Active and Passive Voice -

Active & Passive Voice

Voice is the form of a verb that shows whether the subject performs an action or receives/is affected by the action.

There are two major types of voice:

Active Voice → the subject performs the action.
Passive Voice → the subject receives or is affected by the action.

Examples:

Active: Rahul writes a letter.

Passive: A letter is written by Rahul.

In the active sentence:

Rahul → Subject/Doer
writes → Verb
a letter → Object

In the passive sentence:

A letter → becomes the grammatical subject
is written → Passive Verb
by Rahul → Agent/Doer

The basic transformation is:

Active: Subject + Verb + Object

↓

Passive: Object + Appropriate form of BE + V3 + (by + Subject)

Example:

Active: The teacher teaches English.

Passive: English is taught by the teacher.

Voice is extensively tested in competitive examinations through:

Active-to-Passive Conversion
Passive-to-Active Conversion
Tense Identification
Interrogative Sentences
Imperative Sentences
Modal Constructions
Double Objects
Causative Structures
Infinitives and Gerunds
Special Passive Constructions

Table of Contents

Rules of Voice

The first step in changing voice is to understand the basic relationship between Subject, Verb and Object.

Basic Active–Passive Pattern

Active:

Subject + Verb + Object

Passive:

Object + BE + V3 + by + Subject

Example:

Active: Rahul writes a letter.

Subject → Rahul
Verb → writes
Object → a letter

Passive:

A letter is written by Rahul.

The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.

Only Transitive Verbs Normally Form the Passive

A transitive verb takes an object.

Example:

She wrote a letter.

Object = a letter

Therefore, passive transformation is possible:

A letter was written by her.

An intransitive verb does not take an object and therefore normally cannot be changed into the passive voice.

Example:

The baby slept.

There is no object.

Therefore, no ordinary passive form is possible.

Similarly:

He died yesterday.
The child laughed.
The sun rises in the east.
They arrived late.

These sentences cannot normally be converted into passive voice because there is no object to promote to subject position.

Object Becomes Subject

Example:

Active: She cleaned the room.

Object = the room

Passive:

The room was cleaned by her.

Subject Becomes Agent

The subject of the active sentence may appear after by in the passive.

Example:

Active: Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.

Passive: Hamlet was written by Shakespeare.

However, the by-agent is often omitted when it is unnecessary, obvious, unknown, or unimportant.

Example:

Someone stole my bicycle.

Passive:

My bicycle was stolen.

There is no need to say:

My bicycle was stolen by someone.

Main Verb Changes to V3

The main verb in a passive construction is always used in its past participle form (V3).

Examples:

write → written
eat → eaten
do → done
make → made
build → built
see → seen
take → taken

Example:

Active: She writes a letter.

Passive: A letter is written by her.

Not:

A letter is wrote by her. ✘

Tense Is Carried by the Auxiliary

The tense of the active sentence must remain unchanged in meaning when converted into passive voice.

Compare:

Active: He writes a letter.

Passive: A letter is written by him.

Present remains present.

Active: He wrote a letter.

Passive: A letter was written by him.

Past remains past.

Active: He will write a letter.

Passive: A letter will be written by him.

Future remains future.

Passive Always Requires a Form of Be

The ordinary passive pattern contains:

appropriate form of BE + V3

Common passive auxiliaries include:

am
is
are
was
were
be
been
being

Examples:

is written
was written
is being written
has been written
will be written

Pronoun Changes

When subject and object positions change, pronoun forms may also change.

Subject Form	Object Form
I	me
we	us
you	you
he	him
she	her
it	it
they	them
who	whom

Example:

Active: She helped me.

Passive:

I was helped by her.

Not:

Me was helped by she. ✘

By + Agent

Use by to introduce the doer/agent of the action when mentioning the agent is useful.

Example:

The Ramayana was written by Valmiki.

But the agent may be omitted when:

it is unknown
it is obvious
it is unimportant
the action/result is more important

Example:

The road was repaired last week.

The important information is the repair, not who repaired it.

