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Voice

In grammar, the voice of a verb describes whether the subject of the sentence performs or receives the action.

Types of Voices

There are two types of tense:

When the subject is the performer of the action or the agent or doer of the action, the verb is in the active voice. When the subject is the receiver, patient, target, or undergoer of the action, the verb is said to be in the passive voice. For example,

The tiger ate the dear. Active Voice
The dear was eaten by the tiger. Passive Voice

Voice	Subject	Verb	Object
Active:	Atiksh	wrote	a letter.
Active:	Performer of the action		Reciver of the action
Passive:	A letter	was written	by Atiksh.
Passive:	Performer of the action		Reciver of the action

In the active voice, the subject performs the action expressed by the verb while in the passive voice the subject receives the action expressed by the verb. To know how a sentence is converted from active voice to passive voice, we need to go through certain rules with examples based on it.

Rules for changing Active voice to Passive voice

(i) The place of the subject and the object are interchanged. When changing a sentence from active to passive voice, the subject shifts to the place of the object, and the object shifts to the place of the subject.
(ii) Always change the main verb into its past participle(v-3) form while changing from active to passive voice for all tenses.
(iii) Auxiliary verbs are changed according to the new subject (object of the active voice) of the sentence.
(iv) Use the word “by” after the verb and before the agent (subject in active voice) in the passive sentence. In some cases, "by" and agent are not used.

Sentences which can not be changed into Passive Voice

There are some types of sentences which cannot be converted into Passive Voice, as explained below:

(1) Sentences, having intransitive verb or verbs that cannot take a direct object, cannot be converted into Passive Voices. For example,

Go, Come, Stand, Sit, Sleep, Laugh, Reach, Die, Arrive etc.

Such sentence has no object and when a sentence has no object, it cannot be changed into Passive Voice. For changing a sentence into passive voice, the sentence must have an object. For example,

They laughed.
He is sleeping.
She is laughing.
None has slept.
He died in 2012.

There are two types of verbs:

(i) Transitive verb
(ii) Intransitive verb

Transitive verb : A verb, which requires an object in a sentence to give complete meaning, is called a transitive verb. For example,

He bought ____.
He bought a car.

“Buy” is a transitive verb, because without an object (a car), it does not give complete idea.

Intransitive verb : A verb, which does not require an object in a sentence to give complete meaning, is called an intransitive verb. For example,

He sits.

“Sit” is intransitive verb. It does not require an object in sentence. Even without an object in sentence it can express complete idea.

But, a sentence can be changed into a passive voice if it has an intransitive verb with a preposition. For example,

Active Voice	Passive Voice
Sawan laughed at Atiksh.	Atiksh was laughed at by Sawan.
They laughed at the teacher.	The was laughed at by them.
They laughed.	No passive

Non-convertible Tenses

The sentences of following tenses cannot be converted into Passive Voice:

(i) Present Perfect Continuous Tense
(ii) Past Perfect Continuous Tense
(iii) Future Perfect Continuous Tense
(iv) Future Continuous Tense

Changes of Pronouns

The subject of active voice changes into objective form in the passive voice as follows:

Active Voice	Passive Voice
I	me
We	Us
You	You
He	Him
She	Her
It	It
They	Them
Who	Whom

Active and Passive Voice Rules for All Tenses

Here, we are listing out the rules for changing a sentence from active to passive voice for all tenses. You will come to know how an auxiliary verb plays an important role in changing a sentence from an active to a passive voice.

Simple Present Tense

Active Voice	Passive Voice (Auxiliary Verb – is/am/are)
Subject + V-1(s/es) + object	Object + is/am/are + V-3 + by + subject
Subject + Do/does + not + V-1 + Object	Object + is/am/are + not + V-3 + by Subject
Does + Subject + V-1 + Object ?	Is/am/are + Object + V-3 + by subject ?

Example

Active	Passive
I play football.	Football is played by me.
We wash the clothes in the evening.	The clothes are washed by us in the evening.
You write a book.	A book is written by you.
He reads a book.	A book is read by him.
He does not write a letter.	A letter is not written by him.
Does he write a book?	Is a book written by him?
They grow plants.	Plants are grown by them.
She teaches me.	I am taught by her.
Do you write a letter ?	Is a letter written by you ?

Present Continuous Tense

Active Voice	Passive Voice (Auxiliary Verb- is/am/are + being)
Subject + is/am/are + v-1(ing) + object	Object + is/am/are + being + V-3 + by + subject
Subject + is/am/are + not + v-1(ing) + object	Object + is/am/are + not + being + V-3 + by + Subject
Is/am/are + subject + v-1(ing) + object ?	Is/am/are + Object + being + V-3 + by subject ?

