Tochange an active voice sentence to a passive voice, there are a few steps to be followed. Move the active sentence’s direct object into the sentence’s subject slot. Place the active sentence’s subject into a phrase beginning with the preposition by. Add a form of auxiliary verb to be the main verb and change the main verb’s form. Simplefuture. Tense ini memiliki rumus: S + will be + v3. Contoh kalimat: It will be made into a nice sweater. The leftover will be eaten by stray cats. My office mate will be placed in another city. 4. Simple past future. Tense ini memiliki rumus: S + would/should + be + V3. Rulesfor changing active voice sentence into passive voice. Rule number 1)Begin the sentence with an object instead of the subject. Rule number 2) Then use the helping verb as per the number of object and tense of the sentence. The list of tenses and helping verbs in passive voice is as follows. 1)Simple present tense-am/is/are. Sortedby: 1. I think it is better to say that English has two tense systems: an inflectional system contrasting preterite and present, and an independent analytic tense system contrasting perfect and non-perfect, where non-perfect is not a tense but the absence of perfect tense. The perfect tense can combine with preterite and present tense 5 Preposition “by” is not used in the conversion of active voice to passive voice in the following sentences. During the conversion from Active Voice to Passive Voice in most cases we must use the preposition “by”. But in some special cases we also use “to” , “with” , “at” , “in” , “from” in place of “by” . Artikelyang membahas Rumus Active Dan Passive Voice Bahasa Inggris dilengkapi dengan contoh kalimatnya sehingga mudah untuk difahami oleh anda yangb aru belajar bahasa inggris. Tenses . Active Voice. Passive Voice. 1. Simple Present Tense. S + V1 + O. S + to be (am, are, is) + V3 + by + O 16. Past Future Perfect Continuous Tense. S Thepassive follows and in each case the tense is similar. Active: Somebody will open the door for you at 6 pm. Passive: The door will be opened for you at 6 pm. This is a future form and the time 6pm refers to a later time than the moment the statement was made. The person doesn’t know who will open the door, so a passive without the by Themain reasons of why to find and use a passive converter tool include: Passive to active voice converter online is very fast to use and instant to access online passive checker tool. A very easy and simple way to use it for free of charge. Offers corrective measures to improve your writing skills and grammatical understanding. . 403 ERROR Request blocked. We can't connect to the server for this app or website at this time. There might be too much traffic or a configuration error. Try again later, or contact the app or website owner. If you provide content to customers through CloudFront, you can find steps to troubleshoot and help prevent this error by reviewing the CloudFront documentation. Generated by cloudfront CloudFront Request ID G4IbO5aOScyF35mTZklmMEVaT7gE58C0hZqv-Im_d8l49UBLf7ll8g== Test your knowledge on grammar – English tenses active and passive voice. After submitting your answers, you will see how well you have done in the test. Hadrian's Wall Fill the gaps with the correct tenses active or passive voice. In the year 122 AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian visit his provinces in Britain. On his visit, the Roman soldiers tell him that Pictish tribes from Britain's north attack them. So Hadrian give the order to build a protective wall across one of the narrowest parts of the country. After 6 years of hard work, the Wall finish in 128. It be 117 kilometres long and about 4 metres high. The Wall guard by 15,000 Roman soldiers. Every 8 kilometres there be a large fort in which up to 1,000 soldiers find shelter. The soldiers watch over the frontier to the north and check the people who want to enter or leave Roman Britain. In order to pass through the Wall, people must go to one of the small forts that serve as gateways. Those forts call milecastles because the distance from one fort to another be one Roman mile about 1,500 metres. Between the milecastles there be two turrets from which the soldiers guard the Wall. If the Wall attack by enemies, the soldiers at the turrets run to the nearest milecastle for help or light a fire that can / see by the soldiers in the milecastle. In 383 Hadrian's Wall abandon . Today Hadrian's Wall be the most popular tourist attraction in northern England. In 1987, it become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Active vs. passive voiceExamplesRulesActive vs. passive voiceActive voice occurs when the subject of a sentence performs the action of the verb, whereas when a sentence is written in passive voice, the subject is the recipient of the actionActive Voice The teacher took an informal Voice An informal poll was taken by the in the passive voice contain a conjugated form of the verb to be is, was, has been, will be, etc. and the past participle form of a verb. Past participle refers to an action that was started and completed in the past. These verbs typically end in -ed, -d, -en, or -t. Passive voice sentences often contain a preposition or prepositional phrase, like vs. passive voiceActive voice helps writers present their information clearly and concisely. Passive voice emphasizes the action or the object within a sentence, limiting the importance of the vs. passive voice examplesBelow are two lists of example sentences written in both the active and passive following are examples of active voice sentencesShe delivered the letters teacher assigned a book company will hire at least two new salesman helped the confused customer at the of tourists visit the museum each are examples of sentences written with a passive voiceThe letters were delivered by her book report was least two new employees will be hired by the confused customer was helped at the museum is visited each year by hundreds of and passive voice rulesGeneral rules for active and passive voice include the followingThe placement of the subject, verb, and object determines if a sentence is active or Voice subject + verb + objectPassive Voice object + to be + past participle verb + subject optionalInterchanging the object and subject determines if a sentence is active or Voice The dog subject jumped over the fence object.Passive Voice The fence object was jumped over by the dog subject.The subject does not need to be directly identified when using passive Voice The fire was