By vs With

By normally identifies the agent/doer.

Example:

The thief was arrested by the police.

With may identify an instrument, material, or means.

Example:

The door was opened with a key.

Compare:

The door was opened by Rahul. → agent
The door was opened with a key. → instrument

Negative Sentences

Place not after the first auxiliary verb.

Example:

Active: She did not complete the work.

Passive:

The work was not completed by her.

Another example:

Active: They will not accept the proposal.

Passive:

The proposal will not be accepted by them.

Adverbs Generally Retain Their Meaning

Example:

Active: She completed the work quickly.

Passive: The work was completed quickly by her.

The position may change slightly for natural expression, but the meaning should remain unchanged.

Passive Voice Is Not Simply Word Reversal

A correct transformation requires:

identification of the object
correct tense
correct form of be
V3 of the main verb
correct pronoun case
preservation of meaning

Example:

Active: The students are solving the questions.

Not merely reversed as:

The questions the students are solving. ✘

Correct:

The questions are being solved by the students.

Tense-wise Conversion

Tense-wise conversion is one of the most important parts of voice.

The general formula is:

A passive construction such as:

has/have been being + V3

is grammatically possible in theory but is extremely awkward and rarely used in normal English.

Example of an awkward theoretical construction:

The road has been being repaired for two weeks.

Natural English usually rewrites this:

The road has been under repair for two weeks.

or restructures the sentence.

For competitive examinations, Present Perfect Continuous is generally treated as having no normal practical passive transformation.

Simple Past Tense

Active:

Subject + V2 + Object

Passive:

Object + was/were + V3 + by + Subject

Example:

Active: Rahul wrote a letter.

Passive: A letter was written by Rahul.

Another:

Active: The police arrested the thief.

Passive: The thief was arrested by the police.

Past Continuous Tense

Active:

Subject + was/were + V-ing + Object

Passive:

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

Example:

Active: She was writing a letter.

Passive: A letter was being written by her.

Another:

Active: They were repairing the bridge.

Passive: The bridge was being repaired.

Past Perfect Tense

Active:

Subject + had + V3 + Object

Passive:

Object + had been + V3 + by + Subject

Example:

Active: She had completed the work.

Passive: The work had been completed by her.

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

The theoretical passive:

had been being + V3

is very cumbersome and rarely used.

Competitive examinations generally avoid direct passive conversion of the Past Perfect Continuous.

Instead, rewrite naturally when required.

Simple Future Tense

Active:

Subject + will/shall + V1 + Object

Passive:

Object + will/shall + be + V3 + by + Subject

Example:

Active: She will complete the work.

Passive: The work will be completed by her.

Another:

Active: They will announce the result tomorrow.

Passive: The result will be announced tomorrow.

Future Continuous Tense

A theoretical form such as:

will be being + V3

is possible but highly unnatural.

Example:

The bridge will be being repaired tomorrow.

Such constructions are generally avoided in normal English and in traditional competitive-exam transformation questions.

Natural rewriting is preferred.

Future Perfect Tense

Active:

Subject + will have + V3 + Object

Passive:

Object + will have been + V3 + by + Subject

Example:

Active: She will have completed the project by Monday.

Passive: The project will have been completed by Monday.

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

A passive form would be extraordinarily cumbersome:

will have been being + V3

It is practically avoided.

Tense-wise Voice Table

Tense	Active Structure	Passive Structure
Simple Present	V1/V5	am/is/are + V3
Present Continuous	am/is/are + V-ing	am/is/are + being + V3
Present Perfect	has/have + V3	has/have + been + V3
Present Perfect Continuous	has/have been + V-ing	Normally avoided
Simple Past	V2	was/were + V3
Past Continuous	was/were + V-ing	was/were + being + V3
Past Perfect	had + V3	had been + V3
Past Perfect Continuous	had been + V-ing	Normally avoided
Simple Future	will + V1	will be + V3
Future Continuous	will be + V-ing	Normally avoided
Future Perfect	will have + V3	will have been + V3
Future Perfect Continuous	will have been + V-ing	Normally avoided

Important Passive Markers

Memorise these patterns:

is/am/are + V3 → Simple Present Passive
is/am/are being + V3 → Present Continuous Passive
has/have been + V3 → Present Perfect Passive
was/were + V3 → Simple Past Passive
was/were being + V3 → Past Continuous Passive
had been + V3 → Past Perfect Passive
will be + V3 → Simple Future Passive
will have been + V3 → Future Perfect Passive

Interrogative Sentences

Interrogative sentences require special care because the auxiliary remains before the subject.