Example

Active	Passive
Ramesh is writing a book.	A book is being written by Ramesh.
Raju is not reading a book.	A book is not being read by Raju.
Is Rashmi buying a pen?	Is a pen being bought by Rashmi?
We are playing football.	Football are being played by us.
She is disturbing Rakesh.	Rakesh is being disturbed by her.
Is he writing a letter?	Is a letter being written by him?
Am I catching the ball?	Is the ball being caught by me?

Present Perfect Tense

Active Voice	Passive Voice (Auxiliary Verb- has/have + been)
Subject + has/have + v-3 + object	Object + has/have + been + v-3 + by + subject
Subject + has/have+ not + v-3 + object	Object + has/have + not + been + v-3 + by + Subject
Has/have + subject + v-3 + object?	Has/Have + Object + been + v-3 + by subject?

Example

Active	Passive
I have developped a website.	A website have been developped by me.
We have bought a car.	A car have been bought by us.
You have written a book.	A book have been written by you.
He has played football.	Football has been played by him.
Ram has challenged her.	She has been challenged by Ram.
Sarika has not written an article.	An article has not been written by Sarika.
I have not read the newspaper.	The newspaper has not been read by me.
She has not created this masterpiece.	This masterpiece has not been created by her.
Have I read the newspaper?	Have the newspaper been read by me?
Have they left the apartment?	Has apartment been left by them?
Has he written an article?	Has an article been written by him?
Have they left the apartment?	Has apartment been left by them?
Have they played a match?	Have a match been played by them?

Simple Past Tense

Active Voice	Passive Voice (Auxiliary Verb - was/were)
Subject + V-2 + object	Object + was/were + V-3 + by + subject
Subject + did + not + v-1 + object	Object + was/were + not + V-3 + by + Subject
Did+ subject + V-1 + object?	Was/were + Object + V-3 + by + subject?

Example

Active	Passive
I played cricket.	Cricket was played by me.
We purchased a car.	A car was purchased by us.
You bought a pen.	A pen was bought by you.
Rita cleaned the floor.	The floor was cleaned by Rita.
Sawan did not buy a bicycle.	A bicycle was not bought by Sawan.
He did not play football.	Football was not played by him.
Did he called my friends?	Were my friends called by him?
Did I saved him?	Was he saved by me?
Did Saysha paid the bills?	Were the bills paid by Saysha?
Did he call you?	Were you called by him?

Past Continuous Tense

Active Voice	Passive Voice (Auxiliary Verb - was/were + being)
Subject + was/were + v-1(ing) + object.	Object + was/were + being + V-3 + by + subject
Subject + was/were + not + v-1(ing) + object	Object + was/were + not + being + V-3 + by + Subject
Was/were + Subject + v-1(ing) + object?	Was/were + Object + being + v-3 + by + subject?

Example

Active	Passive
I was buying a pen.	A pen was being bought by me.
We were playing football.	Football was being played by us.
You were writing a book.	A book was being written by you.
He was painting the wall.	The wall was being painted by him.
She was not painting the wall.	The wall was not being painted by her.
I was not buying a pen.	A pen was not being bought by me.
We were playing football.	Football was not being played by us.
Was Ritika painting the wall?	Was the wall being painted by Ritika?
Was he repairing the car?	Was the car being repaired by him?
Were you reciting the poem?	Was the poem being recited by you?

Past Perfect Tense

Active Voice	Passive Voice (Auxiliary Verb - had + been)
Subject + had + v-3 + object.	Object + had + been + V3 + by + subject
Subject + had + not + v-3 + object	Object + had + not + been + V-3 + by + Subject
Had + Subject + V-3 + object?	Had + Object + been + v-3 + by + subject?

Example

Active	Passive
Misha had cleaned the floor.	The floor had been cleaned by Misha.
Vidhi had not received the parcel.	The parcel had not been received by Vidhi.
Vishal had solved the doubt.	The doubt had been solved.
Had they caught the thief?	Had the thief been caught by them?
I had paid fifty thousand.	Fifty thousand had been paid by me.

Future Simple Tense

Active Voice	Passive Voice (Auxiliary Verb - will + be)
Subject + will + v-1 + object.	Object + will + be + V-3 + by + subject
Subject + will + not + V-1 + object	Object + will + not + be + V-3 + by + Subject
Will + Subject + V-1 + object?	Will + Object + be + v-3 + by + subject?

Example

Active	Passive
Kriya will sew the bag.	The bag will be sewed by Kriya.
Disha will not arrange the things.	The things will not be arranged by Disha.
Will you mop the floor?	Will the floor be mopped by you?
They will post the letter.	The letter will be posted.
Reena will save money.	Money will be saved by Reena.

Future Perfect Tense

Active Voice	Passive Voice (Auxiliary Verb - will + be)
Subject + will + have + v-3 + object.	Object + will + have + been + V-3 + by + subject
Subject + will + have + not + v-3 + object.	Object + will + have + not + been + v-3 + subject
Will + Subject + have + v-3 + object?	Will + object + have + been + v-3 + by + subject?

