Active and passive voice, its worksheets, rules, basic differences and differences with tenses, and examples: You must have the knowledge of active and passive sentences as an English learner. If you are a speaker of English, then you may experience those situations too where you have to use both forms of tenses, i.e., active form and passive form. On the basic of form, we have two types of voice, active voice and passive voice, given below. We learn the below topics related-to active and passive voice:
- Definitions of Both Voices
- Examples of Both Voices
- Structures
- Formation of Active and Passive Voice
- Basic Differences between voices
- Differences with Tenses
- Modal Verbs in Active and Passive
- Active and Passive Voice in Imperative Sentences
- Rules of Passive Voice
- Workhseets and Charts
Introduction to Active and Passive Voice
In this section, we will read the definition, examples, and structure of both voices in English. Learning the active and passive voice definitions and examples with their structure helps us to understand both voices and also helps us to form the sentences.
Active Voice: In active sentences, the subject is active or the subject performs the actions.
For example:
- The cat chased the mouse.
- Here, the cat (subject) is performing the action of chasing (verb) the mouse (object).
Structure of Active Voice:
Subject + Verb + Object
Example: She writes a letter.
Passive voice: In passive sentences, the subject is no longer active or the subject is acted upon by the verb.
For example:
- The mouse was chased by the cat.
- In this sentence, the mouse (object) is the focus, and the action of being chased is happening to it, by the cat (subject).
Structure of Passive Voice:
Object + Be form + Past Participle + (by Subject)
Example: A letter is written by her.
Basic Differences Between Active and Passive Voice
Active Voice | Passive Voice |
---|---|
The subject does the action. | The subject receives the action. |
Focuses on who is performing the action. | Focuses on the action or the object. |
More direct and clear. | Can be less direct or formal. |
Commonly used in everyday conversations. | Common in formal writing. |
Simple Examples of Active and Passive Voice
Active:
- The chef cooked dinner.
- The focus is on the chef who is performing the action.
Passive:
- Dinner was cooked by the chef.
- The focus shifts to the dinner which is receiving the action.
Active and Passive Voice with Tenses
Learning active and passive voice with tenses helps us to understand how to form sentences in both voices using different tenses.
Present Simple
Active Voice Structure | Passive Voice Structure | Active Example | Passive Example |
---|---|---|---|
Subject + Verb (s/es) + Object | Object + am/is/are + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | She writes a letter. | A letter is written by her. |
Present Continuous
Active Voice Structure | Passive Voice Structure | Active Example | Passive Example |
---|---|---|---|
Subject + am/is/are + Verb + ing + Object | Object + am/is/are + being + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | They are cleaning the room. | The room is being cleaned by them. |
Present Perfect
Active Voice Structure | Passive Voice Structure | Active Example | Passive Example |
---|---|---|---|
Subject + have/has + Past Participle + Object | Object + have/has + been + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | He has completed the task. | The task has been completed by him. |
Past Simple
Active Voice Structure | Passive Voice Structure | Active Example | Passive Example |
---|---|---|---|
Subject + Verb (Past) + Object | Object + was/were + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | He wrote the report. | The report was written by him. |
Past Continuous
Active Voice Structure | Passive Voice Structure | Active Example | Passive Example |
---|---|---|---|
Subject + was/were + Verb + ing + Object | Object + was/were + being + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | She was reading a book. | The book was being read by her. |
Past Perfect
Active Voice Structure | Passive Voice Structure | Active Example | Passive Example |
---|---|---|---|
Subject + had + Past Participle + Object | Object + had + been + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | They had built a house. | A house had been built by them. |
Future Simple
Active Voice Structure | Passive Voice Structure | Active Example | Passive Example |
---|---|---|---|
Subject + will + Verb + Object | Object + will + be + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | She will deliver the package. | The package will be delivered by her. |
Future Continuous
Active Voice Structure | Passive Voice Structure | Active Example | Passive Example |
---|---|---|---|
Subject + will be + Verb + ing + Object | No Passive Form | They will be making dinner. | No Passive Form |
Future Perfect
Active Voice Structure | Passive Voice Structure | Active Example | Passive Example |
---|---|---|---|
Subject + will have + Past Participle + Object | Object + will have + been + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | He will have finished the work. | The work will have been finished by him. |
Active and Passive Voice with Modals
Modal verbs such as can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would, and ought to are used to express necessity, possibility, permission, or ability. Here’s a guide on how to use them in both active and passive voice, along with examples and structures.