Yes/No Questions with Be

Example:

Active: Is she writing a letter?

First identify the tense:

Present Continuous.

Passive structure:

Is + Object + being + V3…?

Passive:

Is a letter being written by her?

Another:

Active: Was Rahul writing the report?

Passive: Was the report being written by Rahul?

Questions with Do/Does

Active:

Does she write letters?

Simple Present Passive:

Are letters written by her?

Notice that does disappears, and the passive uses the correct form of be.

Another example:

Active: Does he teach English?

Passive: Is English taught by him?

Questions with Did

Active:

Did she complete the work?

Passive:

Was the work completed by her?

Incorrect:

Did the work completed by her? ✘

Correct:

Was the work completed by her? ✔

Questions with Have/Has

Active:

Has she completed the work?

Passive:

What as Object

Active:

What did she buy?

Passive:

What was bought by her?

Interrogative Formula

For many yes/no questions:

Auxiliary + Subject + Verb + Object?

↓

Passive Auxiliary + Object + V3 + by + Subject?

The exact auxiliary depends on the tense.

Imperative Sentences

An Imperative Sentence expresses:

command
request
advice
instruction
prohibition

The subject you is usually understood.

Examples:

Open the door.
Help the poor.
Do not waste time.
Please complete the work.

Passive transformation uses special structures.

Ordinary Command

A traditional passive structure is:

Let + Object + be + V3

Example:

Active: Open the door.

Passive: Let the door be opened.

Another:

Active: Close the window.

Passive: Let the window be closed.

Negative Imperative

Active:

Do not open the door.

Traditional passive:

Let the door not be opened.

A more natural form may be:

The door should not be opened.

Requests

For requests, a natural passive may use:

You are requested to + V1

Example:

Active: Please maintain silence.

Passive:

You are requested to maintain silence.

Another:

Please submit the form before Friday.

→ You are requested to submit the form before Friday.

Advice

Advice can be transformed using:

should be + V3

Example:

Active: Follow the rules.

Passive:

The rules should be followed.

Another:

Respect your elders.

→ Your elders should be respected.

Prohibition

Example:

Do not touch the wires.

Passive:

The wires should not be touched.

or, in traditional transformation:

Let the wires not be touched.

Let + Object + Be + V3

This is particularly common in examination grammar.

Examples:

Write the answer.

→ Let the answer be written.

Finish the work.

→ Let the work be finished.

However, not every imperative must be forced into an unnatural let construction in real-world English. Competitive examinations may nevertheless expect this traditional pattern.

Modal Verbs

Sentences containing modal auxiliary verbs follow a straightforward passive rule.

Active structure:

Subject + Modal + V1 + Object

Passive structure:

Object + Modal + be + V3 + by + Subject

Common modals include:

can
could
may
might
shall
should
will
would
must
ought to

Passive: The documents may have been stolen.

Remember:

Modal Perfect Passive = modal + have been + V3

Need to / Have to

Active:

You have to complete the work.

Passive:

The work has to be completed.

Active:

We need to solve this problem.

Passive:

This problem needs to be solved.

Also possible:

This problem needs solving.

Special Cases

Some active sentences cannot be transformed by simply applying the ordinary Object + BE + V3 formula. These special structures are very important for competitive examinations.

Verbs with Two Objects

Certain verbs take both:

Indirect Object
Direct Object

Example:

She gave me a book.

me → Indirect Object
a book → Direct Object

Either object may sometimes become the subject of the passive.

