Active and Passive Voice

Voice refers to the form of a verb that indicates when a grammatical subject
performs the action or is the receiver of the action.

Most English verbs have two voice.

 The active voice

 The passive voice
 When the verb is in active voice, the subject of the sentence is the that perform
the action.( the subject does the action).
 When the verb is in passive voice, the subject of the sentence is the reciver of the
action (the subject recives the action).

Rules of changing active sentence to passive sentence

1. The sentence must have objects ( contain transitive verb).

A verb can be either transitive or intransitive.
Ttransitive verbs: are verbs that require an object in a sentence in order to give
complete meaning. It needs an object (in sentence) to give complete meaning. A
sentence can be changed into passive voice if it has subject and object. Therefore,
we form passive sentence with transitive verbs, which take objects.
Intransitive verbs: are verbs that do not require object in the sentence and can give
complete meaning with out an object in the sentence. So, Intransitive verb
cannot be changed into passive voice. The sentences having intransitive verbs
(belonging to any tense) cannot be changed into passive voice. The reason is that
there is not any object in such sentences and without object of sentence passive
voice is not possible. Some common transitive verbs are:appear, arrive, come,
become, go, happen, occur, rain stay, walk, run, resemble, etc...

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 Eg. The baby is crying. The gustes are arrived. The kids were smiling. He
laughed. They're coming over. An accident has happened. ( cry, arrive smile
laugh, come, happen = intransitive veerbs. There are no objects; therefore there is no
possibility of making these sentences into the passive voice)
2. We change the object of active sentence into the subject of passive sentence.
The places of subject and object are interchanged i.e. the object shifts to the place of
subject and subject shifts to the place of object in passive voice.
3. The "Be" form must be used according to the tense of the verb.
i.e (be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been) followed by the past participle form of
the main verb. Note that the form of the verb "to be" is singular or plural
depending on the new subject of the sentence:
 Teachers are using the new book in their classrooms.
(teachers = plural, so we use "are")
 The new book is being used in classrooms.
(the new book = singular, so we use "is")
4. Past participle (V3) form of the main verb must be used in sentences of
passive voice for all tenses.
5. Preposition "by" can be added when the agent of the sentence is important.
The word “by” is not always used before subject in passive voice. Sometimes words
“with, to, etc” may also be used before subject in passive voice.
 Active voice: The water fills the tub.
 Passive voice: The tub is filled with water.
 Active voice: He knows me.
 Passive voice: I am known to him

We do not include "by..." when:

 The doer of the action is unknown:

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 e.g The money was stolen.
 The doer of the action is "people in general":
e.g Black cats are believed to bring bad luck.
 The doer of the action is completely unimportant:
e.g This bridge was built in 1889. (probably by a construction company)

• For the simple present tense use am, is or are with a past participle to form the
passive voice. i.e

Active : S+V1 Passive: S+am/is/are + past participle

Active voice Passive voice

The caretaker locks the door. The doors are locked by the caretaker.

• For the present continuous tense use am, is or are with being followed by a
past participle to form the passive voice.

Active :S+am/is/are + -ing Passive: S+am/is/are + being + v3

Active voice Passive voice

The singer is singing a song beautifully. The song is being sung beautifully by
the singer.

• For the present perfect tense use have or has with been followed by a past
participle to form the passive voice.

Active : S+has/have + -v3 Passive: S+has/have + been + -v3

Active voice Passive voice

Ali has scored two goals. Two goals have been scored by Ali.

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They have built a lage house. Alarge house has been built by them.

• For the simple past tense use was or were with a past participle to form the
passive voice.

Active :S + -v2 Passive: S+was/were + -v3

Active voice Passive voice

He took these photos These photos were taken by him.

• For the past continuous tense use was or were with being followed by a past
participle to form the passive voice.

Active : S+was/were + -ing Passive: S+was/were + being + -v3

Active voice Passive voice

She was reading a book. The book was being read by her.

