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Active and Passive Voice
Understanding Voice: The Subject's Role
In active voice, the subject performs the action. In passive voice, the subject receives the action.
$$\text{Active: Subject} + \text{Verb} + \text{Object} \rightarrow \text{Passive: Object} + \text{Be} + \text{Verb}_{pp}$$
The fundamental structural shift between active and passive perspectives.
$\text{Subject}$=The entity performing the action (Agent)(Noun/Pronoun)
$\text{Be}$=The auxiliary verb indicating the tense(Verb)
$\text{Verb}_{pp}$=Past participle form of the main verb(V3)
No Object
→Intransitive verbs cannot be made passive.
Focus Shift: Passive voice highlights the result or receiver rather than the doer.
Grammar Rule: Only sentences with a Transitive Verb can be converted to passive.
Quick Test: If you can ask 'What?' or 'Whom?' after the verb and get an answer, it is transitive and can become passive.
The Mechanics of Conversion: Swapping and Changing
To convert to passive, move the object to the subject position and use a form of 'to be' that matches the original tense, followed by the Past Participle.
$$\text{Main Rule: } V \rightarrow \text{be} + V_{past, participle}$$
The core transformation required to change the verb form.
$V$=Original active verb(Any Tense)
$\text{be}$=Auxiliary matching active tense(is/was/will be...)
$V_{past, participle}$=Past participle of original verb(V3 Form)
The Agent: The original subject moves to the end behind a 'by' tag.
Auxiliary Verb: The verb 'be' carries the entire burden of tense identification.
Pronoun Shift: Subjective pronouns become objective — 'He wrote it' → 'It was written by him' (he → him, she → her, they → them).
Agent Omission: Drop 'by + agent' when the doer is unknown, obvious, or unimportant — 'The window was broken' is complete without 'by someone'.
Tense Mastery in Passive Voice
The Auxiliary Verb 'be' carries the tense of the original active sentence. For example, 'is eating' becomes 'is being eaten'.
$$\text{Continuous: be} + \text{being} + V_{pp} \quad \text{Perfect: have/has} + \text{been} + V_{pp}$$
How to handle continuous and perfect aspects in passive transformations.
$\text{being}$=Marker for Continuous aspect(Ing-form)
$\text{been}$=Marker for Perfect aspect(Past Participle)
Continuous Rule: Always include 'being' between 'be' and the V3.
Perfect Rule: Always insert 'been' after have/has/had.
Perfect Continuous: Future perfect continuous, past perfect continuous, and present perfect continuous are almost never converted to passive — the result ('has been being done') is too awkward for standard usage.
Complete Tense Conversion Table
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Simple Present: writes → is written
•
Simple Past: wrote → was written
•
Simple Future: will write → will be written
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Present Continuous: is writing → is being written
•
Past Continuous: was writing → was being written
•
Present Perfect: has written → has been written
•
Past Perfect: had written → had been written
•
Future Perfect: will have written → will have been written
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Modal: can/must/should write → can/must/should be written
Special Cases: Double Objects and Get-Passive
Some verbs take two objects — a Direct Object and an Indirect Object. Either object can become the passive subject, producing two valid passive forms.
$$\text{S + V + IO + DO} \rightarrow \text{IO + be + V}_{pp}\text{ + DO} \quad \textbf{or} \quad \text{DO + be + V}_{pp}\text{ + to + IO}$$
Double-object verbs like give, tell, show, offer, teach produce two passive variants.
$\text{IO}$=Indirect Object — the receiver (usually a person)(Noun/Pronoun)
$\text{DO}$=Direct Object — the thing given/told/shown(Noun/Pronoun)
IO as subject
→'She was given a prize' — more natural in English.
DO as subject
→'A prize was given to her' — requires 'to' before the IO.
Example: 'The teacher gave him a book' → 'He was given a book' OR 'A book was given to him'.
Preferred Form: Making the indirect object (person) the subject sounds more natural — 'She was told the news' rather than 'The news was told to her'.
Get-Passive: Informal English replaces 'be' with 'get' — 'He got fired', 'She got promoted'. Common in spoken language but avoided in formal writing.