Passive 1:

I was given a book by her.

Passive 2:

A book was given to me by her.

Both are correct.

Common verbs that can take two objects include:

give
send
offer
teach
tell
lend
show
promise
award

Example:

The teacher taught us English.

Passive:

We were taught English by the teacher.

or:

English was taught to us by the teacher.

Verbs Requiring To in the Passive

Example:

He gave me a gift.

→ A gift was given to me.

Similarly:

send something to someone
offer something to someone
show something to someone

Verbs Requiring For

Some verbs may use for when the direct object becomes the passive subject.

Example:

She bought me a gift.

Passive:

A gift was bought for me.

Compare:

give a gift to someone
buy a gift for someone

Prepositional Verbs

When a verb is followed by a necessary preposition, the preposition remains in the passive.

Example:

Active: They laughed at him.

Passive:

He was laughed at by them.

Not:

He was laughed by them. ✘

Other examples:

Active: The nurse looked after the patient.

Passive: The patient was looked after by the nurse.

Active: Everyone listened to the speaker.

Passive: The speaker was listened to by everyone.

Important combinations include:

laugh at
look after
listen to
refer to
deal with
depend on
speak to
object to

Do not drop the required preposition.

Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs should be treated as a unit.

Example:

Active: They called off the meeting.

Passive:

The meeting was called off.

Not:

The meeting was called. ✘

Another:

Active: They have put off the examination.

Passive:

The examination has been put off.

Passive without By

The agent is often omitted when it is obvious or unnecessary.

Examples:

English is spoken throughout the world.

No need to say:

by people

The thief was arrested yesterday.

The doer may be obvious from context.

Unknown Agent

Active:

Someone has stolen my phone.

Natural passive:

My phone has been stolen.

The unknown word someone need not appear.

General Agents

Words such as:

people
someone
somebody
they
we

are often omitted in the passive when used generally.

Example:

People speak English all over the world.

Passive:

English is spoken all over the world.

Reporting Verbs

Passive voice is frequently used with reporting verbs such as:

say
believe
think
know
report
expect
consider
understand
suppose

Active:

People say that he is honest.

Passive form 1:

It is said that he is honest.

Passive form 2:

He is said to be honest.

Another example:

People believe that she is very talented.

→ It is believed that she is very talented.

→ She is believed to be very talented.

Reporting a Previous Action

If the reported action happened earlier, use a perfect infinitive.

Example:

People believe that he stole the money.

Passive:

He is believed to have stolen the money.

Structure:

Subject + passive reporting verb + to have + V3

Another:

People say that she left the country.

→ She is said to have left the country.

Make in Active and Passive

Active:

make + object + V1

Example:

The teacher made him write the answer again.

Passive:

He was made to write the answer again by the teacher.

Notice that to appears in the passive.

Remember:

Active → made him write
Passive → was made to write

See/Hear/Watch + Object + Bare Infinitive

Active:

I saw him cross the road.

Passive:

He was seen to cross the road.

The bare infinitive changes to a to-infinitive in the passive.

Another:

They heard her sing.

→ She was heard to sing.

This is an important examination rule.

See/Hear/Watch + Object + V-ing

If the active uses the present participle, it remains an -ing form.

Active:

I saw him crossing the road.

Passive:

He was seen crossing the road.

Compare:

saw him cross → was seen to cross
saw him crossing → was seen crossing

Let

Ordinary passive transformation with let can be awkward.

Active:

They let him go.

A natural passive equivalent may be:

He was allowed to go.

Rather than the awkward:

He was let go can be correct, but it may also carry the idiomatic meaning dismissed/released, depending on context.

For traditional transformation questions:

let → allowed to is often useful.

Help

Active:

She helped me complete the work.

Passive:

I was helped to complete the work by her.

Modern English can vary in such constructions, but to + infinitive is a safe formal passive form.

Causative Have/Get

Example:

I had the mechanic repair my car.

A natural equivalent is:

I had my car repaired.