extinguished in less than an verb form can determine if a sentence is active or Voice He ate past tense verb the entire cake by himself. Passive Voice The entire cake was eaten past participle by himself. How to change passive voice to active voiceTo change a sentence from passive to active, first determine what makes the sentence passive, and then apply one of the following rulesPosition of subject and object The position of the subject and the object in a passive sentence are often switched, with the object placed before the verb and the subject placed after. How to change passive to active voiceSwitching the position of the object and subject will change the sentence to active Voice A letter object was written by him subject to his Voice He subject wrote a letter object to his Subject The grammatical subject of the sentence is often omitted in passive voice. If the subject or “doer” of the action is not identified, rewrite the sentence with it positioned before the main verb. Passive Voice The apples were sold all Voice The farmer subject sold the apples all day. Conjugation and Past Participle Sentences written in passive voice include a conjugated form of to be followed by the past participle form of the main verb. To change this type of passive voice to an active sentence, remove the verb to be and change the verb form to agree with the subject. The subject should then be placed before the new Voice The pizza was conjugated form of to beeaten past participle verb by the entire team. Active Voice The entire team ate new conjugated verb the to use active vs. passive voiceIt is typically recommended that writers use active voice in academic writing, as it allows the writer to provide direct and concise information. However, use of the passive voice can be preferred under certain circumstancesTo emphasize the action in the sentence rather than the actorTo create mystery regarding the subject To avoid naming the subject or when the subject is unknownTo focus on the object rather than the subjectTo focus on objective or factual information, like in scientific writingWhen to use active vs. passive voice A passive voice voz passiva é um tipo de construção frasal onde o sujeito é paciente, ou seja, sofre a ação da frase em vez de praticá-la. É destacado o que acontece com o sujeito, porém, sem The car was washed. O carro foi lavado.O foco do exemplo acima é o objeto do período the car, uma vez que ele recebe a ação de ser e exemplos de uso da passive voiceA voz passiva pode ser utilizada em frases afirmativas, negativas e interrogativas. Sua formação é expressa porObjeto + verbo to be + Past Participle Particípio passado do verbo principal + complementoEssa estrutura pode ser utilizada em diversos tempos verbais do presente, do passado e do futuro. Para isso, basta flexionar o verbo to abaixo alguns exemplosPassive voice no Simple PresentObjeto + am/is/are + Past Participle Particípio passado do verbo principal + complementoExemplos Affirmative Form The school is painted by John. A escola é pintada pelo John. Negative Form The school isn’t painted by John. A escola não é pintada pelo John. Interrogative Form Is the school painted by Jonh? A escola é pintada pelo John?Confira também os textos a seguirPast Participle o que é, quando usar e exemplosSimple Present regras e exercícios resolvidos Passive voice no Present ContinuousObjeto + am being/is being/are being + Past Participle Particípio passado do verbo principal + complementoExemplos Affirmative Form The school is being painted by John. A escola está sendo pintada pelo John. Negative Form The school isn’t being painted by John. A escola não está sendo pintada pelo John. Interrogative Form Is the school being painted by John? A escola está sendo pintada pelo John?Leia também os conteúdos abaixoPresent Continuous regras e exercíciosPresent Continuous exercícios com gabarito comentadoPassive voice no Present PerfectObjeto + has been/have been + Past Participle Particípio passado do verbo principal + complementoExemplos Affirmative Form The school has been painted by John. A escola tem sido pintada pelo John. Negative Form The school hasn’t been painted by John. A escola não tem sido pintada pelo John. Interrogative Form Has the school been painted by John? A escola tem sido pintada pelo John?Passive voice no Simple PastObjeto + was/were + Past Participle Particípio passado do verbo principal + complementoExemplos Affirmative Form The school was painted by John. A escola foi pintada pelo John. Negative Form The school wasn’t painted by John. A escola não foi pintada pelo John. Interrogative Form Was the school painted by John? A escola foi pintada pelo John?Na imagem acima, Os Simpsons fazem uma descoberta someone ate the cookies alguém comeu os biscoitos. Essa frase está na voz ativa, pois indica que o sujeito someone = alguém praticou uma ação ate the cookies = comeu os biscoitos.Em seguida, a frase The cookies were eaten. Os biscoitos foram comidos está na voz passiva, pois indica que o sujeito the cookies = os biscoitos sofreu a ação were eaten = foram comidos.Para saber mais sobre o Simple Past, não perca os conteúdos abaixoSimple Past regras, tabelas de conjugação e exercíciosSimple Past exercícios com gabarito comentadoWas e werePassive voice no Past ContinuousObjeto + was being/were being + Past Participle Particípio passado do verbo principal + complementoExemplos Affirmative Form The school was being painted by John. A escola estava sendo pintada pelo John. Negative Form The school wasn’t being painted by John. A escola não estava sendo pintada pelo John. Interrogative Form Was the school being painted by John? A escola estava sendo pintada pelo John?Passive voice no Past PerfectObjeto + had been + Past Participle Particípio passado do verbo principal + complementoExemplos Affirmative Form The school had been painted by John. A escola tinha sido pintada pelo John. Negative Form The school hadn’t been painted by John. A escola não tinha sido pintada pelo John. Interrogative Form Had the school been painted by John? A escola tinha sido pintada pelo John?Passive voice no Simple FutureObjeto + will be + Past Participle Particípio passado do verbo principal + complementoExemplos Affirmative Form The school will be painted by John. A escola será pintada pelo John. Negative Form The school won’t be painted by John. A escola não será pintada pelo John. Interrogative Form Will the school be painted by John? A escola será pintada pelo John?Passive voice no Future PerfectObjeto + will have been + Past