Example

Active	Passive
They will have brought the toy.	The toy will have been brought by them.
Nimesh will not have changed the table cover.	The table cover will not have been changed by Nimesh.
Will she have written the notes.	Will the notes have been written by her?
They will have won the match.	The match will have been won by them.
Vijay will have washed a shirt.	A shirt will have been washed by Vijay.

Active and Passive voice using Can, Could, May, Must, Might, Should, Would, Ought

Active Voice	Passive Voice
Subject + Modal auxiliary verb + infinitive + object.	Object + Modal auxiliary verb + be + v-3 + by Subject
Subject + Modal auxiliary verb + not + infinitive + object.	Object + Modal auxiliary verb + not + be + v-3 + by Subject
Modal auxiliary verb + Subject + infinitive + object.	Modal auxiliary verb + Object + be + v-3 + by Subject

Example

Active	Passive
I can win the match.	The match can be won by me.
I can not win the match.	The match can not be won by me.
Can I win the match?	Can the match be won by me?
She may write a letter.	A letter may be written by her.
She may not write a letter.	A letter may not be written by her.
May she write a letter?	May a letter be written by her?
She should cut the vegetables.	The vegetables should be cut by her.
She should not cut the vegetables.	The vegetables should not be cut by her.
Should she cut the vegetables?	Should the vegetables be cut by her?
You would repair the bicycle.	The bicycle would be repaired by you.
You would repair the bicycle.	The bicycle would not be repaired by you.
Would you repair the bicycle?	Would the bicycle be repaired by you?
We must help the poor.	The poor must be helped by us.
We ought to respect our elders.	Our elders ought to be respected by us.

Active and Passive voice using “May Have, Might Have, Should Have, Must Have, Ought To Have”

This modal applies to all subjects. The sentence patterns are:

Active Voice	Passive Voice
S + might + infinitive + object.	S + might be + v-3 + by object

Example

Active	Passive
You may have availed the opportunity.	The opportunity may have been availed by you.
You may not have availed the opportunity.	The opportunity may not have been availed by you.
He might have eaten meal.	Meal might have been eaten by him.
He might not have eaten meal.	Meal might not have been eaten by him.
You should have studied the book.	The book should have been studied by you.
You should not have studied the book.	The book should have not been studied by you.
He must have started job.	Job must have been started by you.
He must not have started job.	Job must not have been started by you.
You ought to have helped him.	He ought to have been helped by you

Change of Voice in the Infinitive Verbs

This modal applies to all subjects. The sentence patterns are:

Active Voice	Passive Voice
to + V-1	to + be + V-3

Example

Active	Passive
I have to do this work.	This work has to be done.
I want to buy this book.	I want this book to be bought.
Women like men to flatter them.	Women like to be flattered by men.
There is no shop to let.	There is no shop to be let.

infinitive ‘to’ Verbs/phrases I made him stand up. He was made to stand up by me. I saw him cross the road. He was seen to cross the road (by me). It is time to It is time to do this work. It is time for this work to be done. It is time to call the roll. It is time for the roll to be called.

Example

Passive	Active
I expect her to be brought round.	I expect to bring her round.
A pen is to be written with.	A pen is to write with.
It is time for the race to be run.	It is time to run the race.
They should he invited by us.	We should invite them.

Sentences With Modals

Active	Passive
Rashmi could help him.	He could be helped by Rashmi.
I will write a book.	A book will be written by me.
You must read a book.	A book must be read by you.
I may purchase a car.	A car may be purchased by me.
Vijay should wash a shirt.	A shirt should be washed by Vijay.

Imperative Sentences

A sentence that expresses a command, order, advice, a request is called an imperative sentence. Characteristics of Imperative Sentences The object you is generally missing in Imperative Sentences. The structure of such sentences in Passive Voice is: Let + object + be/not be + V3 In sentences which express request, advice and order, such phrases as, You are requested to/advised to /ordered to are used. Word kindly/please are dropped.

Active Voice	Passive Voice
V-1 + object.	Let + Object + be + V-3

Active	Passive
Do it.	Let it be done.
Open the door.	Let the door be opened.
Shut the door.	Let the door be shut.
Bring a glass of water.	Let a glass of water be brought.
Switch off the fan.	Let the fan be switched off.
Never tell a lie.	Let a lie be never told.
Work hard.	You are advised to work hard.

When the active voice is in the negative, the passive voice takes the form:

Let + object + not + be + v-3.

Active	Passive
Do not do it.	Let it not be done.
Do not beat the animal.	Let the animal not be beaten.
Do not shut the door.	Let the door not be shut.
Do not bring a glass of water.	Let a glass of water not be brought.
Do not switch off the fan.	Let the fan not be switched off.

Voice

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