from the context:

He denied being married. (the simple gerund being refers to the same time as denied: He
denied that he was married.)

He denied having been married. (the perfect gerund having been refers to a time
before denied: He denied that he had been married.)

If it is clear that an earlier time is meant, we use the simple gerund:

He denied stealing the car. (He denied that he had stolen the car.)

Passive gerunds

Passive forms are also possible:

I hate being lied to. (passive simple gerund: I hate it when people lie to me.)
He complained of having been unjustly accused. (passive perfect gerund: He complained that
they had unjustly accused him.)

Tip #4: Direct and Indirect Object

If a sentence contains two objects namely Indirect Object and Direct Object in the Active
Voice, two forms of Passive Voice can be formed.
Active: She brought me a cup of coffee.
Passive: (I) I was brought a cup of coffee by her.
Passive: (II) A cup of coffee was brought to me by her.
Object Complement: When made passive, these objects complements become subject
complements; they come after the verb.
Active: They elected him their leader.
Passive: He was elected their leader.

Tip #5: Cases where ‘by’ is not used

With: use with in place of ‘by’ to talk about an instrument used by the agent/subject.
Active: Somebody hit the dog with a stick.
Passive: (I) The dog was hit by with a stick.
Passive: (II) The dog was hit by a boy.
Impersonal Passive: In scientific / technical / business writing, the emphasis is usually on the
action or process. So the ‘by’ phrase is generally omitted.
Active: One finds mosquitoes everywhere.
Passive: Mosquitoes are found everywhere.

Tip #6: Cases where no passive form exists

Present perfect Continuous: She has been writing a letter.
Past perfect Continuous: He had been cleaning the house.
Future Continuous: I will be filing all the documents tomorrow.
Future Perfect Continuous: I will have been serving tea for customers at this hotel for twenty
years by then.
Intransitive verb which do not take objects:
· I eat.
· I am living here.
· I have travelled by train.
· I went there.
· I waited for a long time.

Spot the Errors:‘

Each of the following sentences will contain a mistake in the Passive Voice form of the
sentence. See if you can spot that mistake.’

#1:
Active: They sell books.
Passive: Books are being sold by them. (Incorrect)
Passive: Books are sold by them. (Correct)

#2:
Active: You are disturbing me.
Passive: I have been disturbed by you. (Incorrect)
Passive: I am being disturbed by you. (Correct)

#3:
Active: She has written two books.
Passive: Two books are written by her. (Incorrect)
Passive: Two books have been written by her. (Correct)

#4:
Active: Did he buy a car?
Passive: Had a car bought by him? (Incorrect)
Passive: Was a car bought by him? (Correct)

#5:
Active: Boys were singing songs.
Passive: Songs were sung by boys. (Incorrect)
Passive: Songs were being sung by boys. (Correct)

#6:
Active: He had collected stamps.
Passive: Stamps were being collected by him. (Incorrect)
Passive: Stamps had been collected by him. (Correct)

#7:
Active: They will arrange the party.
Passive: The party can be arranged by them. (Incorrect)
Passive: The party will be arranged by them. (Correct)

#8:
Active: She cleaned the table with a feather duster.
Passive: The table was cleaned by a feather duster. (Incorrect)
Passive: The table was cleaned with a feather duster by her. (Correct)

9:
Active: Sing a song.
Passive: Let a song be sing. (Incorrect)
Passive: Let a song be sung. (Correct)

#10:
Active: Where can you hide this box?
Passive: How can this box be hidden by you? (Incorrect)
Passive: Where can this box be hidden by you? (Correct)

Table of English Tenses in Active and Passive

The following chart provides an overview of English tenses in the active and passive voice.
Tense Active passive
Someone injures the man. The man is
Simple Present injured (by
someone).
Someone is injuring the man. The man is being
Present Progressive injured (by
someone).
Someone has injured the man. The man has been
Present Perfect injured (by
someone).
Someone injured the man. The man was
Simple Past injured (by
someone).
Someone was injuring the man. The man was
Past Progressive being injured (by
someone).
Someone had injured the man. The man had been
Past Perfect injured (by
someone).
Someone will injure the man. The man will be
Future I (will) injured (by
someone).
Someone is going to injure the man. The man is going
Future I (going to) to be injured (by
someone).
Someone will have injured the man. The man will have
Future II been injured (by
someone).
Someone would injure the man. The man would be
Conditional I injured (by
someone).
Someone would have injured the man. The man would
have been
Conditional II
injured (by
someone).