Participle Particípio passado do verbo principal + complementoExemplos Affirmative Form By next week, the school will have been painted by John. Por volta da próxima semana, a escola terá sido pintada pelo John. Negative Form By next week, the school won’t have been painted by John. Por volta da próxima semana, a escola não terá sido pintada pelo John. Interrogative Form Will the school have been painted by next week by John? Por volta da próxima semana, a escola terá sido pintada pelo John?Passive voice com verbos modaisNo caso dos verbos modais, a construção da passive voice é feita da seguinte maneiraObjeto + modal verb verbo modal + be + Past Participle Particípio passadoExemplosOs principais verbos modais são will, would, can, could, must, should, may, might e ought to. Confira abaixo exemplos com o verbo modal could. Affirmative Form The school could be painted by John. A escola poderia ser pintada pelo John. Negative Form The school couldn't be painted by John. A escola não poderia ser pintada pelo John. Interrogative Form Could the school be painted by John. A escola poderia ser pintada pelo John?Active voice x Passive voiceDiferentemente do que acontece na passive voice, na active voice voz ativa o sujeito da ação é posto em evidência. Confira abaixo alguns exemplos Exemplos Active voice Voz ativa Passive voice Voz passiva Simple Present John paints the school every year. John pinta a escola todos os anos. The school is painted by John every year. A escola é pintada pelo John todos os anos. Simple Past John painted the school. John pintou a escola The school was painted by John. A escola foi pintada pelo John. Simple Future John will paint the school. John pintará a escola. The school will be painted by John. A escola será pintada pelo John. Veja também os casos passar da voz ativa para a voz passivaConfira abaixo algumas frases na voz ativa que foram passadas para a voz que o objeto regra geral, está no final da frase passa para o início. Já o sujeito, que funciona como o complemento da frase, na voz ativa geralmente está no início e na voz passiva passa para o final da PresentActive voice Jane writes poems about love. Jane escreve poemas sobre amor.Passive voice Poems about love are written by Jane. Poemas sobre amor são escritos por Jane. Estrutura da passive voice objeto + am/is/are + Past Participle Particípio passado do verbo principal + complemento Objeto poems about love Past Participle written Complemento by Jane Present ContinuousActive voice Jane is writing a poem about love. Jane escreverá um poema sobre amor.Passive voice A poem about love is being written by Jane. O poema sobre amor será escrito por Jane. Estrutura da passive voice objeto + am being/is being/are being + Past Participle Particípio passado do verbo principal + complemento Objeto a poem about love Past Participle written Complemento by Jane Present PerfectActive voice Jane has written poems about love. Jane tem escrito poemas sobre amor.Passive voice Poems about love have been written by Jane. Poemas sobre amor têm sido escritos por Jane. Estrutura da passive voice objeto + has been/have been + Past Participle Particípio passado do verbo principal + complemento Objeto poems about love Past Participle written Complemento by Jane Simple PastActive voice Jane wrote a poem about love. Jane escreveu um poema sobre amor.Passive voice A poem about love was written by Jane. Um poema sobre amor foi escrito por Jane. Estrutura da passive voice objeto + was/were + Past Participle Particípio passado do verbo principal + complemento Objeto a poem about love Past Participle written Complemento by Jane Past ContinuousActive voice Jane was writing poems about love. Jane estava escrevendo poemas sobre amor.Passive voice Poems about love were being written by Jane. Poemas sobre amor estavam sendo escritos por Jane. Estrutura da passive voice objeto + was being/were being + Past Participle Particípio passado do verbo principal + complemento Objeto poems about love Past Participle written Complemento by Jane Past PerfectActive voice Jane had written poems about love. Jane tinha escrito poemas sobre amor.Passive voice Poems about love had been written by Jane. Poemas sobre amor tinham sido escritos por Jane. Estrutura da passive voice objeto + had been + Past Participle Particípio passado do verbo principal + complemento Objeto poems about love Past Participle written Complemento by Jane Simple FutureActive voice Jane will write poems about love. jane escreverá poemas sobre amor.Passive voice Poems about love will be written by Jane. Poemas sobre amor serão escritos por Jane. Estrutura da passive voice objeto + will be + Past Participle Particípio passado do verbo principal + complemento Objeto poems about love Past Participle written Complemento by Jane Future PerfectActive voice Jane will have written poems about love when you arrive. Jane terá escrito os poemas quando você chegar.Passive voice Poems about love will have been written by Jane when you arrive. Poemas sobre amor terão sido escritos por Jane quando você chegar. Estrutura da passive voice objeto + will have been + Past Participle Particípio passado do verbo principal + complemento Objeto poems about love Past Participle written Complemento by Jane Modal verbs – exemplo com o verbo modal “would”Active voice Jane would write poems about love. Jane escreveria poemas sobre amor.Passive voice Poems about love would be written by Jane. Poemas sobre amor teriam sido escritos por Jane. Estrutura da passive voice objeto + modal verb verbo modal + be + Past Participle Particípio passado Objeto poems about love Modal verb wouldPast Participle written Complemento by Jane Vídeo sobre passive voiceConfira o vídeo abaixo e veja como passar uma frase da active voice para a passive sobre passive voice1. PUC- Rio The passive voice is used in “Orkut was quietly launched on January 22, 2004”. Find the sentence that is also in the passive Communities have never rejected new members. b Good ideas took shape at the end of the session. c Some communities have been able to control their growth. d Several social groups could be connected by the Internet. e Young students are never tired of chatting with friends on email. Ver Resposta Alternativa correta d Several social groups could be connected by the Internet. a ERRADA. A estrutura da frase está na voz ativa. Em Communities have never rejected new members. As comunidades nunca rejeitaram novos membros., o sujeito communities as comunidades pratica a ação de não rejeitar novos membros. b