• For the past perfect tense use had with been followed by a part participle to
form the passive voice.

Active : S+had + v3 Passive:S+ had + been + -V3

Active voice Passive voice

Ruth had given a gift to Abiy. A gift had been given to Abiy by Ruth.

• For the simple future tense use shall or will + be with being followed by a past
participle to form the passive voice.

Active :S+ will + v1 Passive: S+will + be + -v3

Active voice Passive voice

We will celebrate her birthday. Her birthday will be celebrated by us.

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 For the future perfect use shall or will with been followed by a past participle to
form the passive

Active : will + have + v3 Passive: will + have + been + v3

Active voice Passive voice

John will have repaired his bicycle. His bicycle will have been repaired by John.

• For imperatives use let with be followed by a part participle to form the passive
voice. Let + subject+ be +v3

Active voice Passive voice

Give up smoking. Let smoking be given up.

Shut the door Let the door be shut.

Never tell a lie Let a lie be never told

Switch on the light. Let the light be witched on

Respect elders Let the elder be respected

Stand up. You are ordered to stand up.

 For infinitives use Subject + verb + Object + to be followed by a part participle

to form the passive voice.
Active voice Passive voice
I wan to write the letter. I want the letter to be written
I need to deliver the lesson. I need the lesson to be delivered.
I want to invite her to the party. I want her to be invited to the party.
I have to do this work. This work has to be done.
I want to buy this book. I want this book to be bought.
 To form the passive voice of a present modal: modal+ be+ v3
Active voice Passive voice
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 He could repaire the car in two days. The car culd be repaired in two days.

Students should study the lessons. The lessons should be studied by students.

Meron can buy a new computer. A new computer can be bought by Meron

 To form the passives of Perfect modal: modal+ have+been+v3

Active voice Passive voice
He could have repaired the car in two days. The car could have been repaired in two days.
He might have eaten the meal. The meal might have been eaten by him.
You should have studied the book. The book should have been studied by you.
You may have availed the opportunity. The opportunity may have been availed by you.

Note that: it is not common for us to change present perfect continuous, past
perfect continuous, future continuous, and future perfect continuous in to
passive voice. Structurally, we can change those tenses in to passiv but itis
better to use their active voice instead of their passive form. When we change
this tenses to passive the sentence become sound awkward.

Double object verbs

When we have two objects in a sentence, we can form our passive sentence by
select one of the two objects that we want to emphasise. Some verbs that take two
objects are: give tell, send, show, bring, write, pay, offer, etc....

 Active: Meron gave me this book.

 Passive1: The book was given to me by Meron.
 Passive 2: I was given this book by Mary.

When we use passive passive voice?

 When the agent is not known.

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 The door is broken. i.e we dont know who broke the door.
laptop was stolen from the classroom.
Three people have been killed in the park. Police are looking for clues to the
identity of the murderer.
 When we don’t want to mention the agent. i.e we know the subject who
perform the action, but we are not voluntery to mention ( keep in secret) the
performer of the action.
 When we want to emphasize the object rather than the subject
The presidant was killed in l998. Here the empasize is not on the performer
of the action rather the reciver of the action.
 When we want to emphasize the agent
The new library will be opened by the Queen. Here the emphasize is not on
the new library ; the focus is who will open it.

Interrogative Passive Rules

Active Voice Passive Voice

1. Do/does + subject + verb + object ? Am/is/are + subject + V3 + by + agent ?

2. Am/is/are + subject + verb + ing + object ? Am/is/are + subject + being + V3 + by + agent ?
3. Did + subject + verb + object ? Was/were + subject + V3 + by + agent ?
4. Was/were + subject + verb + ing + object ? Was/were + subject + being + V3 + by + agent ?
5. Have/has/had + subject + V-3 + object ? Have/has/had + subject + been + V3 + by + agent ?
6. Modal + subject + verb + object ? Modal + subject + be + V3 + by + agent ?
7. ‘Wh’ word + auxiliary + subject + verb + Wh’ word + auxiliary + subject + V3 + agent ?
object ?
How to change voice of interrogative sentences.

