Active and Passive Voice Rules of English Grammar

Understanding Active and Passive Voice rules are imperative for candidates preparing for various Government exams as well as other competitive exams.  

In this article, we shall discuss in detail the Active and Passive Voice rules followed by examples, along with the sample questions asked in the examinations, based on the same. Candidates will be explained the concept and active -passive rules in English grammar both in the text and video format.

Active & Passive Voice

Let us first understand the meaning of voice, and what is active voice and passive voice.

What is Voice of a verb?

The voice of a verb expresses whether the subject in the sentence has performed or received the action.

Example:

• The watchman opens the door.

• The door is opened by the watchman.

Types of Voices of Verb

Verbs have two voices (i) Active Voice (ii) Passive Voice

Active Voice – When an action performed by the subject is expressed by the verb, it is an active voice. Active voice is used when more straightforward relation and clarity is required between the subject and the verb.

Active Voice example:

• Hens lay eggs.

• Birds build nests.

Passive Voice –  When the action expressed by the verb is received by the subject, it is passive voice. Passive voice is used when the doer of the action is not known and the focus of the sentence is on the action and not the subject.

Passive Voice Examples:

• Eggs are laid by hens.

• Nests are built by birds.

Candidates preparing for any Government exam can check other important topics for the English language section.

Active And Passive Voice Rules For Conversion of Sentence

Below are the active-passive voice rules to follow for changing an active sentence into a passive voice. Before heading to the rules of active-passive voice, let’s check the examples of active and passive voice sentences.

Conversion of Active and Passive voice examples

• Rita wrote a letter. (Subject + Verb + Object)

• A letter was written by Rita.  (Object) + (auxiliary verb) + (past participle) + (by subject).

• She cooks food. (Subject + Verb + Object)

• The food is cooked by her. (Object) + (auxiliary verb) + (past participle) + (by subject)

Candidates can watch the video on Active-Passive voice rules and concept in English. This will help them gain conceptual knowledge and understand the variety of questions asked in the exams even better.

Rules of Active – Passive Voice in English Grammar – Part 1

Rules for Active – Passive Voice Conversions

Rule 1. Identify the (S+V+O) Subject, Verb and object in the active sentence to convert to passive voice 

Example: 

He drives car. (Subject – He, verb – Drives, object – Car)

Rule 2. Interchange the object and subject with each other, i.e. object of the active sentence become the subject of the passive sentence.

Example : 

Active voice : She knits sweater. (Subject – She, Verb – Knits, Object – Sweater)

Passive Voice : The sweater is knitted by her. (Object sweater is interchanged with the subject She).

Rule 3. In passive voice sometimes the subject is not used, i.e. the subject in passive voice can be omitted if the sentence without it gives enough meaning.

 Example : 

Milk is sold in litres

Rule 4. Change the base verb in the active sentence into the past participle ie. third form verb in a passive sentence i.e. preceded by (By, With, to, etc). Base verbs are never used in passive voice sentences.

Example: 

• Active voice: She prepares dinner.

• Passive voice: The dinner is prepared

  by

  her.

• Active voice: She knows him.

• Passive voice: He is known

  to

  her.

• Active voice: Juice fills the jar.

• Passive voice: The jar is filled

  with

  juice.

Rule 5. While conversion of Active voice sentence to Passive voice sentence, the pronoun used in the sentence also changes in the following manner.

Active Voice Pronoun
Passive Voice Pronoun

I

Me

We

Us

He

Him

She

Her

They

Them

You

You

It

It

Rule 6. Use the suitable helping or auxiliary verb (is/am/are/was, etc.). The rules for using auxiliary verbs in passive voice sentences are different for each tense.

Example:

• The letter

  is

  written by her

•  A book

  was

  not bought by her

• Chocolates

  are being

  eaten by them.