Strategic Use: When to Use Passive Voice
Use passive when the Agent is unknown, obvious, or less important than the action or result itself.
$$\text{Emphasis} = \text{Action/Result} > \text{Doer}$$
The rhetorical priority determining the choice of passive voice.
$\text{Emphasis}$=The focal point of the sentence(Relative)
Scientific Reports: Focuses on the process rather than the researcher — 'The solution was heated to 100°C'.
Diplomatic Omission: Allows for tactful phrasing when the actor should be hidden — 'Mistakes were made' avoids blaming anyone.
Avoid Overuse: Excessive passive makes writing vague and lifeless. Default to active; use passive only when the receiver is more important than the doer.
News and Legal Writing: Headlines and legal documents frequently use passive — 'Three suspects were arrested' focuses on the event, not the police.
Application Strategy
Worked Examples
Problem Statement
Convert the following sentence to passive voice: 'The committee will announce the winners tomorrow.'
Future Simple TenseSubject-Object Swap
Strategic Toolkit
$\text{will} + \text{be} + V_{pp}$
Step 1
Identify Components
Identify the Subject (The committee), Verb (will announce), and Object (the winners).
\text{S: The committee, V: will announce, O: the winners}
Step 2
Shift Object
Move the Object 'the winners' to the beginning of the sentence.
\text{The winners...}
Step 3
Apply Passive Rule
The tense is Future Simple ('will'). Use 'will' + 'be' + Past Participle of 'announce' (announced).
\text{will announce} \rightarrow \text{will be announced}
Step 4
Assemble
Combine the parts into the final sentence.
\text{The winners will be announced (by the committee) tomorrow.}
Problem Statement
Convert to passive: 'They are repairing the bridge.'
Present Continuous TenseAuxiliary Selection
Strategic Toolkit
$\text{is/am/are} + \text{being} + V_{pp}$
Step 1
Identify Components
S: 'They', V: 'are repairing', O: 'the bridge'.
\text{S: They, V: are repairing, O: the bridge}
Step 2
Shift Object
Move 'the bridge' to the subject position.
\text{The bridge...}
Step 3
Handle Continuous Tense
Use singular 'is' for 'the bridge' and add 'being' to maintain the continuous aspect.
\text{are repairing} \rightarrow \text{is being repaired}
Step 4
Result
Construct the final passive sentence.
\text{The bridge is being repaired.}
Problem Statement
Convert to passive: 'The students had completed the assignment before the deadline.'
Past Perfect TenseBeen Insertion
Strategic Toolkit
$\text{had} + \text{been} + V_{pp}$
Step 1
Identify Components
S: 'The students', V: 'had completed', O: 'the assignment'.
\text{S: The students, V: had completed, O: the assignment}
Step 2
Recognize the Perfect Aspect
'Had completed' is Past Perfect. The passive rule inserts 'been' after 'had'.
\text{had + completed} \rightarrow \text{had been + completed}
Step 3
Assemble
Move 'the assignment' to subject position and add the agent phrase.
\text{The assignment had been completed (by the students) before the deadline.}
Problem Statement
Convert to passive (two ways): 'The company offered her a promotion.'
Double ObjectsIndirect Object as Subject
Strategic Toolkit
$\text{IO as subject} \quad \text{or} \quad \text{DO as subject + to}$
Step 1
Identify Both Objects
Indirect Object (person receiving): 'her'. Direct Object (thing given): 'a promotion'.
\text{IO: her, DO: a promotion}
Step 2
Passive with IO as Subject
Make the indirect object the new subject. This is the more natural form.
\text{She was offered a promotion (by the company).}
Step 3
Passive with DO as Subject
Make the direct object the subject. Insert 'to' before the indirect object.
\text{A promotion was offered to her (by the company).}
Memorize formulas
General Passive Formula
The universal structure for any passive sentence.
Formula
$\text{Obj} + \text{be(tense)} + V_{pp} + (\text{by} + \text{Agent})$
Continuous Aspect Passive
Use this when the original sentence has -ing.
