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Rules of Active & Passive Voice in English |
Active and Passive Voice Rules and Examples
- Exchange the subject and object of the sentence.
- Identify the main verb of the sentence
- Pick the be verb according to the main verb
- Change the main verb in past participle
Active and Passive Voice Rules
Active and Passive voice rules: In English, sentences can be written both active and passive voice. Active voice is a direct form and passive voice is an indirect form.
In English, the verb represents that subject, whether an object or a person, of a sentence, has done something or something is done by the subject called the voice. A sentence that starts with the subject or the item to decide if the sentence was classified as dynamic or detached voice sentences.
In this article, we will discuss the voices of verbs with rules and examples. Learn the active and passive rules with examples here to prepare for academic as well as competitive exams. Use these rules to form simple, negative and interrogative sentences.
What the Voice of Verb Is
The voice of a verb communicates whether the subject in the sentence has performed or gotten the activity. There are two types of voices in English grammar:
Active Voice
Passive Voice
Active Voice
When an activity performed by the subject is communicated by the action word, it is an active voice. Dynamic voice is utilized when a more clear connection and lucidity are needed between the subject and the action word.
Passive Voice
When the activity communicated by the action word is gotten by the subject, it is a passive voice. Passive voice is utilized when the practitioner of the activity isn’t known and the focal point of the sentence is on the activity and not the subject.
Rules for Voice According to The Tense
Present Simple Tense
Active Voice | Passive Voice (Auxiliary Verb – is/am/are) | Example |
Subject + V1+s/es+ object | Object+ is/am/are+ V3+ by + subject | Active: He writes an essay Passive: An essay is written by him |
Subject + Do/does+ not + V1 + Object | Object + is/am/are+ not + V3+ by Subject |
Does+ Subject+ V1+Object | Is/am/are + Object+ V3+ by subject |
Present Continuos Tense
Active Voice | Passive Voice (Auxiliary Verb- is/am/are + being) | Example |
Subject + is/am/are+ v1+ ing + object | Object+ is/am/are+ being+ V3+ by + subject | Active: Sam is playing guitar Passive: The guitar is played by Sam |
Subject + is/am/are+ not+ v1+ ing+ object | Object + is/am/are+ not + being+V3+ by Subject |
Is/am/are+ subject+v1+ing + object | Is/am/are + Object+ V3+ by subject |
Present Perfect Tense
Active Voice | Passive Voice (Auxiliary Verb- has/have +been) | Example |
Subject + has/have+ v3+ object | Object+ has/have+ been+ V3+ by + subject | Active: Ram created this masterpiece Passive: The masterpiece is created by Ram |
Subject + has/have+ not+ v3+ object | Object + has/have+ not + been+V3+ by Subject |
Has/have+ subject+ v3 + object | Has/Have + Object+ been+V3+ by subject |
Past Simple Tense
Active Voice | Passive Voice (Auxiliary Verb- was/were) | Example |
Subject + V2+ object | Object+ was/were V3+ by + subject | Active: Rama paid the bills Passive: The bills were paid by Rama |
Subject +did+ not+v1+ object | Object + was/were+ not +V3+ by Subject |
Did+ subject+V1+ object | Was/were + Object+ V3+ by subject |
Past Continuous Tense
Active Voice | Passive Voice (Auxiliary Verb- was/were + being) | Example |
Subject + was/were + v1+ing+ object. | Object+ was/were +being+V3+ by + subject | Active: Asha was learning English Passive: English was being learned by Asha |
Subject +was/were+ not+v1+ing + object | Object + was/were+ not +being+V3+ by Subject |
Was/were+ Subject + V1+ing + object | Was/were + Object+ being+v3+ by+ subject |
Past Perfect Tense
Active Voice | Passive Voice (Auxiliary Verb- had +been) | Example |
Subject + had + v3+ object. | Object+ had+been +V3+ by + subject | Active: Hina won the match Passive: The match had been won by Hina |
Subject +had+ not+v3+ object | Object + had+ not +been+V3+ by Subject |
Had+ Subject + V3+ object | Had + Object+ been+v3+ by+ subject |
Future Simple Tense
Active Voice | Passive Voice (Auxiliary Verb- will+ be) | Example |
Subject + will+ v1+ object | Object+ will+ be +V3+ by + subject | Active: Manu will write a letter Passive: A letter will be written by Manu |
Subject +will + not+ V1+object | Object + will+ not +be+V3+ by Subject |
Will+ Subject + V1+ object | Will + Object+ be +v3+ by+ subject |
Future Perfect Tense
Active Voice | Passive Voice | Example |
Subject + will+ have +v3+ object. | Object+ will+ have+ been +V3+ by + subject | Active: India will have won the match Passive: The match will have won by India |
Subject + will+ have +not+v3+ object. | Object + will+ have +not+been+v3+ subject |
Will+ Subject+have+v3+ object | Will + object+have+been+v3+by +subject |
Noun and Pronoun for Active and Passive
See how the pronoun in active voice has to be converted into a pronoun in passive voice with the help of this table.
Active Voice Pronoun | Passive Voice Pronoun |
I | Me |
We | Us |
He | Him |
She | Her |
They | Them |
You | You |
It | It |
The Basic Rules
The subject becomes the object and the object becomes the subject
Use the third form of a verb such as is/ am/ are/ was/ were/ been/ being, as per the tenses in the passive voice
Active pronoun changes to passive pronouns, like ‘I’ changes to ‘me’.
There is no passive voice of present/ past/ future perfect continuous and future continuous sentences
Use “by” before the subject in the passive voice
Active and Passive Voice Examples
Active Voice Examples | Passive Voice Examples |
Mohan sings a song | A song is sung by Mohan |
Sita reads a book | A book is read by Sita |
He writes a letter | A letter is written by him |
She plays cricket | Cricket is played by her |
He sells book | Books are sold by him |
I have made some tea | Tea has been made by me |
Some of the Most Confusing Active and Passive Voice Examples
