Active and Passive Voice

A Transitive Verb (a verb which has an object) has two voices: (i) Active Voice (ii) Passive Voice

Example: Gita has drawn a beautiful picture. (Active voice) A beautiful picture has been drawn by Gita. (Passive voice) both the sentences have the same meaning. In sentence 1, the subject Gita is the doer of the action (has drawn). In sentence 2, the subject a beautiful picture is the receiver of the action (has been drawn). When the subject of a verb does the action, the verb is in the active voice. When the subject of a verb does not act but receives or suffers the action, the verb is said to be in the passive voice. The verb has been drawn is passive. It is usual to express actions in the active voice. But the passive voice is used when the object of the active voice is : (i) Unimportant (ii) Unknown (iii) Vague (people, they, someone etc.)

The following sentences will help you to understand. (i) Flowers are stolen. (We do not know who stole the flowers.) (ii) Food packets were distributed among the flood victims. (We are more interested in the work.)

• An Intransitive Verb cannot be used in the Passive Voice, unless it has a cognate object. Quick
• Cognate objects : A verb that is regularly intransitive, sometimes takes a noun as an object whose meaning closely resembles its own. This noun is called the congate object of the verb. Example: He dreams a dream. (Active) (dream, a cognate object) A dream is dreamt by him. (Passive)

Below are given tables showing how active voice is changed into passive voice in different forms of the three tenses.

NOTE: Now let us remember the steps involved in changing active to passive voice.

1. The object of the active voice becomes the subject of the passive voice.
2. The subject of the active voice takes the place of the object in the passive voice after 'by'.
3. The main verb changes to past participle preceded by an auxiliary verb.
4. The verb changes according to the number and person of the new subject.

Examples of conversion from active to passive in different forms of tenses.

Simple Present Active : Children love toys. Passive : Toys are loved by children.

Active : Do girls buy clothes? Passive : Are clothes bought by girls?

Present Continuous Active : The boys are plucking the fruits. Passive : Fruits are being plucked by the boys.

Active : Is the farmer ploughing the field? Passive : Is the field being ploughed by the farmer?

Present Perfect Active : The girls have eaten all the pastries. Passive : All the pastries have been eaten by the girls.

Active : Has Seeta written this letter? Passive : Has this letter been written by Seeta?

Simple Past Active : The mad dog bit the boy. Passive : The boy was bitten by the mad dog.

Active : Did Ram tell the truth? Passive : Was the truth told by Ram?

Past Continuous Active : Our brave Jawans were defending our country. Passive : Our country was being defended by our brave Jawans.

Active : Was Meena arranging the flowers? Passive : Were the flowers being arranged by Meena?

Past Perfect Active : The boys had eaten all the cakes before the guests arrived.

Passive : All the cakes had been eaten by the boys before the guests arrived.

Simple Future Active : Prateek will never hurt you. Passive : You will never be hurt by Prateek.

Active : Shall we help her? Passive : Will she be helped by us?

Future Perfect Active : The train will have left the station by 10 o'clock.

Passive : The station will have been left by the train by 10 o'clock.

1.0Passive in Different Sentences

Interrogatives and Imperatives

If the sentence in the Active Voice is an Interrogative sentence, it remains Interrogative in Passive Voice as well. The tense remains the same in both the voices. Active - Does the grocer sell butter? Passive - Is butter sold by the grocer? Active - Has anyone watered the plants? Passive - Have the plants been watered by anyone? Active - Who did this mischief? Passive - By whom was this mischief done?

• Sometimes the subject or the object is a long phrase. In this case, the whole phrase is to be used as a subject or an object. Active Voice: Our newly appointed serious looking Principal called the naughty students of class VIII to his office. Passive voice: The naughty students of class VIII were called to his office by our newly appointed serious looking Principal. The Prepositional Objects in the Active Voice are retained in the Passive Voice as well. She is listening to her teachers. (Active Voice) Her teachers are being listened to by her. (Passive Voice) The intelligent students laugh at the slow learners. (Active Voice) The slow learners are laughed at by the intelligent students. (Passive Voice)
• When there is an infinitive without 'to' in the Active Voice, it becomes an Infinitive with 'to' in the Passive Voice. We made him confess the guilt. (Active Voice) He was made to confess the guilt. (Passive Voice)

Rules governing the transformation of Imperative sentences into Passive Voice. You know that an imperative sentence may be a request, order or a suggestion.

