Active & Passive Voice

Active & Passive Voice

Class VIII • English Grammar

What is Voice?

Voice tells us whether the subject performs an action or receives an action.

There are two voices:

Active Voice – The subject does the action.

Passive Voice – The subject receives the action.

Active: Riya writes a letter.

Passive: A letter is written by Riya.

2. Active Voice

In the Active Voice, sentence follows Subject + Verb + Object.

Example: The boy kicked the ball. Here, the boy performs the action.

3. Passive Voice

Passive generally follows Object + Helping Verb + V³ + by + Subject.

Example: The ball was kicked by the boy.

Remember: main verb in passive voice is always past participle V³.

4. Simple Present

Active Subject + V¹/V¹+s + Object

Passive Object + is/am/are + V³ + by + Subject

Example: She writes a letter. / A letter is written by her.

Exercise 1

1. The teacher teaches English.
2. Rohan cleans his room.
3. They play cricket.
4. She prepares delicious food.
5. The gardener waters the plants.

Answers

1. English is taught by the teacher.
2. His room is cleaned by Rohan.
3. Cricket is played by them.
4. Delicious food is prepared by her.
5. The plants are watered by the gardener.

5. Present Continuous

Active Subject + is/am/are + V-ing + Object

Passive Object + is/am/are + being + V³ + by + Subject

Example: She is writing a letter. / A letter is being written by her.

Exercise 2

1. The students are reading a story.
2. Mother is preparing dinner.
3. The workers are repairing the road.
4. She is painting the wall.
5. They are cleaning the classroom.

Answers

1. A story is being read by the students.
2. Dinner is being prepared by Mother.
3. The road is being repaired by the workers.
4. The wall is being painted by her.
5. The classroom is being cleaned by them.

6. Present Perfect

Active Subject + has/have + V³ + Object

Passive Object + has/have + been + V³ + by + Subject

Example: She has written a letter. / A letter has been written by her.

Exercise 3

1. Riya has completed her homework.
2. They have planted many trees.
3. The teacher has checked the notebooks.
4. We have finished the project.
5. He has repaired the bicycle.

Answers

1. Her homework has been completed by Riya.
2. Many trees have been planted by them.
3. The notebooks have been checked by the teacher.
4. The project has been finished by us.
5. The bicycle has been repaired by him.

7. Simple Past

Active Subject + V² + Object

Passive Object + was/were + V³ + by + Subject

Example: The boy broke the window. / The window was broken by the boy.

Exercise 4

1. The police caught the thief.
2. She wrote a beautiful poem.
3. They cleaned the park.
4. The boy opened the door.
5. The teacher praised the student.

Answers

1. The thief was caught by the police.
2. A beautiful poem was written by her.
3. The park was cleaned by them.
4. The door was opened by the boy.
5. The student was praised by the teacher.

8. Past Continuous

Active Subject + was/were + V-ing + Object

Passive Object + was/were + being + V³ + by + Subject

Example: She was writing a letter. / A letter was being written by her.

Exercise 5

1. The students were preparing a project.
2. She was washing the clothes.
3. They were repairing the bridge.
4. The workers were painting the building.
5. He was reading the newspaper.

Answers

1. A project was being prepared by the students.
2. The clothes were being washed by her.
3. The bridge was being repaired by them.
4. The building was being painted by the workers.
5. The newspaper was being read by him.

9. Past Perfect

Active Subject + had + V³ + Object

Passive Object + had been + V³ + by + Subject

Example: She had completed the work. / The work had been completed by her.

Exercise 6

1. She had finished her homework.
2. They had completed the project.
3. The chef had prepared the meal.
4. He had repaired the computer.
5. The students had decorated the classroom.

Answers

1. Her homework had been finished by her.
2. The project had been completed by them.
3. The meal had been prepared by the chef.
4. The computer had been repaired by him.
5. The classroom had been decorated by the students.

10. Simple Future

Active Subject + will + V¹ + Object

Passive Object + will be + V³ + by + Subject

Example: She will write a letter. / A letter will be written by her.

Exercise 7

1. They will organise a cultural programme.
2. She will complete the assignment.
3. The school will conduct the examination.
4. We will plant more trees.
5. He will repair the machine.

Answers

1. A cultural programme will be organised by them.
2. The assignment will be completed by her.
3. The examination will be conducted by the school.
4. More trees will be planted by us.
5. The machine will be repaired by him.

11. Modals

can, could, may, might, should, must, ought to, etc.

Active Subject + Modal + V¹ + Object

Passive Object + Modal + be + V³ + by + Subject

Example: You should obey the rules. / The rules should be obeyed by you.

Exercise 8

1. We should protect the environment.
2. You must follow the rules.
3. She can solve the problem.
4. They should respect their elders.
5. We must keep our surroundings clean.

Answers

1. The environment should be protected by us.
2. The rules must be followed by you.
3. The problem can be solved by her.
4. Their elders should be respected by them.
5. Our surroundings must be kept clean by us.

12. Imperative

commands, requests, advice, instructions.

Passive Let + Object + be + V³

Example: Open the door. / Let the door be opened.

Exercise 9

1. Open the window.
2. Clean the classroom.
3. Switch off the lights.
4. Complete the assignment.
5. Plant more trees.

Answers

1. Let the window be opened.
2. Let the classroom be cleaned.
3. Let the lights be switched off.
4. Let the assignment be completed.
5. Let more trees be planted.

13. Interrogative

Questions can also be changed active to passive.

Example: Did the boy break the window? / Was the window broken by the boy?

Exercise 10

1. Did Riya write the letter?
2. Did the teacher check the notebooks?
3. Does she teach English?
4. Did they clean the classroom?
5. Will the school organise the competition?

Answers

1. Was the letter written by Riya?
2. Were the notebooks checked by the teacher?
3. Is English taught by her?
4. Was the classroom cleaned by them?
5. Will the competition be organised by the school?

14. Sentences with “by + Subject”

Doer sometimes not mentioned when unknown, obvious, unimportant.

Active: Someone stole my bicycle.
Passive: My bicycle was stolen.

Exercise 11: Change into Passive Voice and omit unnecessary doer where appropriate.

1. Someone has stolen my bag.
2. People speak English all over the world.
3. Someone broke the window.
4. They sell fresh vegetables in this market.
5. People celebrate Diwali with great enthusiasm.

Answers

1. My bag has been stolen.
2. English is spoken all over the world.
3. The window was broken.
4. Fresh vegetables are sold in this market.
5. Diwali is celebrated with great enthusiasm.

15. Important Rule: No Object → Normally No Passive

Only sentences with direct object can normally be changed into passive.

The boy kicked the ball. Object ball, passive possible.

The baby slept. No object, passive not normally possible.

Exercise 12: Write Possible or Not Possible.

1. The girl sang a song.
2. The baby slept peacefully.
3. Rahul opened the door.
4. The birds flew away.
5. The teacher explained the lesson.

Answers

1. Possible
2. Not Possible
3. Possible
4. Not Possible
5. Possible

Quick Revision Chart

Tense / Form	Passive Structure
Simple Present	is/am/are + V³
Present Continuous	is/am/are + being + V³
Present Perfect	has/have + been + V³
Simple Past	was/were + V³
Past Continuous	was/were + being + V³
Past Perfect	had + been + V³
Simple Future	will + be + V³
Modal	modal + be + V³

ACTIVE: Doer → Action → Receiver

PASSIVE: Receiver → be + V³ → by Doer