Active & Passive Voice

Let us first understand the meaning of voice, and what is active voice and passive voice.
What is Voice of a verb?
The voice of a verb expresses whether the subject in the sentence has performed or received the
action.
Example:

 The watchman opens the door.

 The door is opened by the watchman.
Types of Voices of Verb
Verbs have two voices (i) Active Voice (ii) Passive Voice
Active Voice – When an action performed by the subject is expressed by the verb, it is an active
voice. Active voice is used when more straightforward relation and clarity is required between the
subject and the verb.
Active Voice example:

 Hens lay eggs.

 Birds build nests.
Passive Voice –  When the action expressed by the verb is received by the subject, it is passive
voice. Passive voice is used when the doer of the action is not known and the focus of the sentence
is on the action and not the subject.
Passive Voice Examples:

 Eggs are laid by hens.

 Nests are built by birds.
Candidates preparing for any Government exam can check other important topics for the English
language section.

List of Synonyms And Antonyms Direct & Indirect Speech Rules Letter Writing Format

List of Prepositions List of Homophones Idioms & Phrases

Active And Passive Voice Rules For Conversion of Sentence

Below are the active-passive voice rules to follow for changing an active sentence into a passive
voice. Before heading to the rules of active-passive voice, let’s check the examples of active and
passive voice sentences.
Conversion of Active and Passive voice examples

 Rita wrote a letter. (Subject + Verb + Object)

 A letter was written by Rita.  (Object) + (auxiliary verb) + (past participle) + (by subject).
  She cooks food. (Subject + Verb + Object)
 The food is cooked by her. (Object) + (auxiliary verb) + (past participle) + (by subject)
Candidates can watch the video on Active-Passive voice rules and concept in English. This will help
them gain conceptual knowledge and understand the variety of questions asked in the exams even
better.
Rules of Active – Passive Voice in English Grammar – Part 1
Rules for Active – Passive Voice Conversions
Rule 1. Identify the (S+V+O) Subject, Verb and object in the active sentence to convert to passive
voice 
Example: 
He drives car. (Subject – He, verb – Drives, object – Car)
Rule 2. Interchange the object and subject with each other, i.e. object of the active sentence
become the subject of the passive sentence.
Example : 
Active voice : She knits sweater. (Subject – She, Verb – Knits, Object – Sweater)
Passive Voice : The sweater is knitted by her. (Object sweater is interchanged with the subject She).
Rule 3. In passive voice sometimes the subject is not used, i.e. the subject in passive voice can be
omitted if the sentence without it gives enough meaning.
 Example : 
Milk is sold in litres
Rule 4. Change the base verb in the active sentence into the past participle ie. third form verb in a
passive sentence i.e. preceded by (By, With, to, etc). Base verbs are never used in passive voice
sentences.
Example: 

 Active voice: She prepares dinner.

 Passive voice: The dinner is prepared by her.
 Active voice: She knows him.
 Passive voice: He is known to her.
 Active voice: Juice fills the jar.
 Passive voice: The jar is filled with juice.
Rule 5. While conversion of Active voice sentence to Passive voice sentence, the pronoun used in
the sentence also changes in the following manner.

Active Voice Pronoun Passive Voice Pronoun

I Me

We Us
 He Him

She Her

They Them

You You

It It
Rule 6. Use the suitable helping or auxiliary verb (is/am/are/was, etc.). The rules for using auxiliary
verbs in passive voice sentences are different for each tense.
Example:

 The letter is written by her

  A book was not bought by her
 Chocolates are being eaten by them.

Candidates preparing for Government exams can check the links for preparation:

 Static GK
 Daily Current Affairs
 Free Online Mock Tests
 SSC General Awareness
 Bank General Awareness

Forms of Active And Passive Voice For All Tenses

 Simple Present Tense 

Active Sentences Passive Sentences

He writes an essay An essay is written by him

Sheena does the housework The housework is done by Sheena

She cares for the rabbit The rabbit is being cared for by her

Jacob always plays the guitar  The guitar is always played by Jacob

 Present Continuous Tense

Active Sentences Passive Sentences

They are eating bananas The bananas are being eaten by them
 Bob is drawing a diagram A diagram is being drawn by Bob

Samta is playing the piano A piano is being played by Samta

She is waiting for Reema Reema is being waited for by her

 Present Perfect Tense 

Active Sentences Passive Sentences

Has he done the work? Has the work been done by him?

Have they left the apartment? Has the apartment been left by them?

