There are two special forms for verbs called voice:
- Active voice
- Passive voice
The active voice is the “normal” voice. This is the voice that we use most of the time. You are probably already familiar with the active voice. In the active voice, the object receives the action of the verb:
Active Voice: Subject+Verb with”s”"es”+Object
Active voice Passive Voice
I By Me
We by Us
you by You
She by her
He by him
They by Them
Use of Passive
Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.
Example: My bike was stolen.
In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.
Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:
Example: A mistake was made.
In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have made a mistake.).
Form of Passive
Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verb)
Example: A letter was written.
When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:
- the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence
- the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)
- the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)
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The Active Voice
When an action verb is in the active voice, the subject of the sentence does the action of the verb and transfers that action to a direct object:
Harry throws the ball. [subject] [verb] [direct object] Verbs express either an action (runs, writes, jumps) or a state of being or appearance (is, seemed). Verbs that express a state of being or appearance are called linking verbs. There are two kinds of verbs that express action. Intransivitive verbs express an action, but do not transfer that action to an object or recipient: “The gross national product rose last year.” Transitive verbs, on the other hand, generally transmit the action to a direct object: “The Congress adopted a new budget.”
Transitive verbs can take either of two different forms: the active voice, and the passive voice.
In the active voice, the subject of the sentence does the action, and transmits the action to a direct object:
I love apples. [subject] [verb] [direct object] Transitive verbs take objects. [subject] [verb] [direct object] The Titanic hit an iceberg. [subject] [verb] [direct object] In the passive voice the subject of the sentence receives the action. In other words, the term that would be the direct object is made into the subject:
The budget
was passed. [subject]
[verb]
So the doer of the action, which would be the subject of the sentence in the active voice, need not appear at all in a passive sentence. If it does appear, it will usually be in a prepositional phrase, most often a by phrase:
The budget was passed by Congress. [subject] [verb] [prepositional phrase] In general, you will write more smoothly and clearly if you write in the active voice. The active voice puts things in their natural order: doer > action > object. When you write in the active voice, your writing moves forward. When you write in the passive voice, you are taking things in reverse order: object > action > (doer?) . Scholars studying the way we read have found that it actually takes most people slightly longer to read the same passage written in the passive voice. They believe that when we read a passive sentence, we have to unconsciously “translate” it into the active voice before we fully understand it. Compare these two paragraphs, each saying the same thing, and see which one is easier for you to read and get meaning from:
Examples of Passive 
| Tense | Subject | Verb | Object | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | Active: | Rita | writes | a letter. |
| Passive: | A letter | is written | by Rita. | |
| Simple Past | Active: | Rita | wrote | a letter. |
| Passive: | A letter | was written | by Rita. | |
| Present Perfect | Active: | Rita | has written | a letter. |
| Passive: | A letter | has been written | by Rita. | |
| Future I | Active: | Rita | will write | a letter. |
| Passive: | A letter | will be written | by Rita. | |
| Hilfsverben | Active: | Rita | can write | a letter. |
| Passive: | A letter | can be written | by Rita. | |
Active and Passive Voice: Tense-wise Rules
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?