Forms of Active And Passive Voice For All Tenses

• Simple Present Tense

   

Active Sentences
Passive Sentences

He writes an essay

An essay is written by him

Sheena does the housework

The housework is done by Sheena

She cares for the rabbit

The rabbit is being cared for by her

Jacob always plays the guitar 

The guitar is always played by Jacob

• Present Continuous Tense

Active Sentences
Passive Sentences

They are eating bananas

The bananas are being eaten by them

Bob is drawing a diagram

A diagram is being drawn by Bob

Samta is playing the piano

A piano is being played by Samta

She is waiting for Reema

Reema is being waited for by her

• Present Perfect Tense

   

Active Sentences
Passive Sentences

Has he done the work?

Has the work been done by him?

Have they left the apartment?

Has the apartment been left by them?

He created this masterpiece

This masterpiece is created by him

He read the newspaper

The newspaper is being read by him

Note- [except certain exemptions, no passive Voice formation for the following tenses can be formed, Present Perfect Continuous Tense, Past Perfect Continuous Tense, Future Perfect Continuous Tense and Future Continuous Tense]

• Simple Past Tense

Active Voice
Passive Voice

Ria paid the bills

The bills were paid by Ria

The teacher called the student

The student was called by the teacher

She did not buy the fruits

The fruits were not bought by her

• Past Progressive/Continuous Tense

Active Voice 
Passive Voice

They were waiting for him

He was being waited for by them

Astha was learning French

French was being learnt by Astha

She was playing kabaddi

Kabaddi was being played by her

• Past Perfect Tense

Active Voice 
Passive Voice

She won the match

The match had been won by her

I had finished her work

Her work had been finished by me

He had missed the last metro

The last metro had been missed by him

• Simple Future Tense

   

Active Voice 
Passive Voice

He will write a letter

A letter will be written by him

He will repair her cycle

Her cycle will be repaired by him

He shall start the meeting

The meeting will be started by him

• Future Perfect Tense

Active Voice 
Passive Voice

Meena will not have changed the bedsheet

The bed sheet will not have been changed by Meena

They will have won the match

The match will have been won by them

Reena will have washed the skirt

The skirt will have been washed by Reena

Rules of Active & Passive Voice in English Grammar – Part 2

Also, check the following for English language preparation:

The syllabus of the English language is vast and for convenient preparation of this section, candidates can check English For Competitive exams to get more relevant topics.

Active And Passive Voice – Sample Questions 

The significance of knowing the rules of active and passive voice for the English language section of various competitive exams can only be understood by knowing the type of questions asked in the examination, based on the same.

Hence, given below are sample questions on active and passive voice asked in the English language section of various government examinations:

[Directions] In the following questions, a sentence has been given in either Active or Passive Voice. From the four options select the one which best expresses the same sentence in the opposite voice than mentioned in the question.

Q.1. Never disobey your elders

1. You are asked not to disobey your elders.

2. You are ordered not to disobey your elders.

3. Do not disobey your elders.

4. You are not to disobey your elders.

Answer (1) You are asked not to disobey your elders

Q.2. The students were listening to the teacher.

1. The teacher is listened to by the students.

2. The teacher listened to students.

3. The teacher was listening to by the students

4. The teacher was listened to by the students.

Answer (4) The teacher was listened to by the students.

Q.3. I have to do it.

1. It is be done by me.

2. It should to be done by me.

3. It has to be done by me.

4. It would to be done by me.

Answer (3) It has to be done by me.

Q.4.  Tell the maid to prepare tea.

1. You are ordered to tell the maid to prepare tea.

2. You are said to tell the maid to prepare tea.

3. You are advised to tell the maid to prepare tea.

4. You are asked to tell the maid to prepare tea.

Answer (4) You are asked to tell the maid to prepare tea.

Q.5. Who stole your bike?

1. Your bike was stolen by him?

2. By whom was your bike stolen?

3. Your bike was stolen by whom?

4. By whom your bike stolen?

Answer (2) By whom was your bike stolen?

Apart from the MCQ type questions given above, active-passive voice questions appear in reading comprehension and error spotting as well. Candidates to practice well for the exam can check out a few important Sentence correction questions asked in various competitive exams in the link provided.

