Active and Passive voice is a particularly essential grammatical structure used in the English language. Understanding the rules governing their usage is crucial for effective communication. In this article, we will delve into the fundamentals of the active and passive voice. we will also explore the usage, rules, and conversion of Active and Passive voices. The English Language is utterly essential for all competitive exams, and you must understand the significance of the Voice section if you are preparing for one.
The voice of a verb is the form of the verb that indicates whether the subject of the sentence is performing the action or the subject is receiving the action. In the English Language, verbs can be classified into two types of voices - Active voice and Passive voice.
When the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed by the verb then it is Active Voice.
For Example: "Nisha ate the apple". Here "Nisha" is the subject performing the action"ate".
What is Passive Voice?
When the subject of the sentence receives the action expressed by the verb or is acted upon then it is Passive Voice.
For Example: "The apple was eaten by Nisha." Here, " The apple" is the subject receiving the action "was eaten".
"Active voice defines that the subject is doing the action and the passive voice refers to that the subject is being acted upon."
Active and Passive Voice Rules Chart
Tense
Active voice
Passive voice
Present Indefinite
Does/Do
Is/Are/Am
Present Continuous
Is/Am/Are
Is/Am/Are + Being
Present Perfect
Has / Have
Has been / Have been
Present Perfect Continuous
Has / Have been
Has / Have been + Being
Past Indefinite
Did
Was / Were
Past Continuous
was/were
was/ were + being
Past Perfect
had
had been
Past Perfect Continuous
had been
had been + being
Future Indefinite
Will
Will be
Future Continuous
Will be
Will be + Being
Future Perfect
Will have
Will have been
Future Perfect Continuous
Will have been
Will have been + being
Active And Passive Voice Rules For Conversion :
The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb.
The active sentence's subject becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped). The finite form of the verb is changed to past participle or V3 form.
The preposition "by" is used before the passive object.
Active and Passive Voice Rules For All Tenses:
1. Simple Present/ Past/ Future Tense
Subject + V1/ V2/ will V1/ shall V1 + object…
Object + Is/are/am/was/were/will be/shall be + verb (III forms) + by + subject…
Object + Is/Are/Am/Was/Were/Has/Have/Had + To + Be + Verb (III form) + By + Subject.
7. Verb + Preposition + Object
Subject + verb + preposition + object...
Object + to be + verb (III form) + preposition + by + subject...
While converting such sentences into passive voices, the verb is always followed by the particular preposition.
8. Modal Verbs
Subject + modal verb + (V1) + object...
Object + modal verb + be + V3 + by + subject...
9. Di-Transitive Verbs
Some verbs take two objects, for example:
Samdish gave the beggar an old t-shirt. (i) An old t-shirt was given to the beggar by Samdish. (ii) The beggar was given an old t-shirt by Samdish.
10. Sentences with the Intransitive Verb:
Such sentences are known as Mid-voice or Quasi-Passive voice. They seem in active voice, but their meaning is in passive voice, and they have intransitive verbs, like without a direct object.
