Voice Change –
In English Grammar, Voice is the term to indicate whether the subject of the verb is doing the action or the subject of the verb is being acted upon .
There two types of Voice –
1 . Active Voice – When the subject of the verb is doing the action then the verb is said to be in the active voice . That means in an active voice, the subject performs the action .
Example – He takes tea .
Here , ‘ He ‘ is the subject and he is doing the action of the verb .
2 . Passive Voice – When the subject of the verb is being acted upon then the verb is to be said in the passive voice . That means in passive voice the action is not done by the subject .
Example – Tea is being taken by him .
Here , ‘ Tea ‘ is the subject and it is not doing the action but it is being acted upon . The action is done by him .
Rules of Voice Change –
1 . Some pronouns that are always changed in passive voice –
Active Voice – Passive Voice
I – me
We – us
He – him
She – her
They – them
2. Always remember that the object in the active voice becomes the subject in the passive voice .
3 .Voice Change in Present Indefinite or Simple Present Tense –
Active -He does the job .
Passive – The job is done by him .
Active – Susan takes tea regularly.
Passive – Tea is being taken by Susan regularly .
Negative Sentence –
Active – He doesn’t take tea.
Passive – Tea is not being taken by him .
Interrogative Sentence –
Active – Does he take tea ?
Passive – Is tea taken by him ?
Rules– i . Object in the active voice is changed as the subject in the passive voice .
ii . Then we use am / is / are – ‘ am ‘ after ‘ I ‘ , ‘ is ‘ after Third Person Singular Number, ‘ are ‘ after ‘ we ‘ / ‘ you ‘ / Third Person Plural Number.
iii . Past Participle form of the verb .
iv. by
v. Then we use the subject of the active voice or its changed form
vi. Negative Sentence – We use ‘ not ‘ before ‘ being ‘ in passive voice.
vii. In Interrogative Sentence – we use be verb ( am / is / are ) at the beginning of the sentence in passive voice .
4. Voice Change in Present Continuous Tense –
Active – She is taking tea .
Passive – The tea is being taken by her .
Active – They are playing football.
Passive – The football is being played by them .
Negative Sentence –
Active – They are not playing football.
Passive – Football is not being played by them .
Interrogative Sentence –
Active – Are they playing football?
Passive – Is football being played by them ?
Rules – i . Object in the active voice is changed as the subject in the passive voice .
ii. Then we use am / is / are – ‘ am ‘ after ‘ I ‘ , ‘ is ‘ after Third Person Singular Number, ‘ are ‘ after ‘ we ‘ / ‘ you ‘ / Third Person Plural Number.
iii. Then we use ‘ being ‘
iv. Past Participle form of the verb .
v. Then we use ‘by ‘
vi. Then we use the subject of the active voice or its changed form
vii. Negative Sentence –
We use ‘ not ‘ before ‘ being ‘ in a passive voice.
viii. Interrogative Sentence –
We use ‘ be ‘ verbs ( am / is / are ) at the beginning of the sentence in passive voice.
5. Voice change in Present Perfect Tense –
Active – We have done it .
Passive – It has been done by us .
Active – Susan has completed these tasks .
Passive – These tasks have been completed by Susan .
Negative Sentence –
Active – We have not done it .
Passive – It has not been done by us .
Interrogative Sentence –
Active – Have you done it ?
Passive – Has it been done by you ?
Rules – i. Object in the active voice is changed as the subject in the passive voice .
ii. Then we use has / have – ‘ has ‘ is used after the Third Person Singular Number and ‘ have ‘ is used after the First Person, Second Person and Third Person Plural Number.
iii. Then we use ‘ been ‘
iv. Past Participle form of the verb
v. Then we use ‘ by ‘
vi . Then we use the subject of the active voice or its changed form
vii. Negative Sentence –
We use ‘ not ‘ before ‘ been ‘ in a passive voice .
viii. Interrogative Sentence –
We use has or have at the beginning of the sentence in passive voice.
6. Voice change in Present Perfect Continuous Tense –
Though this is very uncommon to use Present Perfect Continuous Tense in Passive Voice, still it can be grammatically done .
