Active and Passive Voice: Rules and Examples

An introduction: Active and Passive Voice

Voice states in the form of a verb that suggests whilst a grammatical subject does the action or is the action receiver. In Active Voice sentences, action is performed by the subject; within the passive voice, action is received by the subject. In educational writing, it’s far normally preferred to choose an active verb and pair it with a subject that names the person, place, or thing or appearing the action. Active verbs are stronger and usually greater emphatic than forms of the verb “be” or verbs inside the passive voice.

Active: The prize-winning chef prepares a chicken meal with loving care.

Passive: The chicken meal is prepared with loving care by the prize-winning chef.

In the active sentence of the above example, the subject ‘chef’ is followed by the verb ‘prepares’. While in the case of a passive sentence, the subject ‘chicken meal’ is followed by the verb ‘is prepared. You can see that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject in the passive sentence. Although both sentences are same in the meaning but their structure makes them different from one another.

Tenses used in Active and Passive Voice

1. The Present Tense

Simple present — take, takes — am taken, is taken, are taken.

Rule:

Active Voice: base form or “s/es” form

Passive Voice: am/is/are + past participle

Examples:

Active	Passive
Allen walks the cat.	The cat is walked by Allen.
They make biscuits here.	Biscuits are made here.
Allen doesn’t walk the dog.	The dog isn’t walked by Allen.
They don’t make sandwiches here.	Sandwiches aren’t made here.
Does Ben walk the rabbit?	Is the rabbit walked (by Ben)?
How do they make the cookies?	How are the cookies made?
Moby carries the heavy boxes.	The heavy boxes are carried by Moby.
My mom buys the food.	The food is bought by my mom.
The police catch the thieves.	The thieves are caught by the police.

 

Present continuous – is, am, are + taking — is, am, are + being taken

Rule:

Active Voice: Subject + am/is/are + V1 + ing + object

Passive Voice: Object+ am/is/are + being + past participle (V3) + by + subject

Examples:

Active	Passive
Uzi is teaching Science at this college.	Science is being taught by Uzi at this college.
A robot is serving food in this restaurant.	Food is being served by a robot in this restaurant.
A mobile company is taking interviews for director post.	Interviews are being taken for director post by a mobile company.
The police are investigating him.	He is being investigated by the police.
Everybody is watching the World Cup match.	The World Cup match is being watched by everyone.
Who is assisting you with your project?	Who are you being assisted by in this project?
Jack is not teaching the kids.	The kids are not being taught by Jack.
Are they playing cricket right now?	Is cricket being played by them right now?
Why is he not helping us?	Why are we not being helped by him?
She is cooking food.	Food is being cooked by her.

 

Present perfect – has, have + taken – has, have + been taken

Rule:

Active Voice: Subject + has/have + 3^rd form of verb + object

Passive Voice: Object + has/have + been + 3^rd form of verb + by + subject

Examples:

Active	Passive
She has baked the food.	The food has been baked by her.
I have written a wonderful song.	A wonderful song has been written by me.
She has caught a parrot.	A parrot has been caught by her.
You have taken the investigation.	The investigation has been taken by you.
You have visited the US twice.	The US has been visited by you twice.
We have not flattened him.	He has not been flattened by us.
The ostrich has not laid an egg.	An egg has not been laid by the ostrich.
They have not trapped the thief.	The thief has not been trapped by them.
Have you hooted at them?	Have they been hooted at by you?
Has he knocked at my gate?	Has my gate been knocked at by him?
Has he written a memo?	Has a memo been written by him?
Have you checked my eyes?	Have my eyes been checked by you?

2. The Past Tense

Simple past — took — was taken, were taken

Rule:

Active Voice: subject (doer) + 2^nd form of verb + object

Passive Voice: object + was/were + 3^rd form of verb + by + subject (optional)

Examples:

Active	Passive
The dog killed the cat.	The cat was killed by dog.
The man cut down the bush.	The bush was cut down by man.
Columbus discovered America.	America was discovered by Columbus.
His teacher admired him.	He was admired by his teacher.
The boy annoyed the dog.	The dog was annoyed by the boy.
They did not prepare our favorite food.	Our favorite food was not prepared by them.
He did not steal your money.	Your money was not stolen by him.
Did she call you last night?	Were you called last night?
How did you direct this act?	How was this act directed?
What did you ask in my absence?	What was asked in my absence?
When did he text you?	When were you texted?

 

Past continuous – was, were + taking – was, were + being + taken

Rule:

Active Voice: Subject + was/were + 1^st form of verb + ing + object

Passive Voice: Object+ was/were + being + 3^rd form of verb + (by + subject) optional

 

Examples:

Active	Passive
I was teaching the class at that time.	The class was being taught at that time (by me).
He was taking dinner at 9 pm.	Dinner was being taken at 9 pm by him.
My parents were seeing that movie.	That movie was being seen by my parents.
John was editing my video yesterday.	My video was being edited yesterday by John.
Monty was not doing the project.	The project was not being done (by Monty).
They were not assisting us.	We were not being assisted (by them).
We were not recording the movie.	The movie was not being recorded by us.
Were you calling me last night?	Was I being called by you last night?
Was he not facilitating you?	Were you not being facilitated by him?
When were you taking the lecture?	When was the lecture being taken by you?
Where were they making a short movie?	Where was a short movie being made by them?