Also, check Previous Year Question Papers PDF with Solutions to understand the scope and difficulty level of question in the exams.

Candidates must be well aware of the rules of Active and Passive Voices in English, so as to use them correctly without making any errors in the exam. Knowledge of active and passive voice will help score good marks in the exam as well as improve their understanding of English. 

Being well acquainted with the rules of the active and passive voice will not only enhance the vocabulary skills for descriptive sections in the examination, but it will also improve candidates usage of English in day to day communication as well.

Almost all the exams, such as SSC exam, Bank exam, RRB exam, Insurance exam or any other Government exams have a separate section for the English Language in both objective and descriptive paper. Candidates can go through the English Question and Answers on important topics given below-

For more practice exercise and question and answers on different English topics, candidates can check the Verbal Ability page linked here.

Candidates preparing for the various government exams can refer to the detailed exam syllabus in the links given below:

For a better understanding of the formation of words in English and to know the English words that are asked in most of the competitive exams, visit the links provided below

Aspirants preparing for the upcoming government exams must carefully go through the concept and rules of active and passive voice in English grammar, as they tend to score the least in the English Language section.

To ace this section, it is important that candidates have a clear concept of mistaken words or the confusing words in the English language. Given below are a few such words that they can check for reference-

Similarly, 100 Difference between Articles on various topics, subjects, concepts etc are given on the link provided for your revision.
For further questions or information regarding competitive exams, study material or best books for preparation, candidates can turn to BYJU’S. 

Frequently Asked Question – Active – Passive Voice Rules & Examples

Q.1. When do we use passive voice?

Ans.

Passive voice is used when the doer of the action is not known and the focus of the sentence is on the action and not the subject.

Q.2. How do we identify the passive voice sentence?

Ans. To identify the passive voice in a sentence, look at the thing happened and the subject responsible for doing it. If the subject responsible for doing the actions either occurs after the action has happened or is omitted, it is a passive voice sentence.

Q.3. What is Active Voice Example?

Ans. When an action is done by a subject, the verb of that sentence is in the active voice, there is a

straightforward relation and clarity between the subject and the verb, 

example – Melvin hit the football where Melvin (Subject) acts in relation to the Football.

Q.4. How to write a passive voice sentence as per the active-passive voice rules?

Ans. To write a passive sentence from an active voice sentence, first, interchange the object and subject

i.e. object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence

 then change the verb to its past participle form.

Q 5. How to identify active-passive voice sentences?

Ans. If the subject is performing the action, then the sentence is in the active voice. If the subject is simply receiving the action, then the sentence is in the passive voice.

Passive Voice คืออะไร? มีวิธีใช้ยังไงบ้าง?

สำหรับคนเรียนภาษาอังกฤษแล้ว จะต้องเคยได้ยินเรื่อง Active-Passive Voice มาบ้างแล้วแน่ๆ แต่ส่วนมากยังสงสัยกันอยู่ว่า Passive Voice คืออะไร? ใช้ยังไง? รู้ได้ไงว่าเมื่อไรต้องใช้ Passive Voice? วันนี้มีคำตอบมาให้ค่ะ โดยในบทความนี้จะครอบคลุมหัวข้อดังนี้นะคะ

 

✤Passive Voice คืออะไร?✤

Passive Voice คือ โครงสร้างของประโยคที่ประธาน “เป็นผู้ถูกกระทำ” เช่น

ภาษาไทย: แมวถูกเก็บมาเลี้ยง (แมวไม่ได้ทำกริยา “เก็บมาเลี้ยง” เอง ต้องมีคนอื่นทำ)

ภาษาอังกฤษ: The cat was adopted by the girl. (แมว “ถูกเก็บมาเลี้ยง” โดยเด็กผู้หญิง)

ที่ต้องมีโครงสร้าง Passive Voice ก็เพื่อให้เวลาสื่อสาร คนฟังเข้าใจได้ว่าพอเจอโครงสร้าง Passive แสดงว่าประธานโดนกระทำอยู่นะ