Here:

have + object + V3

is a causative construction, meaning someone else performs the action for the subject.

Similarly:

She got the technician to repair the computer.

→ She got the computer repaired.

These should not be confused with ordinary passive voice, although the V3 form resembles a passive construction.

Infinitive Passive

An infinitive may have a passive form.

Active infinitive:

to do

Passive infinitive:

to be done

Examples:

I want someone to complete the work.

A passive-style restructuring:

I want the work to be completed.

Another:

This form needs to be signed.

Perfect Passive Infinitive

Structure:

to have been + V3

Example:

The bridge appears to have been damaged.

Gerund Passive

Active gerund:

doing

Passive gerund:

being done

Example:

He dislikes people criticising him.

Passive-oriented construction:

He dislikes being criticised.

Perfect Passive Gerund

Structure:

having been + V3

Example:

She complained about having been ignored.

Need + V-ing

Some sentences have a passive meaning without an explicit passive form.

Example:

The car needs repairing.

Meaning:

The car needs to be repaired.

Similarly:

The room needs cleaning.

→ The room needs to be cleaned.

This construction is especially common in British English.

Get-Passive

English sometimes uses get + V3 instead of be + V3, especially in informal language and for events or changes.

Examples:

He got injured in the accident.

They got married last year.

The window got broken.

However, for formal competitive-exam transformations, the standard be-passive is usually safer unless the sentence specifically requires get.

Stative Passive-Like Expressions

Some V3 forms function more like adjectives describing a state than ordinary event passives.

Examples:

The door is closed.

This may mean:

someone closed the door → passive event/result
the door is in a closed state → adjective-like state

Meaning depends on context.

Intransitive Verbs Cannot Normally Be Passivised

Incorrect transformations include:

He slept.

→ Was slept by him. ✘

The child laughed.

→ Was laughed by the child. ✘

She arrived yesterday.

→ Yesterday was arrived by her. ✘

No object exists to become the passive subject.

Have Meaning Possession

Not every transitive-looking structure has a natural passive.

Example:

Rahul has a car.

Theoretically trying:

A car is had by Rahul. ✘

This is unnatural in ordinary English.

Therefore, passive transformation depends not only on grammatical form but also on natural usage and meaning.

Become, Seem, Look and Other Linking Verbs

Linking verbs do not take objects in their linking use.

Example:

She became a doctor.

doctor is a subject complement, not an object.

Therefore:

A doctor was become by her. ✘

Similarly:

He seems tired.

There is no passive transformation.

Passive with Object Complement

Active:

They elected Rahul captain.

Here:

Rahul → object
captain → object complement

Passive:

Rahul was elected captain.

Another:

They considered him intelligent.

Passive:

He was considered intelligent.

The object complement is retained.

Passive with Cognate or Fixed Structures

Do not mechanically convert every sentence simply because a noun follows the verb. First determine whether it is genuinely an object.

The central examination rule is:

Only an object can normally become the subject of a passive construction.

Active vs Passive — Difference in Focus

Compare:

The government launched the scheme yesterday.

Active voice focuses on:

the government

Passive:

The scheme was launched yesterday.

Passive voice focuses on:

the scheme

Passive is especially useful when:

the doer is unknown
the doer is obvious
the doer is unimportant
the result/action is more important
an impersonal/formal style is preferred

Examples:

The suspect was arrested last night.

The results will be announced tomorrow.

The experiment was conducted under controlled conditions.

Common Errors in Voice

Incorrect:

The work is completed by her yesterday. ✘

Correct:

The work was completed by her yesterday. ✔

The past-time marker yesterday requires a past-tense structure.

Incorrect:

The letter was wrote by him. ✘

Correct:

The letter was written by him. ✔

Passive requires V3.