 

Past perfect — had + taken — had been + taken

Rule:

Active Voice: had + past participle (3^rd) form of the verb

Passive Voice: had been + past participle (3^rd) form of the verb

Examples:

Active	Passive
They had completed the job by Monday.	The job had been completed (by them) by Monday.
I had done important work.	Important work had been done by me.
Ammar had made a big blunder.	A big blunder had been made by Ammar.
Poonam had won a big prize.	A big prize had been won by Poonam.
They had educated him.	He had been educated by them.
The teacher had penalized the boy.	The boy had been penalized by the teacher.
The principal had slapped the poor boy.	The poor boy had been slapped by the principal.
I had not checked his eyes.	His eyes had not been checked by me.
You had not stayed with them.	They had not been stayed with by you.
I had not marked those documents.	Those documents had not been marked by me.
Had I articulated the truth?	Had the truth been articulated by me?
Had they burnt those documents?	Had those documents been burnt by them?
Had the watchman given the green signal?	Had the green signal been given by the watchman?
Had they pardoned us?	Had we been pardoned by them?

3. The Future Tense

Simple future – will, shall + take – will, shall + be + taken

Rule:

Active Voice: Subject + will, shall + 1^st form of verb + Object

Passive Voice: Object + will, shall + be + 3^rd form of verb + by+ subject

Examples:

Active	Passive
Smith will help me.	I will be helped by Smith.
He will help me with cash.	I will be helped by him with cash.
Jerry will buy a new handset.	A new handset will be bought by Jerry.
The kid will break the doll.	The doll will be broken by the kid.
Will he cook lunch?	Will lunch be cooked by him?
He will not steal the wristwatch.	The wristwatch will not be stolen by him.
Why will he pay the fare?	Why will the fare be paid by him?
What will you have for brunch?	What will be had for brunch by you?
She will not stitch her cloth.	Her cloth will not be stitched by her.
Jacky will not post the letter.	The letter will not be posted by Jacky.
Why will she sign these documents?	Why will these documents be signed by her?

 

Future Perfect Tense—will, shall + have taken – will, shall + have been taken

Rule:

Active Voice: Subject + will, shall + Have + 3^rd form of verb + Object

Passive Voice: Object + will, shall + Have + been + 3^rd form of verb + Subject

Examples:

Active	Passive
He will have eaten a slice of bread.	A slice of bread will have been eaten by him.
He will have played football.	Football will have been played by him.
He will have taken a drink.	A drink will have been taken by him.
They will have damaged the cricket jersey.	The cricket jersey will have been damaged by them.
They shall not have done their exercise.	Their exercise will not have been done by us.
Will he not have eaten chicken?	Will chicken not have been eaten by him?
Will he not have played chess?	Will chess not have been played by him?
Will he not have taken coffee?	Will coffee not have been taken by him?
Will they not have a damaged cricket kit?	Will the cricket kit not have been damaged by them?

4. Infinitive: Active and Passive Voice

There are verbs that have an active infinitive form (with or without to):

(to) hook, (to) do, (to) help, (to) consent, (to) swab.

While most verbs also have a passive infinitive form, which comprises the following things:

• Infinitive of ‘be’
• with or without to
• -ed form of the main verb like: (to) be trapped, (to) be done, (to) be assisted, (to) be left, (to) be eroded.

 

Active infinitive	Passive infinitive
The police are confident to catch the killer.	The police are confident/determined that the killer will be caught soon.
Come on, there’s labor to do!	There was no more labor to be done, so we have gone.
Let me assist you.	He doesn’t want to be assisted.
I didn’t want to drive office, so I got a taxi.	I’d always choose to be driven by a local being when I’m in another country.

 

5. Modals: Active and Passive Voice

Present and Future Modals:

Must, Can, Should, May, Ought, Might

Note: Auxiliary verb ‘be’ is used with these Modals in Passive Voice.

Examples:

Active Voice	Passive Voice
CAN	CAN BE
He can drive a bus.	A bus can be driven by him.
Can he make a sofa?	Can a sofa be made by him?
MUST	MUST BE
He must return the rented car.	The rented car must be returned by him.
Must he study this novel?	Must this novel be studied by him?
MAY	MAY BE
I may eat a banana.	A banana may be eaten by me.
May he buy a van?	May a van be bought by him?
SHOULD	SHOULD BE
He should buy this diary.	This diary should be bought by him.
MIGHT	MIGHT BE
He might win a game of cricket.	A game of cricket might be won by him.
OUGHT TO	OUGHT TO BE
You ought to wash this room.	This room ought to be washed by you.
He ought to assist the kid.	The child kid to be assisted by him.

 

Past Modals:                                                   

must have, might have, may have, should have, ought have

Note: Auxiliary verb ‘been’ is used with these Modals in Passive Voice. 

Active Voice	Passive Voice
SHOULD HAVE	SHOULD HAVE BEEN
I should have started a new journey.	A new journey should have been started by me.
MUST HAVE	MUST HAVE BEEN
He must have compensated the money.	The money must have been compensated by him.
MIGHT HAVE	MIGHT HAVE BEEN
He might have adored the trip.	The trip might have been adored by him.
OUGHT TO HAVE	OUGHT TO HAVE BEEN
You ought not to have told a joke.	A joke ought not to have been told by you.

Note:

There is no Passive Voice formation for these tenses

1) Present Perfect Continuous Tense

2) Past Perfect Continuous Tense

3) Future Perfect Continuous Tense

4) Future Continuous Tense