1. Questions beginning with do/does

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Normal structure of interrogative sentence in active voice starting with do/does is
Do/does + subject + verb + object ? (Active Voice)
Ex: Does she cook the food? (Active Voice) (Here ‘she’ is subject, ‘cook’ is verb
and ‘the food’ is object.)

While changing the sentence into passive, this structure becomes:

Am/is/are + subject + V3 + by + agent ? (Passive Voice)
Ex: Is the food cooked by her? (Passive Voice) (Here ‘The food’ becomes subject
in passive voice, ‘cooked’ is V3 (past participle) of cook, and ‘her’ is agent (doer))
See some more examples to clarify this:

 Does Selam write homework? (Active Voice)

Is homework written by Selam? (Passive Voice)

 Does Daniel read the books? (Active Voice)

Are the books read by Daniel? (Passive Voice)

 Do they decorate the room with flowers.? (Active Voice)

Is the room decorated with flowers by them? (Passive Voice

2. Questions beginning with am/is/are

Normal structure of interrogative sentence in active voice starting with am/is/are

is: Am/is/are + subject + verb + ing + object ? (Active Voice)
Ex: Is she cooking the food? (Active Voice) (Here ‘she’ is subject, ‘cooking’ is verb
and ‘the food’ is object.)

While changing the sentence into passive, this structure becomes

Am/is/are + subject + being + V-3 + by + agent ? (Passive Voice)

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Ex: Is the food being cooked by her? (Passive Voice) (Here ‘The food’ becomes
subject in passive voice, ‘cooked’ is V3 (past participle) of cook, and ‘her’ is agent
(doer))

Note: You might have noticed that whenever there is verb + ing in active voice,
we are using being + V3 in passive voice.

See some more examples to clarify this

Is Selam writing homework? (Active Voice)

Is homework being written by Selam? (Passive Voice)

Are Selam and Meron playing cricket? (Active Voice)

Is cricket being played by selam and Meron? (Passive Voice)
3. Questions beginning with did

Normal structure of interrogative sentence in active voice starting with did is

Did + subject + verb + object ? (Active Voice)
Ex: Did she cook the food? (Active Voice) (Here ‘she’ is subject, ‘cook’ is verb and
‘the food’ is object.)

While changing the sentence into passive, this structure becomes

Was/were + subject + V-3 + by + agent ? (Passive Voice)
Ex: Was the food cooked by her? (Passive Voice) (Here ‘The food’ becomes
subject in passive voice, ‘cooked’ is V-3 (past participle) of cook, and ‘her’ is
agent (doer))

See some more examples to clarify this

 Did John write homework? (Active Voice)

Was homework written by John? (Passive Voice)

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  Did the students read books? ( Active Voice)
Were books read by the students ? (Passive Voice)
4. Questions beginning with was/were

Normal structure of interrogative sentence in active voice starting with was/were

is: Was/were + subject + verb + ing + object ? (Active Voice)
Ex: Was she cooking the food? (Active Voice) (Here ‘she’ is subject, ‘cooking’ is
verb and ‘the food’ is object.)

While changing the sentence into passive, this structure becomes:

Was/were + subject + being + V-3 + by + agent ? (Passive Voice)
Ex: Was the food being cooked by her? (Passive Voice) (Here ‘The food’ becomes
subject in passive voice, ‘cooked’ is V-3 (past participle) of cook, and ‘her’ is
agent (doer))

See some more examples to clarify this

 Was John writing Letters? (Active Voice)

Were letters being written by John? (Passive Voice)

 Were they eating their lunch? (Active Voice)

Was their lanch being eaten? (Passive Voice)

5. Questions beginning with have/has/had

Normal structure of interrogative sentence in active voice starting with

have/has/had is: Have/has/had + subject + V-3 + object ? (Active Voice)
Ex: Has she cooked the food? (Active Voice) (Here ‘she’ is subject, ‘cooked’ is V-3
(past participle) of cook and ‘the food’ is object.)

