The Rules of Active and Passive Voice
What do we mean by “voice”?
Voice is the form of a verb that shows whether the subject of a sentence does the action (= the active voice) or is affected by it (= the passive voice).
Examples:
- In the sentence “James hit the ball,” the verb “hit” is in the active voice. In other words, the form “hit” shows that the subject (James) did the action. The sentence “James hit the ball” is an active sentence.
- In the sentence “The ball was hit by James,” the verb “was hit” is in the passive voice. In other words, the form “was hit” shows that the subject (The ball) was affected by the action. The sentence “The ball was hit by James” is a passive sentence.
Here are some more examples:
Active: The ball hit Janet.
Passive: Janet was hit / Janet was hit by the ball.
Active: He wrote a letter.
Passive: The letter was written /
The letter was written by him.
Active: The mailman carried the mail.
Passive: The mail was carried /
The mail was carried by the mailman.
Active: Kevin took a picture.
Passive: A picture was taken / A picture was taken by Kevin.
Active: They took the kids for a walk.
Passive: They kids were taken for a walk /
The kids were taken for a walk by their moms.
Active: They took the kids for a walk.
Passive: They kids were taken for a walk /
The kids were taken for a walk by their moms.
Active or Passive?
Most of the sentences in English are active sentences.
And if you think about it, they tend to be much more simple than passive sentences.
Have a look at these sentence and see for yourself:
We ate lunch / The lunch was eaten.
I have written a book / A book was written.
They will buy a yacht / A yacht will be bought.
Which version is more simple and common?
However, in some cases, it can be useful to use the passive voice.
For example, when you want to tell about an action, but you don’t want to mention who does it:
“Joe broke the window.”
(It is clear who did it.)
“The window was broken.”
(Here you only describe the action, without mentioning who actually did it.)
Another use of the passive voice is when you want to emphasize the object and not the subject:
“Charles sold the company.”
(Here the emphasis is on Charles doing the action.)
“The company was sold.”
(Here the emphasis is on the fact that the company was sold.)
Simple Present tense
An Active sentence in the simple present tense has the following structure:
Subject + first form of the verb + object
A passive sentence in the simple present tense has the following structure:
Object of the active sentence + is/am/are + past participle form of the verb + by + subject of the active sentence
Changing an assertive sentence into the passive
Active: I write a letter.
Passive: A letter is written by me.
Active: I help you.
Passive: You are helped by me.
Active: I love my parents.
Passive: My parents are loved by me.
Active: We love our country.
Passive: Our country is loved by us.
Changing a negative sentence into the passive
Active: I do not write a letter.
Passive: A letter is not written by me.
Active: I do not abuse my servants.
Passive: My servants are not abused by me.
Active: I do not write novels.
Passive: Novels are not written by me.
Active: He does not tease her.
Passive: She is not teased by him.
Changing an interrogative sentence into the passive
Structure: Is/are/am + object of the active verb + past participle form of the verb + by + subject of the passive verb
Active: Do you write a letter?
Passive: Is a letter written by you?
Active: Do you write stories?
Passive: Are stories written by you?
Active: Does she make candles?
Passive: Are candles made by her?
Active: Who does not obey you?
Passive: By whom are you not obeyed?
Active: Which newspaper do you read?
Passive: Which newspaper is read by you?
Active: Does she do her duty?
Passive: Is her duty done by her?
Active (Simple Forms)
Simple Present I drive a car
Simple Past I drove
Present Perfect I have driven
Past Perfect I had driven
will-future I will drive
Future Perfect I will have driven
Conditional I I would drive
Conditional II I would have driven
Passive (Simple Forms)
Simple Present I am driven
Simple Past I was driven
Present Perfect I have been driven
Past Perfect I had been driven
will-future I will be driven
Future Perfect I will have been driven
Conditional I I would be driven
Conditional II I would have been driven
Active (Progressive/Continuous Forms)
Simple Present I am driving
Simple Past I was driving
Present Perfect I have been driving
Past Perfect I had been driving
will-future I will be driving
Future Perfect I will have been driving
Conditional I I would be driving
Conditional II I would have been driving
Passive (Progressive/Continuous Forms)
Present I am being driven
Past I was being driven
Present Perfect I have been being driven
Past Perfect I had been being driven
Future I will be being driven
Future Perfect I will have been being driven
Conditional I I would be being driven
Conditional II I would have been being driven