ถ้างั้น Active Voice คืออะไร? — Active Voice ก็จะตรงกันข้าม คือประธานเป็น “ผู้กระทำ” เอง หรือพูดง่ายๆ ก็คือประโยคโครงสร้างแบบปกติที่เราใช้กัน เช่น

– Mary walks to school every Monday. (แมรี่ “เดิน” เอง)
– The teacher asked students to discuss the topic. (คุณครู “สั่ง” เอง)

✤Active-Passive Voice ต่างกันยังไง?✤

ความแตกต่างของ Active กับ Passive Voice ขอแยกเป็นหัวข้อย่อยคือ

1. โครงสร้างประโยค

Active Voice: S + V (ประธาน + กริยา)
Passive Voice: S + V. to be + V.3 (สำคัญคือต้องมี V. to be + V.3 ที่แสดงความเป็น Passive)

2. จุดเด่นของ V.

Active Voice: V ผันตาม tense ได้ปกติ
Passive Voice: V ผันได้ แต่ต้องอยู่ในโครงสร้าง V. to be + V.3 เสมอ (เพื่อคงความเป็น Passive ไว้)

3. ความหมาย

Active Voice: S + V = ประธาน “ทำกริยา” นั้นๆ เอง
Passive Voice: S + V. to be + V.3 = ประธาน “โดนกระทำ” (คำนามที่ขึ้นต้นประโยคจริงๆ แล้วเป็น O. หรือ กรรมของประโยค)

วิธีจำง่ายๆ — “Active ทำเอง Passive ถูกทำ”

ถ้ายังไม่เก็ท อย่าเพิ่งตกใจ อ่านต่อไปก่อนนะคะ เดี๋ยวจะมีประโยคตัวอย่าง กับแบบฝึกหัดให้ลองทำเสริมค่ะ
 

✤โครงสร้าง Passive Voice✤

อย่างที่บอกไว้ข้างว่า V. to be + V.3 คือโครงสร้างแสดงความเป็น Passive Voice เพราะงั้นเมื่อไรก็ตามที่เจอโครงสร้างนี้ในประโยค หมายความว่าคำนามที่อยู่ข้างหน้านั้น “โดนกระทำ” เช่น

– Eric read the novel in one day. (Active – เน้นที่คำนามที่เป็นคนทำ คือ Eric)
– The novel was read in one day. (Passive – เน้นที่คำนามที่ถูกกระทำ คือหนังสือ)

แต่ความสับสน ซับซ้อนของ Passive Voice จะยังเกิดขึ้นเมื่อมันไปอยู่ใน tense ต่างๆ ทำให้หลายคนเริ่มมองไม่ออกว่าสรุปนี่คือ “โครงสร้าง Passive” รึเปล่านะ? เราลองไปดูโครงสร้าง Passive Voice ในแต่ละ tense กันค่ะ

สังเกตว่าพอเป็น Passive Voice จะต้องมีโครงสร้าง V. to be + V.3 แทรกอยู่เสมอ โดยที่ตัวที่จะผันตาม tense ก็คือตรง V. to be นั่นเองค่ะ ด้านล่างจะขออธิบายเฉพาะโครงสร้าง Passive ให้เข้าใจมากขึ้นนะคะ

Present Simple (Passive): is/am/are + V.3
*is/am/are คือหน้าตาของ V. to be ใน Present Simple

 

Present Con. (Passive): is/am/are + being +V.3
*Con. ต้องมี V.ing เพราะฉะนั้นเลยต้องเติม being ลงไปด้วย เพื่อให้โครงสร้าง Present Con. ยังเหมือนเดิมคือ V. to be + V.ing

 

Present Perfect (Passive): has/have been + V.3
*ของเดิม has/have + V.3 เลย เพราะงั้นต้องผัน V. to be ให้เป็น V.3 แทนก็คือ been เพื่อให้โครงสร้างหลักยังเป็น has/have + V.3 เหมือนเดิม แล้วค่อยตามด้วย V.3 ของ Passive