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 While changing the sentence into passive, this structure becomes:
Have/has/had + subject + been + V-3 + by + agent ? (Passive Voice)
Ex: Has the food been cooked by her? (Passive Voice) (Here ‘The food’ becomes
subject in passive voice, ‘cooked’ is V3 (past participle) of cook, and ‘her’ is agent
(doer))

See some more examples to clarify this:

 Have they changed the date of the meeting? (Active Voice)

Has the date of the meeting been changed by them? (Passive Voice)

 Have archaeologists discovered ancient temple? (Active Voice)

 Has anicent temple been discovered by archeologists? (Passive voice)
 Had somebody cleaned my shoes? ( Active Voice)
Had my shoes been cleaned? ( Passive Voice)

6. Questions beginning with modals

Normal structure of interrogative sentence in active voice starting with modals is:
Modal + subject + verb + object ? (Active Voice)
Ex: Can she cook the food? (Active Voice) (Here ‘she’ is subject, ‘cook’ is V-3 verb
and ‘the food’ is object.)

While changing the sentence into passive, this structure becomes:

Modal + subject + be + V3 + by + agent ? (Passive Voice)

Ex: Can the food be cooked by her? (Passive Voice) (Here ‘The food’ becomes
subject in passive voice, ‘cooked’ is V3 (past participle) of cook, and ‘her’ is agent
(doer))

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 See some more examples to clarify this:

 Should students study all lessons ? (Active Voice)

Should all lessons be studied by students? (Passive Voice)

 Can he write a poem? (Active Voice)

Can the letter be written by him? (Passive Voice)
 May I buy the computer? (Active Voice)
M ay the computer be bought by me?( Passive Voice)

 Could he repaire the car? (Active voice)

Could the car be repaired by him? (passive voice)

7. ‘Wh’ questions

Questions starting with what, why, where, when, who, whom etc are known as ‘wh’
questions

Normal structure of ‘wh’ questions in active voice is:

‘Wh’ word + auxiliary + subject + verb + object ? (Active Voice)
Ex: Why did she punish you? (Active Voice) (Here ‘she’ is subject, ‘punish’ is verb
and ‘you’ is object.)

While changing the sentence into passive, this structure becomes:

‘Wh’ word + auxiliary + subject + V-3 + agent ? (Passive Voice)
Ex: Why were you punished by her? (Passive Voice) (Here ‘you’ becomes subject
in passive voice, ‘punished’ is V-3 (past participle) of punish, and ‘her’ is agent

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(doer))
See some more examples to clarify thi:
 Where do you read books? (Active Voice)
Where are the books read by you? (Passive Voice)
 Where had he taken Priya? (Active Voice)
Where Priya had been taken by him? (Passive Voice
 What motivates you? (Active Voice)
By what you are motivated? (Passive Voice)
 What did you eat? (Active Voice )
What was eaten by You? (Passive Voice)
 When are you giving her the key? (Active Voice)
When the key is being given to her by you? (Passive Voice
 Which book did you purchase? (Active Voice)
Which book was purchased by you? (Passive Voice)
 Why do you read books?(Active Voice)
Why are books read by you? (Pasive Voice)

Questions beginning with ‘who’

In such kind of sentences who acts as subject.
See some examples to clear this:
 Who wrote this letter? (Active Voice)
By whom this letter was written? (Passive Voice)
 Who will call him? (Active Voice)
By whom he will be called? (Passive Voice)
 Who painted this beautiful painting? (Active Voice)
By whom was this beautiful painting painted? (Passive Voice)
 Who invited you? (Active Voice)
By whom were you invited? (Passive Voice)
 Who lent you this book? (Active Voice)
By whom were you lent this book? (Passive Voice)