Subject and Object pronouns

When construsting a passive sentence from an active sentence with two objects, we have to
pay special attention to pronouns. If the object of the active sentence is a pronoun and this
pronoun is used as the subject of the passive sentence, we must change it from an object
pronoun into a subject pronoun.
 Active Voice Object Pronoun Subject pronoun Passive Voice
He hit me with his car. me I I was hit (by his car).
He hit you with his car. you You You were hit (by his car).
He hit her with his car. her She She was hit (by his car).
He hit him with his car. him He He was hit (by his car).
He hit it with his car. it It It was hit (by his car).
He hit us with his car. us We We were hit (by his car).
He hit them with his car. them They They were hit (by his car).

Passive Voice of Imperatives

A sentence that issues a request or gives a command or expresses a desire or wish is called an
Imperative sentence. Imperative sentences are addressed without naming the subject. Hence
these sentences are without Subject and starts with the Principal Verb.

Sentences have different types of emotions - Order, Command, Request, Suggestion and
Advise. In Passive Voice of Imperative Sentence, we use different wordings with the Subject
as per the emotions of the sentence.

For making Passive Voice, Imperative Sentences are of the following types:

Sentences Containing Command

Sentences Containing Order
Sentences Containing Request
Sentences Containing Advice
Sentences Containing Suggestion

Rules

Sentence Rule of making Imperative Sentence Rule of converting Imperative Sentence (Active
Containing (Active Voice) Voice) to Passive Voice

Command Verb (Ist Form) + Object + (.) Let + Convert Object to Subject + Be + Verb (3rd
form)

Order Verb (Ist Form) + Object + (.) You are ordered to + Verb (Ist form)+ Object

Request Verb (Ist Form) + Object + (.) You are requested to + Verb (Ist form)+ Object

Advice Verb (Ist Form) + Object. You are advised to + Verb (Ist form)+ Object
 Suggestion Verb (Ist Form) + Object + (.) Convert Object to Subject + Should + Be + Verb
(3rd form)

Active: Please open the door.

Passive: You are requested to open the door.

Rules: Passive Voice of Modals Modals are special Helping Verbs. Modals express the mood
Sentence of a the Rule ofsuch
verb, making Sentence
as ability, of Rule
possibility, of converting
necessity or anotherSentence of They
condition. Modals
are(Active Voice)
used with a to
Containing main verb
Modals (Active Voice) Passive Voice
to form a sentence and it remains same whether Subject is singular or plural.
Modals are - May, Might, Can, Could, Will, Would, Shall, Should, Must, Ought to. We will
Positive learn in detail about
Subject Modals
+ Modals separately.
+ Verb Here we Object
(Ist Convert will focus on Passive
to Subject Voice of+ Modals.
+ Modals Be + Verb (3rd form) +
form) + Object + (.) By + Convert Subject to Object + Remaining (if any) + (.)
Rules of Passive voice of Modals (mentioned below) show that helping verb 'Be' is added
after Modals and 3rd form of verb is used for making Passive Voice.
Negative Subject + Modals + Not + Convert Object to Subject + Modals + Not + Be + Verb (3rd
Something
Verbmust / can / +should...
(Ist form) Object be doneform)
+ (.) by someone at sometime.
+ By + Convert Subject to Object + Remaining (if any)
+ (.)
Active : Our English teacher may give an exam today.
Passive: An exam may be given by our English teacher today.
Interrogative Modals + Subject + Verb (Ist Modals + Convert Object to Subject + Be + Verb (3rd form) +
Activeform) + Object
: Thomas + (?) many books.
has written By + Convert Subject to Object + Remaining (if any) + (.)
Passive: Many books have been written by Thomas.

Active : Do you have to pay the bill before leaving the restaurant?
Passive: the bill have to be paid before leaving the restaurant?

Active : Juan can give them some information about the job.
Passive: Some information can be given about the job by Juan.
Passive2: They can be given some information about the JOB by Juan.

Active : You must obey the traffic rules.

Passive: The traffic rules must be obeyed.