Incorrect:

The road is being repair. ✘

Correct:

The road is being repaired. ✔

Incorrect:

The result has announced. ✘

Correct:

The result has been announced. ✔

Present Perfect Passive requires:

has/have + been + V3

Incorrect:

The problem can solved. ✘

Correct:

The problem can be solved. ✔

Modal passive requires:

modal + be + V3

Incorrect:

He was made work hard. ✘

Correct:

He was made to work hard. ✔

Incorrect:

The patient was looked by the nurse. ✘

Correct:

The patient was looked after by the nurse. ✔

Do not remove the preposition from a prepositional/phrasal verb.

Active–Passive Formula Table

Active Pattern	Passive Pattern
S + V + O	O + BE + V3 + by + S
writes	is/am/are written
is writing	is being written
has written	has been written
wrote	was/were written
was writing	was being written
had written	had been written
will write	will be written
will have written	will have been written
can write	can be written
should write	should be written
should have written	should have been written

Pronoun Conversion Table

Active Subject	After By	Active Object	Passive Subject
I	me	me	I
we	us	us	we
you	you	you	you
he	him	him	he
she	her	her	she
it	it	it	it
they	them	them	they
who	whom	whom	who

Quick Method for Voice Conversion

For competitive-exam questions, use this sequence:

Identify the Subject.
Identify the Main Verb.
Locate the Object.
Determine the tense of the active verb.
Move the object to subject position.
Choose the appropriate form of be according to tense and new subject.
Change the main verb to V3.
Convert the old subject into the correct object form after by, if needed.
Retain important prepositions, adverbs and complements.
Check whether mentioning the agent is actually necessary.

Example:

She has written three letters.

Subject → She
Verb → has written
Object → three letters
Tense → Present Perfect
Passive auxiliary → have been because three letters is plural
V3 → written

Therefore:

Three letters have been written by her.

Most Important Rules to Remember

Active Voice:
- Subject performs the action.
Passive Voice:
- Subject receives/is affected by the action.
Basic formula:
S + V + O
↓
O + BE + V3 + by + S
Only verbs with an appropriate object can normally form the passive.
Intransitive verbs such as sleep, arrive, die, and occur do not normally form the passive.
Always use V3 in ordinary passive constructions:
- is written
- was done
- has been completed
Preserve the original tense and meaning.
Memorise:
- Present Simple → am/is/are + V3
- Present Continuous → am/is/are being + V3
- Present Perfect → has/have been + V3
- Past Simple → was/were + V3
- Past Continuous → was/were being + V3
- Past Perfect → had been + V3
- Future Simple → will be + V3
- Future Perfect → will have been + V3
Perfect continuous and future continuous passives are grammatically possible in theory but normally avoided because they are cumbersome.
Modal passive:
- modal + be + V3
- can be done
- should be followed
- must be completed
Modal Perfect Passive:
- modal + have been + V3
- should have been completed
In questions, maintain interrogative word order:
- Did she write it?
- Was it written by her?
With who as the active doer:
- Who wrote it?
- By whom was it written?
Traditional imperative passive:
- Open the door.
- Let the door be opened.
Advice may naturally become:
- Follow the rules.
- The rules should be followed.
With two objects:
- She gave me a book.
- I was given a book.
- A book was given to me.
Keep necessary prepositions:
- They looked after him.
- He was looked after.
Keep phrasal verbs together:
- They called off the meeting.
- The meeting was called off.
With reporting verbs:
- People say he is honest.
- It is said that he is honest.
- He is said to be honest.
For an earlier reported action:
- He is believed to have left.
Remember the special make rule:
- made him work
- was made to work
With perception verbs:
- saw him cross
- he was seen to cross
But:
- saw him crossing
- he was seen crossing
Object complements remain:
- They elected him captain.
- He was elected captain.
The by-agent need not always be mentioned:
- Someone stole my phone.
- My phone was stolen.
Use by for the agent and often with for an instrument:
- opened by Rahul
- opened with a key

A strong command of Active and Passive Voice depends on understanding sentence structure rather than memorising transformations mechanically. The most important skill is to first identify the subject, transitive verb, object, tense, and any necessary complement or preposition. Once these are correctly identified, most voice-conversion questions can be solved systematically.

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