ERRADA. A estrutura da frase está na voz ativa. Em Good ideas took shape at the end of the session. Novas ideias tomaram forma no fim da sessão., o sujeito good ideas boas ideias pratica a ação de tomar forma. c ERRADA. A estrutura da frase está na voz ativa. Em Some communities have been able to control their growth. Algumas comunidades foram capazes de controlar o próprio crescimento., o sujeito some communities algumas comunidades pratica a ação de controlar o próprio crescimento. d CORRETA. Em Several social groups could be connected by the Internet. Vários grupos sociais poderiam ser conectados pela Internet., o sujeito several social groups vários grupos sociais é passivo, ou seja, sofre a ação de poder ser conectado pela Internet. e ERRADA. A estrutura da frase está na voz ativa. Em Young students are never tired of chatting with friends on email. Os alunos jovens nunca se cansam de conversar com amigos por e-mail., o sujeito young students alunos jovens pratica a ação da frase nunca se cansa de conversar com amigos por e-mail. 2. Complete a voz passiva com o tempo verbal corretoAfter the accident, two people _______________ to the was taking b were taking c was taken d were taken e are taken Ver Resposta Alternativa correta d were taken Antes de conferir a análise das alternativas, compreenda o sentido da frase. After the accident, two people _______________ to the hospital. Depois do acidente, duas pessoas _______________ para o hospital. a ERRADA. O sujeito da frase é two people duas pessoas. Logo, o verbo a seguir deve estar flexionado no plural. Como was é uma flexão de singular, a alternativa é automaticamente invalidada. Além disso, was taking estava levando é uma flexão de Past Continuous Passado Contínuo, tempo verbal utilizado para indicar ações contínuas no passado. Na frase em questão, não faz sentido usar o Past Continuous, pois a ação não indica que as duas pessoas “estavam levando” ninguém para o hospital, mas sim que elas sofreram a ação de serem levadas para o hospital. b ERRADA. Were taking estavam levando é uma flexão de Past Continuous, tempo verbal utilizado para indicar ações contínuas no passado. Na frase em questão, não faz sentido usar o Past Continuous, pois a ação não indica que as duas pessoas “estavam levando” ninguém para o hospital, mas sim que elas sofreram a ação de serem levadas para o hospital. c ERRADA. O sujeito da frase é two people duas pessoas. Logo, o verbo a seguir deve estar flexionado no plural. Como was é uma flexão de singular, a alternativa é automaticamente invalidada. d CORRETA. A frase indica que duas pessoas sofreram a ação de serem levadas para o hospital. Como a situação é referente a um passado pontual, usa-se o verbo to be no Simple Past were, pois o sujeito é plural two people = duas pessoas + Past Participle do verbo principal. O verbo principal é to take e sua flexão de Past Participle é taken. e ERRADA. Are taken são levadas é uma flexão indicativa de tempo presente; de hábitos e rotinas. No entanto, a lacuna a ser preenchida integra uma frase indicativa de passado. 3. Passe a frase abaixo para a voz passivaBob repaired the car. Ver Resposta Resposta correta The car was repaired by Bob. A frase Bob repaired the car. Bob consertou o carro. é uma frase na voz ativa flexionada no Simple Past, que é um tempo verbal indicativo de ação pontual no passado. Para passá-la para a voz passiva, devemos seguir a seguinte estrutura Objeto + Simple Past do verbo to be was/were + Past Participle Particípio passado do verbo principal + complemento O objeto da frase é the car o carro. Como car é um substantivo singular, usamos a flexão was. O verbo principal da frase é to repair consertar e sua flexão de Past Participle é repaired. O complemento da frase é by Bob pelo Bob. Ficou interessado em aprimorar os seus conhecimentos sobre a língua inglesa? Não deixe de conferir os conteúdos abaixoReported Speech - Discurso Indireto em InglêsVerbo to be conjugações de presente, passado e futuro Professora, lexicógrafa, tradutora, produtora de conteúdos e revisora. Licenciada em Letras Português, Inglês e Literaturas pelas Faculdades Integradas Simonsen, em 2002 e formada em 1999 no Curso de Magistério habilitação para lecionar na Educação Infantil e no Ensino Fundamental I. Back to Active-Passive VoicesSimple Present TensePresent Continuous TensePresent Perfect TenseSimple Present TensePast Continuous TensePast Perfect TenseSimple Future TenseFuture Perfect TenseSimple Present TenseActive VoicePassive VoiceI water the plants The plants are watered by helps the poor peopleThe poor people are helped by herDipu does the house chores The house chores are done by DipuPresent Continuous TenseActive VoicePassive VoiceHe is organizing the event. The event is being organized by him. Krishna is eating butter Butter is being eaten by Krishna I am giving you thisThis is being given to you by mePresent Perfect TenseActive VoicePassive Voice I have done the work The work has been done by me She has received a giftA gift has been received by herMother rebuked me I was rebuked by motherSimple Present TenseActive VoicePassive VoiceI made it It was made by me They staged a play A play was staged by themThe dog bit himHe was bitten by the dog Past Continuous TenseActive VoicePassive VoiceI was listening to a songA song was being listened to by meThe crow was eating the fruit The fruit was being eaten by the crow The painter was drawing a picture A picture was being drawn by the painterPast Perfect TenseActive VoicePassive VoiceThe writer had written a novel A novel had been written by the writer The bird had made a nest on the treeA nest on the tree had been made by the bird She had written a letter to meA letter to me had been written by her Simple Future TenseActive VoicePassive VoiceI shall clean the house The house shall be cleaned by me. He will call you You will be called by himThe will build a house A house will be built by them Future Perfect TenseActive VoicePassive VoiceI shall have bought the bookThe book will have been bought by meRina will have read the newspaperThe newspaper will have been read by Rina Raju will have seen her She will have been seen by Raju The voice change of perfect continuous and future continuous tense is not usual and applicable in English grammar. Download this explanation in PDF here. See all my exercises about the passive here. An active sentence like I drank two cups of coffee has the subject first the person or thing that does the verb, followed by the verb, and finally the object the