Questions beginning with ‘whom’

 Whom is John inviting? (Active Voice)

Who is being invited by John? (Passive Voice)
 Whom you invited in the party? (Active Voice)
Who was invited by you in the party ? (Passive Voice)
 Whom do you like? (Active Voice)
Who is liked by you?( Passive Voice)
 Whom has the principal honoured? (Active Voice)

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 Who has been honoured by the principal? (Passive Voice)
 Whom has the police arrested? (Active Voice)
Who has been arrested by police? (Passive Voice)
 Whom have the people elected? (Active Voice)
Who has been elected by the people? (Passive Voice)
 Whom have the selectors selected? (Active Voice)
Who has been selected by the selectors? (Passive Voice)
 Whom has she called? (Active Voice)
Who has been called by her? (Passive Voice)
Read the following magazine article. Pay special attention to verbs in the passive voice.

The Academy awards are given out every year to recognize outstanding work of movie actors,
directors, and others who are part of the movie-making industry. These awards, called Oscars.
Oscars are presented in a formal ceremony in Hollywood. Several people are nominated in
specific catagories, such as Best Movie, Best Actor, Best Music and Best Costumes. One nominee
is chosen to recive an award in ach catagory.

When the awards ceremony started in 1929, 15 awards were presented and the ceremony was
attended by only 250 peopl. Tickets cost $10 and any one who could afford a ticket could
attend. Today about two dozen Oscars are presented. Tickets are no longer sold to the general
public; invitations are sent only to people involved in making the movies and to their gusts.
Today the awards are presented in the 3400 seat Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

Until 1941, the winners’ names were already known before the ceremony and published in
newspapers the night before the ceremony. Now the winners’ name are placed in sealed
envelops and the envelops are not opened until the night of the ceremony.

Since 1953, Oscar night has been televised and broadcast all over the world. This shows is seen
by hundreds of millions of people. Viwers watch as their favorite movie stars arrive looking
beautiful and hopeful.

NB: both active and passive voice can be used with different tenses and with modals. The tense
of the passive voice is shown in the verb ‘to be’. Because in Passive voice, we use the past
participle form of a base verb for every tense.

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For Practice at Sentence Level

Direction: The following sentences are in the active voice. Change them into the
passive voice.

1. The terrorist group killed the innocent pepoel.

2. Voters often reject tax proposas.

3. Danawit is giving oral warning for Sam.

4. The actors had performed the play by Shakespeare.

5. Do you sent a letter?

6. The painter created a beautiful painting.

7. The judge settles all disputes.

8. The students have written a test.

9. They cancelled all the flights because of fog.

10.Was she beating the child?

11.I must finish this assignment.

12.They are building a new ring-road round the city.

13.My mother will punish me.

14.They have changed the date of the meeting.

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 15. I have seen that movie.

16.Eyerus couldn’t see the man.

17.John gave Elizabeth that beautiful ring.

18.I need to deliver the lesson

For Practice at paragraph Level

Choose the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

FIAT
Fiat was started (started/was started) by a group of Italian businessmen in 1899. In
1903, Fiat, 1_________________ (produced/was produced) 132 cars. Some of
these cars 2_________________ (exported/were exported) by the company to the
United States and Britain. In 1920, Fiat 3_____________ (started/was started)
making cars at a new factory at Lingotto, near Turin. There was a track on the roof
where the cars 4_________________ (tested/were tested) by technicians. In 1936,
Fiat launched the Fiat 500. This car 5__________________ (called/was called) the
Topolino – the Italian name for Mickey Mouse. The company grew, and in 1963
Fiat 6__________________ (exported/was exported) more than 300,000 vehicles.
Today, Fiat is based in Turin, and its cars 7_________________ (sold/are sold) all
over the world.

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