Active and Passive Voice Rules

Introduction

Understanding the rules for converting sentences between active and passive voice is crucial for clear and effective communication. Active and passive voice are two different ways of structuring sentences to emphasize different parts of the sentence.

In this chapter, we will go through various rules to convert sentences between active and passive voice with lot’s of examples.

What are Subject, Verb, and Object?

Subject

The subject is the person, place, thing, or idea that performs the action in a sentence. It usually appears at the beginning of the sentence.

Examples:

• She runs fast.
• The dog barked loudly.

Verb

The verb expresses the action or state of being in a sentence. It tells what the subject does or is.

Examples:

• She runs fast.
• The dog barked loudly.

Object

The object is the person, place, thing, or idea that receives the action of the verb. It usually comes after the verb in a sentence.

Examples:

• She reads a book.
• The cat chased the mouse.

What is Active Voice?

Active voice is a sentence structure where the subject performs the action stated by the verb. It is direct, clear, and often preferred in writing for its simplicity and clarity.

Generic Structure

Subject + Verb + Object

Examples:

• The cat (subject) chased (verb) the mouse (object).
• She (subject) writes (verb) a letter (object).

What is Passive Voice?

Passive voice is a sentence structure where the subject is acted upon by the verb. The focus is on the action or the object receiving the action rather than on who performed the action.

Generic Structure

Object + Auxiliary Verb (to be) + Past Participle + (by + Subject)

Examples:

• The mouse (subject) was chased (verb) by the cat (agent).
• A letter (subject) is written (verb) by her (agent).

Key Differences Between Active and Passive Voice

Aspect	Active Voice	Passive Voice
Focus	Subject performing the action	Object receiving the action
Structure	Subject + Verb + Object	Object + Auxiliary Verb + Past Participle + Agent
Clarity	Direct and clear	Can be less direct and more complex
Use	Preferred for concise writing	Used to emphasize the action or when the subject is unknown

Rules for Converting Active Voice to Passive Voice

1. Identify the Subject, Verb, and Object:
   • Determine who or what is performing the action (subject), what action is being performed (verb), and who or what is receiving the action (object).
2. Move the Object to the Subject Position:
   • The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
3. Add the Appropriate Form of the Auxiliary Verb “to be”:
   • Use the correct form of “to be” (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been) depending on the tense of the main verb in the active sentence.
4. Change the Main Verb to its Past Participle Form:
   • The main verb of the sentence is changed to its past participle form.
5. Add the Original Subject Preceded by “by” (if necessary):
   • The original subject of the active sentence is added at the end of the passive sentence, preceded by the word “by.”

Example:

• Active: The cat (subject) chased (verb) the mouse (object).
• Passive: The mouse (subject) was chased (verb) by the cat (agent).

Examples of Active and Passive Voice with Different Tenses

Simple Present Tense

Structure of Active Voice:

Subject	Base form of Verb	Object
She	writes	a letter
They	build	a house
He	reads	a book
The chef	cooks	the meal

Structure of Passive Voice:

Object	is/am/are	Past Participle	(by + Subject)
A letter	is	written	by her
A house	is	built	by them
A book	is	read	by him
The meal	is	cooked	by the chef

Description: The simple present tense describes habitual actions, general truths, or states that are always true.

Active Voice	Passive Voice
She writes a letter.	A letter is written by her.
They build a house.	A house is built by them.
He reads a book.	A book is read by him.
The chef cooks the meal.	The meal is cooked by the chef.

Simple Past Tense

Structure of Active Voice:

Subject	Past form of Verb	Object
She	wrote	a letter
They	built	a house
He	read	a book
The chef	cooked	the meal

Structure of Passive Voice:

Object	was/were	Past Participle	(by + Subject)
A letter	was	written	by her
A house	was	built	by them
A book	was	read	by him
The meal	was	cooked	by the chef

Description: The simple past tense describes actions that were completed in the past.

Active Voice	Passive Voice
She wrote a letter.	A letter was written by her.
They built a house.	A house was built by them.
He read a book.	A book was read by him.
The chef cooked the meal.	The meal was cooked by the chef.

Present Continuous Tense

Structure of Active Voice:

Subject	is/am/are + verb + ing	Object
She	is writing	a letter
They	are building	a house
He	is reading	a book
The chef	is cooking	the meal

Structure of Passive Voice:

Object	is/am/are + being	Past Participle	(by + Subject)
A letter	is being	written	by her
A house	is being	built	by them
A book	is being	read	by him
The meal	is being	cooked	by the chef

Description: The present continuous tense describes actions that are currently happening.

Active Voice	Passive Voice
She is writing a letter.	A letter is being written by her.
They are building a house.	A house is being built by them.
He is reading a book.	A book is being read by him.
The chef is cooking the meal.	The meal is being cooked by the chef.

Past Continuous Tense

Structure of Active Voice:

Subject	was/were + verb + ing	Object
She	was writing	a letter
They	were building	a house
He	was reading	a book
The chef	was cooking	the meal

Structure of Passive Voice:

Object	was/were + being	Past Participle	(by + Subject)
A letter	was being	written	by her
A house	was being	built	by them
A book	was being	read	by him
The meal	was being	cooked	by the chef

Description: The past continuous tense describes actions that were ongoing at a specific time in the past.

Active Voice	Passive Voice
She was writing a letter.	A letter was being written by her.
They were building a house.	A house was being built by them.
He was reading a book.	A book was being read by him.
The chef was cooking the meal.	The meal was being cooked by the chef.