person or thing that the action happens to. So, in this example, the subject is 'I', the verb is 'drank' and the object is 'two cups of coffee'. But, we don't always need to make sentences this way. We might want to put the object first, or perhaps we don't want to say who did something. This can happen for lots of reasons see the explanation further down the page. In this case, we can use a passive, which puts the object first Two cups of coffee were drunk we can add 'by me' if we want, but it isn't necessary. How to make the Passive in English We make the passive by putting the verb 'to be' into whatever tense we need and then adding the past participle. For regular verbs, we make the past participle by adding 'ed' to the infinitive. So play becomes played. Click here to learn about irregular verbs. TenseActivePassive present simple I make a cake. A cake is made by me. present continuous I am making a cake. A cake is being made by me. past simple I made a cake. A cake was made by me. past continuous I was making a cake. A cake was being made by me. present perfect I have made a cake. A cake has been made by me. pres. perf. continuous I have been making a cake. A cake has been being made by me. past perfect I had made a cake. A cake had been made by me. future simple I will make a cake. A cake will be made by me. future perfect I will have made a cake. A cake will have been made by me. Practise with these exercises Verbs with two objects Some verbs that have two objects can make two different active sentences, and so two different passive sentences too GiveActive He gave me the book / He gave the book to me. You can choose either of the two objects to be the subject of the passive sentence. Passive I was given the book by him/ The book was given to me by him. Other verbs like this are ask, offer, teach, tell, lend, promise, sell, throw. Try an exercise about this hereThe passive in subordinate clauses You can make the passive in a subordinate clause that has a subject and a normal conjugated verb. This is really the same as a normal passive. Active I thought that Mary had kissed John. Passive I thought that John had been kissed by Mary. Active He knew that people had built the church in 1915. Passive He knew that the church had been built in 1915. You can also make the passive using a passive gerund or a passive infinitive in the same place as a normal gerund or infinitive. The child loves being cuddled. She would like to be promoted. Try an exercise about this here When should we use the Passive? 1 When we want to change the focus of the sentence The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. We are more interested in the painting than the artist in this sentence 2 When who or what causes the action is unknown or unimportant or obvious or 'people in general' He was arrested obvious agent, the police. My bike has been stolen unknown agent. The road is being repaired unimportant agent. The form can be obtained from the post office people in general. 3 In factual or scientific writing The chemical is placed in a test tube and the data entered into the computer. 4 In formal writing instead of using someone/ people/ they these can be used in speaking or informal writing The brochure will be finished next month. 5 In order to put the new information at the end of the sentence to improve style Three books are used regularly in the class. The books were written by Dr. Bell. 'Dr. Bell wrote the books' sound clumsy 6 When the subject is very long I was surprised by how well the students did in the test. More natural than 'how well the students did in the test surprised me' Having learnt about the different parts of speech in the English language and the 12 different tenses, the next topic that you should focus on is the active voice and the passive voice. In this article, you will learn all about the active and passive voice, what it means, its definition and usage. Along with the difference between the two voices and examples given in the article, you will be able to understand and use the active voice and passive voice accurately and effectively. Table of Contents ‘Voice’ – What Is It? The Two Voices in the English Language What is the Active Voice? – Meaning and Definition What is the Passive Voice? – Meaning and Definition Using the Active Voice and the Passive Voice – Points to Remember Difference between the Active Voice and the Passive Voice Rules to be Followed When Converting the Active Voice to the Passive Voice Examples of the Active and Passive Voice Check Your Understanding of the Active Voice and the Passive Voice Frequently Asked Questions on the Active Voice and the Passive Voice ‘Voice’ – What Is It? The term ‘voice’ is a term that is used to denote the form of the verb which shows if the subject in a given sentence is the doer or receiver of the action. The voice of a verb describes the relationship between the action and the participants subject or object in a sentence. The Two Voices in the English Language There are two voices in the English language and they are as follows Active Voice Passive Voice Let us look into the two voices a little in detail with the help of the meaning and definition given below. What is the Active Voice? – Meaning and Definition The active voice, in a sentence, denotes that the noun or pronoun that acts as the subject in the sentence is the doer of the action. In other words, the subject performs the action or acts upon the verb. According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, the active voice is defined as “the form of a verb in which the subject is the person or thing that performs the action”, and according to the Collins Dictionary, the active voice is defined as “a voice of verbs used to indicate that the subject of a sentence is performing the action or causing the event or process described by the What is the Passive Voice? – Meaning and Definition The passive voice, on the other hand, represents that the subject is one acted upon by the action or verb in the sentence. It can also be said that the passive voice indicates that the subject in the sentence is no longer active but passive. According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, the passive voice is defined as “the form of a verb used when the subject is affected by the action of the verb”, and according to the Collins Dictionary, the passive voice is “formed using be’ and the past participle of a verb. The subject of a passive clause does not perform the action expressed by the verb but is affected