Formula
$\text{be} + \text{being} + V_{pp}$
Perfect Aspect Passive
Use this when the original sentence has have/has/had.
Formula
$\text{have/has/had} + \text{been} + V_{pp}$
Modal Passive
Use this for verbs like can, must, should, will.
Formula
$\text{Modal} + \text{be} + V_{pp}$
Review
1
Which of the following sentences correctly converts 'The chef is preparing a three-course meal' into the passive voice?
Ans
A three-course meal is being prepared by the chef.
Review
Tap to reveal
Keep the continuous aspect
The active form uses Present Continuous, so the passive must also preserve that ongoing action instead of shifting to simple present or perfect.
$The chef is preparing a three-course meal → A three-course meal is being prepared by the chef$
2
Identify the passive form of: 'Someone has stolen my bicycle.'
Ans
My bicycle has been stolen.
Review
Tap to reveal
Convert the present perfect structure
Present Perfect active becomes Present Perfect passive with 'has been' followed by the past participle of the main verb.
$has stolen → has been stolen$
3
Select the correct passive transformation for: 'The manager must sign the document before the auditors can review it.'
Ans
The document must be signed by the manager before it can be reviewed by the auditors.
Review
Tap to reveal
Convert the first modal clause
With a modal verb, passive voice uses modal + be + past participle, so 'must sign' becomes 'must be signed'.
$must sign → must be signed$
Convert the second modal clause
The same pattern applies to the review clause: 'can review' must become 'can be reviewed' to stay grammatical.
$can review → can be reviewed$
4
Which passive sentence preserves the exact meaning and tense of: 'By the time we arrived, they had already served dinner'?
Ans
By the time we arrived, dinner had already been served.
Review
Tap to reveal
Preserve the past perfect timing
Because the serving happened before the arrival event, the passive must keep Past Perfect and use 'had been served'.
$had already served dinner → dinner had already been served$
5
Which is the correct active voice form of: 'The annual report is being reviewed by the board of directors'?
Ans
The board of directors is reviewing the annual report.
Review
Tap to reveal
Reverse the voice without changing aspect
The passive is Present Continuous, so the active sentence should also stay in Present Continuous rather than changing tense.
$is being reviewed → is reviewing$
6
The teacher told the students that the exam had been postponed.' — How many passive constructions does this sentence contain?
Ans
One: 'had been postponed'
Review
Tap to reveal
Count only the passive clause
The main verb 'told' is active because the teacher does the telling. The only passive construction is the embedded clause 'had been postponed'.
There is one passive construction: $had been postponed$
7
Convert to passive: 'They are going to demolish the old building next month.' Which is correct?
Ans
The old building is going to be demolished next month.
Review
Tap to reveal
Preserve the going-to future
A direct passive conversion keeps the semi-modal structure intact: 'are going to demolish' becomes 'is going to be demolished'.
$are going to demolish → is going to be demolished$
8
Which sentence correctly uses the passive with a double-object verb? Original: 'The company offered all employees a generous bonus.'
Ans
All employees were offered a generous bonus by the company.
Review
Tap to reveal
Promote the indirect object
In a double-object verb, the indirect object can become the passive subject directly, while the direct object stays after it without a preposition.
$The company offered all employees a generous bonus → All employees were offered a generous bonus by the company$
9
'It is expected that the project will be completed by December.' Which of the following is an equivalent personal passive construction?
Ans
The project is expected to be completed by December.
Review
Tap to reveal
Turn the impersonal passive into a personal one
Replace the dummy subject 'it' with the real subject 'the project' and keep the embedded passive meaning in infinitive form.
$It is expected that the project will be completed → The project is expected to be completed$
10
Identify the sentence with an ERROR in passive voice construction.
Ans
The car needs to be been repaired before the trip.
Review
Tap to reveal
Spot the impossible passive pattern
The sequence 'to be been' is ungrammatical. After 'needs to', the passive form should be 'be repaired', not 'be been repaired'.
$needs to be been repaired → needs to be repaired$
Question 1 of 10
0:00
1
Which of the following sentences correctly converts 'The chef is preparing a three-course meal' into the passive voice?