ACTIVE VOICE AND PASSIVE VOICE

 

 

The Two Voices in the English Language

There are two voices in the English language and they are as follows:

• Active Voice
• Passive Voice

 

Active Voice

The active voice, in a sentence, denotes that the noun or pronoun that acts as the subject in the sentence is the doer of the action. In other words, the subject performs the action or acts upon the verb.

Passive Voice

The passive voice, on the other hand, represents that the subject is one acted upon by the action or verb in the sentence. It can also be said that the passive voice indicates that the subject in the sentence is no longer active but passive.

 

         A pro tip for you to master the active voice and the passive voice is to know the structure and formula by which they work.

                      Active Voice – Subject + Verb + Object

                      Passive Voice – Object + Verb + Subject

Difference between the Active Voice and the Passive Voice

 

Active Voice	Passive Voice
Denotes that the subject is performing the action.	Denotes that the subject is acted upon by the verb or action in the sentence.
The active voice does not require a linking verb to make sense.	The passive voice uses a linking verb followed by the past participle of the main verb.
The active voice focuses on the doer of the action.	The passive voice comes in handy when the doer of the action is undetermined.
Has a direct, clear and strong tone.	Has an indirect, weak and subtle tone.
Examples: o    I decorated the hall. o    Devi gave Shanthi a gift.	Examples: o    The hall was decorated by me. o    Shanthi was given a gift by Devi.

Rules to be Followed When Converting the Active Voice to the Passive Voice

The table given below shows you how the tenses change when converting the active voice to the passive voice.

Conversion Rules for Active Voice and Passive Voice
Tense	Voice	Simple Tense	Continuous Tense		Perfect Tense	Perfect Continuous Tense
Present	Active	Brendon plays cricket.	Brendon is playing cricket.		Brendon has played cricket.	Brendon has been playing cricket.
	Passive	Cricket is played by Brendon.	Cricket is being played by Brendon.		Cricket has been played by Brendon.	No Passive
Past	Active	Brendon played cricket.	Brendon was playing cricket.		Brendon had played cricket.	Brendon had been playing cricket.
	Passive	Cricket was played by Brendon.	Cricket was being played by Brendon.		Cricket had been played by Brendon.	No Passive
Future	Active	Brendon will play cricket.	Brendon will be playing cricket.		Brendon will have played cricket.	Brendon will have been playing cricket.
	Passive	Cricket will be played by Brendon.	No Passive		Cricket will have been played by Brendon.	No Passive
Change of Pronouns
Active Voice				Passive Voice
I				Me
We				Us
He				Him
She				Her
They				Them
It				It

Examples of the Active and Passive Voice

Given below are a few examples of how to convert the active voice into the passive voice.

• Active Voice – Twinkle likes adventure stories.

Passive Voice – Adventure stories are liked by Twinkle.

• Active Voice – Latha is learning French this year.

Passive Voice – French is being learnt by Latha this year.

• Active Voice – Kurt has brought macaroons.

Passive Voice – Macaroons have been brought by Kurt.

• Active Voice – Sidharth played cricket.

Passive Voice – Cricket was played by Sidharth.

• Active Voice – They were making invitation cards.

Passive Voice – Invitation cards were being made by them.

• Active Voice – Becky had packed the bags.

Passive Voice – The bags had been packed by Becky.

• Active Voice – Mira will buy the refreshments for the party.

Passive Voice – The refreshments for the party will be bought by Mira.

• Active Voice – Sanjay will have given the forms to all the participants.

             Passive Voice – The forms will have been given to all the participants by Sanjay.