by Using the Active Voice and the Passive Voice – Points to Remember There are a few points that you have to bear in mind when using the active voice and the passive voice. In the English language, the active voice is used generally as they give the information in a direct and clear manner. Make sure you do not use the passive voice just because you think it sounds better. Use it only if it is necessary. Remember that the active voice has the subject doing the action and the passive voice has the subject receiving the action. If you want to communicate your thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively, especially in a professional setup, it would be best to use the active voice. A pro tip for you to master the active voice and the passive voice is to know the structure and formula by which they work. Active Voice – Subject + Verb + Object Passive Voice – Object + Verb + Subject Difference between the Active Voice and the Passive Voice Analysing the difference between the active voice and the passive voice is what will help you in a much better way to learn how to use the two voices effectively. Take a look at the following table to know how they differ. Active Voice Passive Voice Denotes that the subject is performing the action. Denotes that the subject is acted upon by the verb or action in the sentence. The active voice does not require a linking verb to make sense. The passive voice uses a linking verb followed by the past participle of the main verb. The active voice focuses on the doer of the action. The passive voice comes in handy when the doer of the action is undetermined. Has a direct, clear and strong tone. Has an indirect, weak and subtle tone. Examples I decorated the hall. Devi gave Shanthi a gift. Examples The hall was decorated by me. Shanthi was given a gift by Devi. Rules to be Followed When Converting the Active Voice to the Passive Voice When converting the active voice into the passive voice or vice versa, there are changes in the tenses and pronouns used in the sentences. The table given below shows you how the tenses change when converting the active voice to the passive voice and vice versa. Conversion Rules for Active Voice and Passive Voice Tense Voice Simple Tense Continuous Tense Perfect Tense Perfect Continuous Tense Present Active Brendon plays cricket. Brendon is playing cricket. Brendon has played cricket. Brendon has been playing cricket. Passive Cricket is played by Brendon. Cricket is being played by Brendon. Cricket has been played by Brendon. No Passive Past Active Brendon played cricket. Brendon was playing cricket. Brendon had played cricket. Brendon had been playing cricket. Passive Cricket was played by Brendon. Cricket was being played by Brendon. Cricket had been played by Brendon. No Passive Future Active Brendon will play cricket. Brendon will be playing cricket. Brendon will have played cricket. Brendon will have been playing cricket. Passive Cricket will be played by Brendon. No Passive Cricket will have been played by Brendon. No Passive Change of Pronouns Active Voice Passive Voice I Me We Us He Him She Her They Them It It There are a few other points that you have to know so that you can use the two voices effectively. They are as follows When converting a sentence in the active voice to the passive voice, the first thing that you have to do is interchange the subject and the object. The next part of speech you have to focus on is the verb. When converting the active voice into the passive voice, you just have to convert the main verb into its past participle or its third form. The third form of the main verb is the past participle form of the verb. When you are changing the tense of the main verb, make sure you use an auxiliary verb which maintains the tense the sentence represents. Always use the preposition, ‘by’ before the subject in a passive sentence. If there are any adverbs used in the sentence with the active voice, be sure to include it in the passive voice as well. Do not just drop it when you convert a sentence in the active voice to the passive voice or vice-versa. Given below are a few examples of how to convert the active voice into the passive voice. Active Voice – Twinkle likes adventure stories. Passive Voice – Adventure stories are liked by Twinkle. Active Voice – Latha is learning French this year. Passive Voice – French is being learnt by Latha this year. Active Voice – Kurt has brought macaroons. Passive Voice – Macaroons have been brought by Kurt. Active Voice – Sidharth played cricket. Passive Voice – Cricket was played by Sidharth. Active Voice – They were making invitation cards. Passive Voice – Invitation cards were being made by them. Active Voice – Becky had packed the bags. Passive Voice – The bags had been packed by Becky. Active Voice – Mira will buy the refreshments for the party. Passive Voice – The refreshments for the party will be bought by Mira. Active Voice – Sanjay will have given the forms to all the participants. Passive Voice – The forms will have been given to all the participants by Sanjay. Check Your Understanding of the Active Voice and the Passive Voice Now that you have seen a number of examples and learnt how the conversion is done, try converting the following sentences as directed. 1. Varun is helping Reshmi. Change into passive voice 2. A gift was given to Manassa by me. Change into active voice 3. Santana will sing All My Life at the Nationals. Change into active voice 4. A mouse was being chased by my cat. Change into active voice 5. Naveen loves Praveena. Change into passive voice 6. The decorations for the annual day will be done by Emma. Change into active voice 7. J. K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter novels. Change into passive voice 8. Ms. Holly will teach Spanish this year. Change into passive voice 9. Mike was hit by Nick. Change into active voice 10. Naslen is being scolded by his mom. Change into active voice Check out if you did the conversion right from the answers given below. 1. Reshmi is being helped by Varun. 2. I gave Manassa a gift. 3. All My Life will be sung by Santana at the Nationals. 4. My cat was chasing a mouse. 5. Praveena is loved by Naveen. 6. Emma will do the decorations for the annual day. 7. The Harry Potter novels were written by J. K. Rowling. 