He created this masterpiece This masterpiece is created by him

He read the newspaper The newspaper is being read by him

Note- [except certain exemptions, no passive Voice formation for the following tenses can be
formed, Present Perfect Continuous Tense, Past Perfect Continuous Tense, Future Perfect
Continuous Tense and Future Continuous Tense]

 Simple Past Tense

Active Voice Passive Voice

Ria paid the bills The bills were paid by Ria

The teacher called the student The student was called by the teacher

She did not buy the fruits The fruits were not bought by her

 Past Progressive/Continuous Tense

Active Voice  Passive Voice

They were waiting for him He was being waited for by them

Astha was learning French French was being learnt by Astha

She was playing kabaddi Kabaddi was being played by her

 Past Perfect Tense

Active Voice  Passive Voice

She won the match The match had been won by her
 I had finished her work Her work had been finished by me

He had missed the last metro The last metro had been missed by him

 Simple Future Tense 

Active Voice  Passive Voice

He will write a letter A letter will be written by him

He will repair her cycle Her cycle will be repaired by him

He shall start the meeting The meeting will be started by him

 Future Perfect Tense

Active Voice  Passive Voice

Meena will not have changed the bedsheet The bed sheet will not have been changed by Meena

They will have won the match The match will have been won by them

Reena will have washed the skirt The skirt will have been washed by Reena
Rules of Active & Passive Voice in English Grammar – Part 2

Active And Passive Voice – Sample Questions 

The significance of knowing the rules of active and passive voice for the English language section of
various competitive exams can only be understood by knowing the type of questions asked in the
examination, based on the same.
Hence, given below are sample questions on active and passive voice asked in the English
language section of various government examinations:
[Directions] In the following questions, a sentence has been given in either Active or Passive Voice.
From the four options select the one which best expresses the same sentence in the opposite voice
than mentioned in the question.
Q.1. Never disobey your elders

1. You are asked not to disobey your elders.

2. You are ordered not to disobey your elders.
3. Do not disobey your elders.
4. You are not to disobey your elders.

Answer (1) You are asked not to disobey your elders

Q.2. The students were listening to the teacher.

1. The teacher is listened to by the students.

 2. The teacher listened to students.
3. The teacher was listening to by the students
4. The teacher was listened to by the students.

Answer (4) The teacher was listened to by the students.

Q.3. I have to do it.

1. It is be done by me.
2. It should to be done by me.
3. It has to be done by me.
4. It would to be done by me.

Answer (3) It has to be done by me.

Q.4.  Tell the maid to prepare tea.

1. You are ordered to tell the maid to prepare tea.

2. You are said to tell the maid to prepare tea.
3. You are advised to tell the maid to prepare tea.
4. You are asked to tell the maid to prepare tea.

Answer (4) You are asked to tell the maid to prepare tea.

Q.5. Who stole your bike?

1. Your bike was stolen by him?

2. By whom was your bike stolen?
3. Your bike was stolen by whom?
4. By whom your bike stolen?

Answer (2) By whom was your bike stolen?

Apart from the MCQ type questions given above, active-passive voice questions appear in reading
comprehension and error spotting as well. Candidates to practice well for the exam can check out a
few important Sentence correction questions asked in various competitive exams in the link
provided.
Also, check Previous Year Question Papers PDF with Solutions to understand the scope and
difficulty level of question in the exams.
Candidates must be well aware of the rules of Active and Passive Voices in English, so as to use
them correctly without making any errors in the exam. Knowledge of active and passive voice will
help score good marks in the exam as well as improve their understanding of English. 
Being well acquainted with the rules of the active and passive voice will not only enhance the
vocabulary skills for descriptive sections in the examination, but it will also improve candidates
usage of English in day to day communication as well.
Almost all the exams, such as SSC exam, Bank exam, RRB exam, Insurance exam or any other
Government exams have a separate section for the English Language in both objective and
descriptive paper. Candidates can go through the English Question and Answers on important topics
given below-

 Direct & Indirect Speech Questions & Answers

  Prepositions Questions And Answers
 One Word Substitution Questions & Answers
 Tenses Questions And Answers 
For more practice exercise and question and answers on different English topics, candidates can
check the Verbal Ability page linked here.
Candidates preparing for the various government exams can refer to the detailed exam syllabus in
the links given below:

Bank Exam Syllabus SSC Syllabus RRB Syllabus LIC Syllabus

For a better understanding of the formation of words in English and to know the English words that
are asked in most of the competitive exams, visit the links provided below

1. English Root Words

2. Most asked English Vocabulary Words

Aspirants preparing for the upcoming government exams must carefully go through the concept and
rules of active and passive voice in English grammar, as they tend to score the least in the English
Language section.
To ace this section, it is important that candidates have a clear concept of mistaken words or the
confusing words in the English language. Given below are a few such words that they can check for
reference-

Difference Between Rain, Rein & Reign Difference between Beside and Besides

Difference between Yolk and Yoke Difference Between Fair and Fare

Difference Between Award and Reward Difference between Affect and Effect