 

Past Simple (Passive): was/were + V.3
* was/were คือหน้าตาของ V. to be ใน Past Simple (คือผัน V. to be ให้เป็นช่อง 2 ตามโครงสร้าง Past Simple ที่เป็น V.2)

 

Past Con. (Passive): was/were + being + V.3
*Con. ต้องมี V.ing เพราะฉะนั้นเลยต้องเติม being ลงไปด้วย และไม่ต้องผันเป็นอดีต เพราะข้างหน้า (was/were) ผันไปแล้ว

 

Past Perfect (Passive): had been + V.3
*ผัน V. to be ให้เป็น V.3 คือ been แล้วค่อยตามด้วย V.3 ของ Passive

 

Future Simple (Passive): will be + V.3
*แค่เพิ่ม be + V.3 ไปตามหลัง will ที่ใช้ be เพราะตามหลัง will ต้องใช้ V.ไม่ผัน (ของ V. to be ก็คือ be)

 

Future Con. (Passive): will be + being + V.3
*Con. ต้องมี V.ing เพราะฉะนั้นเลยต้องเติม being ลงไปด้วย

 

Future Perfect (Passive): will have been + V.3
*ผัน V. to be ให้เป็น V.3 คือ been แล้วค่อยตามด้วย V.3 ของ Passive

**อีก 3 tense ที่ไม่ได้พูดถึงนั้น จะไม่นิยมใช้ในรูป Passive นะคะ

 

สรุปหลักการผันโครงสร้าง Passive

– ต้อง keep โครงสร้างเดิมไว้ด้วย
– ต่อท้ายเพิ่มโครงสร้าง Passive โดยถ้าต้องผัน จะผันที่ V. to be แทน (V.3 ข้างหลังไม่ต้องแตะค่ะ)

เชื่อว่าหลายคนยังไม่ค่อยเข้าใจแน่ๆ ถ้าอย่างนั้นเราไปดูตัวอย่างประโยคทั้ง Active และ Passive Voice กันค่ะ
 

✤ตัวอย่าง Active-Passive Voice✤

Past Simple (Active): V.2
– We completed the project ahead of schedule.

Past Simple (Passive): was/were + V.3
– The project was completed ahead of schedule.
*มี was มาแทน V.2

Future Simple (Active): will + V.1
– They will deliver the new furniture on Monday.

Future Simple (Passive): will + be + V.3
– The new furniture will be delivered on Monday.
*มี be มาแทน V.1

Present Perfect (Active): has/have + V.3
– Sarah has fixed the report just before the meeting.

Present Perfect (Passive): has/have + been + V.3
– The report has been fixed by Sarah just before the meeting.
*มี been มาแทน V.3 ของโครงสร้างเดิม

 

✤แบบฝึกหัด Passive Voice✤

1. ACTIVE: Mr. Clarkson will present a report tomorrow in the meeting.
    PASSIVE: _____________________________________________

2. ACTIVE: They have announced the new vacation policy.
    PASSIVE: _____________________________________________

3. ACTIVE: ______________________________________________
    PASSIVE: Classes for adults and children are offered by the community center.

4. ACTIVE: ______________________________________________
    PASSIVE: The room must be reserved at least 3 days in advance.

5. ACTIVE: The committee is considering a proposal to build a new sports center.
    PASSIVE: _____________________________________________

 

✤ตัวอย่างข้อสอบ TOEIC เรื่อง Passive Voice✤

 

1. Ms. Pines —– the individuals that the company will employ for the next three months.
(A) is recruited    (B) recruited

 

2. Now that the insulation —–, the building is much more energy-efficient.
(A) has been replaced    (B) has been replacing

 

3. The library staff —– signs to notify patrons of the upcoming closure for renovations.
(A) will be posted        (B) will post

 

4. At the guest’s request, an extra set of towels and complimentary soaps —– to the room.
(A) were bringing    (B) were brought

 

5. The company —– to recognize the increasing importance of using resources responsibly.
(A) started        (B) was started

 

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