8. Spanish will be taught by Ms. Holly this year. 9. Nick hit Mike. 10. Naslen’s mom is scolding him. Frequently Asked Questions on the Active Voice and the Passive VoiceQ1 What is the active voice?The active voice, in a sentence, denotes that the noun or pronoun that acts as the subject in the sentence is the doer of the action. In other words, the subject performs the action or acts upon the What is the passive voice?The passive voice, on the other hand, denotes that the subject is acted upon by the action or verb in the sentence. It can also be said that the passive voice indicates that the subject in the sentence is no longer active but What is the definition of the active voice?According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, the active voice is defined as “the form of a verb in which the subject is the person or thing that performs the action”, and according to the Collins Dictionary, the active voice is defined as “a voice of verbs used to indicate that the subject of a sentence is performing the action or causing the event or process described by the What is the definition of the passive voice?According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, the passive voice is defined as “the form of a verb used when the subject is affected by the action of the verb”, and according to the Collins Dictionary, the passive voice is “formed using ‘be’ and the past participle of a verb. The subject of a passive clause does not perform the action expressed by the verb but is affected by Give some examples of active voice and passive below are some examples of active and passive voice for your reference. Active Voice – Twinkle likes adventure stories. Passive Voice – Adventure stories are liked by Twinkle. Active Voice – Sidharth played cricket. Passive Voice – Cricket was played by Sidharth. Active Voice – Mira will buy the refreshments for the party. Passive Voice – The refreshments for the party will be bought by Mira. Take a sentence like “I want ice cream now.” It’s clear and straightforward—you know immediately that the subject, I, wants an object, ice cream. Now, recast this sentence, flipping it so that the object is in the position of the subject “Ice cream is wanted by me now.” It isn’t just longer, but it’s also more detached, roundabout, and a little awkward, too. Those two sentences are examples of the active voice and the passive voice. Certain kinds of writing are best suited for the active voice, while the passive voice is most appropriate for other kinds of writing. Understanding how, when, and why to use each is key to being an effective writer and speaker. Here’s a tip Want to make sure your writing shines? Grammarly can check your spelling and save you from grammar and punctuation mistakes. It even proofreads your text, so your work is extra polished wherever you write. What is active voice, what is passive voice, and what are their different functions? In the active voice, the subject is performing an action The dog chases the ball. Notice how the subject, dog, is performing the action, chase, on the target of the action, ball. This is a simple, direct example of the active voice. In the passive voice, the action’s target, ball, is positioned first as the focus of the sentence. The sentence gets flipped, and the subject is now being acted upon by the verb. In other words, the subject is passive The ball is being chased by the dog. Active and passive are the two grammatical voices in English. Neither is inherently better than the other, but each is suited to certain types of writing. There’s a reason why news anchors sound detached from the stories they’re reporting They often speak using the passive voice. There’s also a reason why the authors of opinion pieces sound so sure of their positions They usually write in the active voice. Although the idea of teachers telling their students to avoid the passive voice is repeated so frequently that it feels like a trope, the truth is that the passive voice does have its applications. We’ll get into those later. For now, let’s look at how to recognize the active voice and the passive voice in your writing and in others’ work. Active voice As we’ve learned, in the active voice, the sentence’s subject performs the action. Here are two examples of sentences in the active voice Shira likes birdwatching. She loves twilight. No matter what verb you use, structuring your sentence so the subject performs the verb is writing in the active voice. The active voice has a direct, clear tone. Use it when you want the reader to focus on the subject of your sentence and the action it is doing rather than on the action’s target. Passive voice In the passive voice, the action’s target is the focus, and the verb acts upon the subject. Or, to put it in the passive voice, the subject is acted upon by the verb. Every sentence in the passive voice contains two verbs A conjugated form of “to be” The main verb’s past participle Take a look at the previous examples, now written in passive voice Birdwatching is liked by Shira. Twilight is loved by her. Notice how the targets of the action—also the direct objects of the sentences—are now the focus. The sentences now contain a conjugated form of “to be” is and the main verb’s past participle liked and loved. Often, sentences in the passive voice are longer than sentences in the active voice simply because they have to include additional words like prepositions. Take a look at this sentence in the passive voice Summer break is [conjugated form of “to be”] loved [past participle of the main verb] by [preposition] my friends. However, sentences written in the passive voice don’t necessarily need a preposition. Take a look at the example sentences below The check was paid. He will be remembered. The Philippines is known for its marine biodiversity. The passive voice has a subtler tone than the active voice has. Sometimes your writing needs this tone, like when you want your reader to focus on the action being described or the action’s target rather than on who or what is performing the action. This is why the passive voice is used in lab reports—it conveys scientific objectivity by minimizing the focus on the doer of the action. Active and passive voice usage Although you may have been told that writing in the passive voice is “bad writing,” it’s actually more nuanced than that. For most of the writing you do, like emails, blog posts, and many kinds of essays, the active voice is a more effective way to communicate the ideas, themes, and facts you’re expressing. In certain kinds of writing, though, the passive voice is necessary. Think about how news reports about crime and incidents are usually written and delivered A car was broken into on Elm Street last night. Cash