• Verbs in the Perfect Continuous Tenses cannot be changed into Passive Voice. Requests starting with Please or Kindly :

Please send us the parcel as early as possible. (Passive Voice) The parcel may kindly be sent to us as early as possible. (Active Voice)

Kindly allow me to meet my son. (Passive Voice) You are requested to allow me to meet my son. (Active Voice) OR I may kindly be allowed to meet my son. (Passive Voice)

See the position of 'kindly' in the above sentence. It is placed between 'may' and 'be'. Order When a sentence expressing an 'order' or a 'command' is changed to Passive Voice, the Passive structure takes the following form.

• Let + object + be + past participle Active : Shut the door. Passive : Let the door be shut. Active : Help the poor. Passive : Let the poor be helped. When the Active Voice starts with 'do not', the Passive Voice takes this form:
• Let not + object + be + past participle (Note: 'Not' can be placed after the object or after 'be') Do not close the main gate. (Active) Let not the main gate be closed. (Passive) OR Let the main gate not be closed. Do not kill the snake. (Active) Let not the snake be killed. (Passive) OR Let the snake not be killed. Do not disturb the animals and birds. (Active) Let not the animals and birds be disturbed. (Passive) OR Let the animals and birds not be disturbed.

2.0Advice or Suggestions

In this type of imperative sentences, the Verb expressing advice or suggestion becomes: Should or must + be + past participle. Eat nutritious food. (Active) Nutritious food should be eaten. (Passive)

Sometimes a transitive verb may have two objects. In this case we can make two kinds of passive sentences. They gave him a story book. (Active Voice) He was given a story book by them. (Passive voice) A story book was given to him by them. Generally the following verbs have two objects: Give, Pay, Offer, Ask, Show, Tell, Teach Note: if the active verb has two objects, one direct and the other indirect, either of them becomes the subject of the passive verb and the other remains as a retained object in the passive voice.

3.0Extra Edge in Passives

An intransitive verb cannot be used in the passive voice, unless it has a cognate object. Cognate object: a verb that is regularly intransitive, sometimes takes a noun as an object whose meaning closely resembles its own. This noun is called the cognate object of the verb.

Active - He dreams a dream. (dream, a cognate object) Passive - A dream is dreamt by him.

Active - He ran a race. (race, a cognate object) Passive - A race was run by him.

Active - She will always help you. (you, a cognate object) Passive - You will always be helped by her.

The active voice is usually a stronger, more direct way of expressing ideas. Verbs in the perfect continuous tenses cannot be changed into passive voice. Passive voice is used when we want to emphasize the receiver of the action or to de-emphasize the performer of the action.

There are twelve tenses in the active voice and eight in the passive. The sentences containing modals are passivized as modal + be + past participle form of verb. can - can + be + past participle. may - may + be + past participle. should - should + be + past participle. passive without agents: nobody was injured in the crash. the 'by phrase' containing the agent of a passive clause (and corresponding to the subject in an active clause) is only required in specific cases. Here the question 'who is the agent' (i.e. Who performs the action described by the verb) is often unimportant and need not be stated.

4.0Recall

1. Voice is the form of verb that indicates whether the subject of the sentence performs or receives the action. A sentence is written in the active voice if the subject is doing the action of the verb.
2. A sentence is written in passive voice if the subject receives the action expressed by the verb.
3. Passive voice is used -

• When we want to give importance to the object.
• When we do not know what the subject is.
• In formal style of writing.

1. A sentence written in any of the Perfect Continuous Tenses and Future Continuous Tense is not changed into passive voice.
2. If active verbs are followed by a preposition, retain the preposition even on changing into Passive Voice.
3. Those sentences which have double objects in them, their passive voice can be made by beginning the sentence with any of the two objects.