Modal Verb | Active Voice Structure | Passive Voice Structure | Active Example | Passive Example |
---|---|---|---|---|
Can | Subject + can + Verb (base form) + Object | Object + can + be + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | She can finish the work. | The work can be finished by her. |
Could | Subject + could + Verb (base form) + Object | Object + could + be + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | They could solve the problem. | The problem could be solved by them. |
May | Subject + may + Verb (base form) + Object | Object + may + be + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | He may attend the meeting. | The meeting may be attended by him. |
Might | Subject + might + Verb (base form) + Object | Object + might + be + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | She might eat the cake. | The cake might be eaten by her. |
Must | Subject + must + Verb (base form) + Object | Object + must + be + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | They must follow the rules. | The rules must be followed by them. |
Shall | Subject + shall + Verb (base form) + Object | Object + shall + be + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | We shall complete the project. | The project shall be completed by us. |
Should | Subject + should + Verb (base form) + Object | Object + should + be + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | You should check the results. | The results should be checked by you. |
Will | Subject + will + Verb (base form) + Object | Object + will + be + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | He will paint the house. | The house will be painted by him. |
Would | Subject + would + Verb (base form) + Object | Object + would + be + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | She would choose the gift. | The gift would be chosen by her. |
Ought to | Subject + ought to + Verb (base form) + Object | Object + ought to + be + Past Participle (+ by Subject) | They ought to respect the elders. | The elders ought to be respected by them. |
Examples of Modals in Both Voices
- Can
- Active: She can finish the work.
- Passive: The work can be finished by her.
- Must
- Active: They must follow the rules.
- Passive: The rules must be followed by them.
- Should
- Active: You should check the results.
- Passive: The results should be checked by you.
- Will
- Active: He will paint the house.
- Passive: The house will be painted by him.
- Would
- Active: She would choose the gift.
- Passive: The gift would be chosen by her.
Active and passive voice with Imperative Sentences
These are the sentences in which we express our feelings and emotions like command, order, advice, and request. In the active voice, these sentences directly tell someone to perform an action. In the passive voice, the focus shifts from the person to the action itself.
Active Voice (Imperative Sentences):
- In the active form, imperative sentences start with the base form of the verb, directly addressing the person who is supposed to perform the action.
Passive Voice (Imperative Sentences):
- In the passive form, “Let” is usually added at the beginning of the sentence, followed by “be” and the past participle of the verb.
Rules for Imperative Sentences
1. Lets + new object + be/not be + past participle or 3rd form.
2. For sentences containing, request, advice, and order, we will use you are requested to, advised to, and ordered to.
Note: Always remove please and kind if they are given in the sentence.
Imperative Sentences in Active and Passive Voice
Active Voice | Passive Voice |
Shut the door. | Let the door be shut. |
Post the letter at once. | Let the letter be posted at once. |
Always speak the truth. | Let the truth always be spoken. |
Do not starve the cow. | Let the cow not be starved. |
Let him help his brother. | Let his brother be helped by him. |
Clean your room. | Let your room be cleaned. |
Learn your lesson. | Let your lesson be learnt. |
Please do me a favor tonight. | You are requested to do me a favor tonight. |
Get out of my house. | You are ordered to get out of my house. |
Kindly do not smoke in public places. | You are requested not to smoke in public places. |
Rules of Passive Voice
To make passive voice, first of all you have to use following rules.
1. Change the object into subject. If in object, we have a pronoun of object case convert that by following rules.
me | me |
You | You |
Her | She |
them | they |
us | we |
him | he |
it | it |
whom | who |
2. Change the subject into object. And use by before the object. If in subject, we have a pronoun of nominative case convert that by the following rules.
I | by me |
you | by you |
she | by her |
they | by them |
we | by us |
he | by him |
it | by it |
who | by whom |
Some basic rules of active voice and voice are given below:
- First of all, find subject, object and the main verb it means find SVO .
- Convert the object into subject.
- Use the suitable helping verb or auxiliary verb according to the tense. If helping verb is given, use verb as it is. But note that the helping verb used should be according to the object.
- Convert the verb into past participle or 3rd form of the verb.
- Use the preposition ―”by”.
- Convert the subject into object.