was stolen from the register. In these kinds of reports, the passive voice is used to emphasize the action that occurred rather than the individual or group who committed the action, often because the perpetrator isn’t known or hasn’t yet been found guilty of the offense. There are other kinds of writing where the action itself, rather than the doer of the action, is the primary focus. These include scientific and, in some cases, historical reports. These use the passive voice to keep the reader’s focus on what has happened or is happening. Here are a few examples The rats were placed into the maze. The governor was inaugurated at the statehouse. Notice how in both of these sentences, the doer of the action isn’t mentioned. That’s because it’s either implied or irrelevant. In the first example, the scientist performing the experiment is the one who placed the rats in the maze. In the second, those conducting the inauguration ceremony aren’t relevant to what’s being expressed in the sentence. How to change passive voice to active voice After you finish your first draft, read it. You might even want to read it aloud and listen to how it sounds. By reading and listening to your own work, you can catch awkward sentences and unclear phrasing and mark them as points to revise in your next draft. You’ll also hear where you used the active and passive voices and how they shift your work’s tone as a whole. Let’s say you’ve detected a few instances of the passive voice in your argumentative essay More flexible scheduling options are deserved by students. Significant amounts of tuition are paid to the university every year, and many feel the level of service being paid for by students is not being received. See how these sentences feel like they’re dancing around the topic at hand rather than addressing it head-on? The writer isn’t making a particularly persuasive argument, but they can make their writing far more impactful by changing it to the active voice. Sentence-by-sentence, identify who or what is performing the action, and make that the subject when you rewrite it. In the first sentence, make students the subject, since that’s who is performing the action. The main verb in this sentence is deserve, and the target is more flexible scheduling options, which will become the direct object in your new sentence. With these identified, restructure the sentence so the subject is now directly performing the verb. In the active voice, this sentence would read like this Students deserve more flexible scheduling options. See how this version gets right to the point? It makes the writer sound more confident too, which is a priority in argumentative writing. Let’s try changing the second sentence to the active voice, which also allows us to condense Students pay a significant amount of tuition to the university every year, and many feel they aren’t receiving the level of service they’re paying for. As you can see from the compound sentence above, you can write any kind of sentence in the active or passive voice as long as the sentence has a transitive verb. Whether it’s a simple or complex sentence or even a compound-complex sentence, you can dramatically alter your tone by simply reworking its structure. If you aren’t sure whether a sentence is active or passive based on how it sounds, use the rules we outlined above to identify the two voices in your work. The biggest clue you have a passive voice sentence on your hands will be a form of “to be” followed by a past participle was requested or will be missed. Not every passive voice sentence says who is performing the action, but if it does, you’ll see a preposition next to it by zombies or by my brother. You can use either voice when you’re paraphrasing a longer work. Sometimes, such as in cases where you’re paraphrasing a scientific article, you’ll need to use the passive voice in your paraphrased version. In others, you might actually make the original clearer by paraphrasing in the active voice. Active and passive voice examples Take a look at these examples of both the active and passive voices in action Active Is Ajani visiting us today? Passive Will we be visited by Ajani today? As you see, questions can be written in either voice. Other kinds of sentences, like exclamatory and imperative sentences, are often best written in the active voice Active Please remove your shoes before entering my house. Passive Shoes should be removed before entering my house. Active Lock the door! Passive Let the door be locked! See how with the first pair, the passive voice makes the request feel more like a suggestion? In the second pair, the passive voice makes the message sound stilted and formal rather than an urgent exclamation. Now take a look at these two examples Active I poured the solution into the beaker and heated it to 100℉. Passive The solution was poured into the beaker and heated to 100℉. Active and passive voice FAQs What is active voice, what is passive voice, and what’s the difference? In the active voice, the sentence’s subject performs the action on the action’s target. In the passive voice, the target of the action is the main focus, and the verb acts upon the subject. There are numerous differences between the two grammatical voices, but the most important is that the active voice is clearer and more direct, while the passive voice is subtler and can feel more detached. When should you use active vs. passive voice? Use the active voice in any sentence that focuses on the doer of the action. Unless the majority of your writing is scientific or reporting incidents involving unknown perpetrators, most of the sentences you write should be in the active voice. The passive voice is meant for sentences where you need to emphasize the target of an action or the action itself rather than who or what is performing the verb. How do you change passive voice to active? To change the passive voice to the active voice, determine who is actually performing the action in the sentence, then restructure the sentence so that the performer is the focus, clearly performing the verb upon the sentence’s direct object. Passive Salsa dancing has always been loved by our community. Active Our community has always loved salsa dancing. Here’s a tip You don’t have to guess whether you’re using certain words correctly or breaking grammar rules in your writing. Just copy and paste your writing into our Grammar Checker and get instant feedback on whether your sentences have misspellings, punctuation errors, or any structural mistakes.