Present Perfect Tense

Structure of Active Voice:

Subject	has/have + past participle	Object
She	has written	a letter
They	have built	a house
He	has read	a book
The chef	has cooked	the meal

Structure of Passive Voice:

Object	has/have + been	Past Participle	(by + Subject)
A letter	has been	written	by her
A house	has been	built	by them
A book	has been	read	by him
The meal	has been	cooked	by the chef

Description: The present perfect tense describes actions that happened at an unspecified time before now or that started in the past and continue to the present.

Active Voice	Passive Voice
She has written a letter.	A letter has been written by her.
They have built a house.	A house has been built by them.
He has read a book.	A book has been read by him.
The chef has cooked the meal.	The meal has been cooked by the chef.

Past Perfect Tense

Structure of Active Voice:

Subject	had + past participle	Object
She	had written	a letter
They	had built	a house
He	had read	a book
The chef	had cooked	the meal

Structure of Passive Voice:

Object	had + been	Past Participle	(by + Subject)
A letter	had been	written	by her
A house	had been	built	by them
A book	had been	read	by him
The meal	had been	cooked	by the chef

Description: The past perfect tense describes actions that were completed before another action in the past.

Active Voice	Passive Voice
She had written a letter.	A letter had been written by her.
They had built a house.	A house had been built by them.
He had read a book.	A book had been read by him.
The chef had cooked the meal.	The meal had been cooked by the chef.

Simple Future Tense

Structure of Active Voice:

Subject	will + base form of verb	Object
She	will write	a letter
They	will build	a house
He	will read	a book
The chef	will cook	the meal

Structure of Passive Voice:

Object	will + be	Past Participle	(by + Subject)
A letter	will be	written	by her
A house	will be	built	by them
A book	will be	read	by him
The meal	will be	cooked	by the chef

Description: The simple future tense describes actions that will happen in the future.

Active Voice	Passive Voice
She will write a letter.	A letter will be written by her.
They will build a house.	A house will be built by them.
He will read a book.	A book will be read by him.
The chef will cook the meal.	The meal will be cooked by the chef.

Future Perfect Tense

Structure of Active Voice:

Subject	will + have + past participle	Object
She	will have written	a letter
They	will have built	a house
He	will have read	a book
The chef	will have cooked	the meal

Structure of Passive Voice:

Object	will + have + been	Past Participle	(by + Subject)
A letter	will have been	written	by her
A house	will have been	built	by them
A book	will have been	read	by him
The meal	will have been	cooked	by the chef

Description: The future perfect tense describes actions that will be completed before a specific point in the future.

Active Voice	Passive Voice
She will have written a letter.	A letter will have been written by her.
They will have built a house.	A house will have been built by them.
He will have read a book.	A book will have been read by him.
The chef will have cooked the meal.	The meal will have been cooked by the chef.

Future Continuous Tense

Structure of Active Voice:

Subject	will + be + verb + ing	Object
She	will be writing	a letter
They	will be building	a house
He	will be reading	a book
The chef	will be cooking	the meal

Structure of Passive Voice:

Object	will + be + being	Past Participle	(by + Subject)
A letter	will be being	written	by her
A house	will be being	built	by them
A book	will be being	read	by him
The meal	will be being	cooked	by the chef

Description: The future continuous tense describes actions that will be ongoing at a specific time in the future.

Active Voice	Passive Voice
She will be writing a letter.	A letter will be being written by her.
They will be building a house.	A house will be being built by them.
He will be reading a book.	A book will be being read by him.
The chef will be cooking the meal.	The meal will be being cooked by the chef.

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Structure of Active Voice:

Subject	will + have + been + verb + ing	Object
She	will have been writing	a letter
They	will have been building	a house
He	will have been reading	a book
The chef	will have been cooking	the meal

Structure of Passive Voice:

Object	will + have + been + being	Past Participle	(by + Subject)
A letter	will have been being	written	by her
A house	will have been being	built	by them
A book	will have been being	read	by him
The meal	will have been being	cooked	by the chef

Description: The future perfect continuous tense describes actions that will have been ongoing for a period of time up to a specific point in the future.

Active Voice	Passive Voice
She will have been writing a letter.	A letter will have been being written by her.
They will have been building a house.	A house will have been being built by them.
He will have been reading a book.	A book will have been being read by him.
The chef will have been cooking the meal.	The meal will have been being cooked by the chef.

Practice Exercises

1. Convert the following sentences from active voice to passive voice:

1. The chef cooks the meal.
2. The teacher explains the lesson.
3. The manager will review the report.
4. The children are playing a game.
5. The author wrote the book.
6. The mechanic fixed the car.
7. The artist painted a portrait.
8. The scientist discovered a new element. 9

. The company is launching a new product. 10. The police officer arrested the thief.

2. Convert the following sentences from passive voice to active voice:

1. The meal was cooked by the chef.
2. The lesson is explained by the teacher.
3. The report will be reviewed by the manager.
4. A game is being played by the children.
5. The book was written by the author.
6. The car was fixed by the mechanic.
7. A portrait was painted by the artist.
8. A new element was discovered by the scientist.
9. A new product is being launched by the company.
10. The thief was arrested by the police officer.

Answers

1. Convert the following sentences from active voice to passive voice:

1. The meal is cooked by the chef.
2. The lesson is explained by the teacher.
3. The report will be reviewed by the manager.
4. A game is being played by the children.
5. The book was written by the author.
6. The car was fixed by the mechanic.
7. A portrait was painted by the artist.
8. A new element was discovered by the scientist.
9. A new product is being launched by the company.
10. The thief was arrested by the police officer.

2. Convert the following sentences from passive voice to active voice:

1. The chef cooks the meal.
2. The teacher explains the lesson.
3. The manager will review the report.
4. The children are playing a game.
5. The author wrote the book.
6. The mechanic fixed the car.
7. The artist painted a portrait.
8. The scientist discovered a new element.
9. The company is launching a new product.
10. The police officer arrested the thief.