Active – He has been doing the work since morning .
Passive – The work has been being done by him since morning.
Active – They have been practicing football for two years .
Passive – Football has been being practiced by them for two years.
Negative Sentence –
Active – They have not been practicing football for a few days .
Passive – Football has not been being practiced by them for a few days.
Interrogative Sentence –
Active – Have they been practicing football for two years?
Passive – Has football been being practiced by them for two years?
Rules – i. Object in the active voice is changed as the subject in the passive voice .
ii. Then we use has / have – ‘ has ‘ is used after the Third Person Singular Number and ‘ have ‘ is used after the First Person, Second Person and Third Person Plural Number
iii. Then we use ‘ been ‘
iv. Then we use ‘ being ‘
v. Past Participle form of the verb
vi. Then we use ‘ by ‘
vii. Then we use the subject of the active voice or its changed form
viii. Rest of the sentence.
ix . Negative Sentence –
We use ‘ not ‘ before the ‘ been ‘ in the passive voice.
x. Interrogative Sentence –
We use has or have at the beginning of the sentence in passive voice.
7. Voice Change in Past Indefinite or Simple Past Tense –
Active – He did the job .
Passive – The job was done by him .
Active – Rimo made the payment.
Passive – The payment was made by Rimo.
Negative Sentence –
Active – He didn’t do the job.
Passive – The job was not done by him .
Interrogative Sentence –
Active – Did Rimo make the payment?
Passive – Was the payment made by Rimo ?
Rules – i. All the rules are the same like Present Indefinite or Simple Present Tense except the use of was or were instead of am/ is / are .
i. Was / Were – We use ‘ was ‘ after ‘ I ‘ and Third Person Singular Number.
We use ‘ were ‘ after ‘ we ‘ / ‘ Second Person/ Third Person Plural Number.
8. Voice Change in Past Continuous Tense –
Active – They were playing cricket .
Passive – Cricket was being played by them .
Active – The Police were chasing thieves.
Passive – Thieves were being chased by the Police .
Negative Sentence –
Active – He was not taking the class .
Passive – The class was not being taken by him .
Interrogative Sentence –
Active – Was she taking the class ?
Passive – Was the class being taken by her ?
Rules – i. All the rules are the same like Present Continuous Tense except the use of was or were instead of am/ is / are .
ii. Was / Were – We use ‘ was ‘ after ‘ I ‘ and Third Person Singular Number.
We use ‘ were ‘ after ‘ we ‘ / ‘ Second Person/ Third Person Plural Number.
9. Voice change in Past Perfect Tense –
Active – He had done the job before his father arrived .
Passive – The job had been done by him before his father arrived .
Active – The driver had started the train before we reached .
Passive – The train had been started by the driver before we reached .
Negative Sentence –
Active – He had not done the job before his father arrived.
Passive – The job had not been done by him before his father arrived.
Interrogative Sentence –
Active – Had the driver started the train before you reached ?
Passive – Had the train been started by the driver before you reached ?
Rules – i. All the rules are the same like the Present Perfect Tense except the use of ‘ had ‘ instead of has / have .
10. Voice change in Past Perfect Continuous Tense –
Though this is very uncommon to use Present Perfect Continuous Tense in Passive Voice, still it can be grammatically done .
Active – He had been doing the task until his mother arrived .
Passive – The task had been being done by him until his mother arrived.
Active – They had been exercising grammar when their teacher came .
Passive – Grammar had been being exercised by them when their teacher came .
Negative Sentence –
Active – He had not been doing the task when his mother arrived.
Passive – The task had not been being done by him when his mother arrived.
Interrogative Sentence –
Active – Had she been doing the task when her mother arrived?
Passive – Had the task been being done by her when her mother arrived?
Rules – i. All the rules are the same like the Present Perfect Tense except the use of ‘ had ‘ instead of has / have .
11. Voice change in Future Indefinite or Simple Future Tense –
Active – She will sing the song .
Passive – The song will be sung by her .
Active – Rimo will write the application.
Passive – The application will be written by Rimo .
Negative Sentence –
Active – She will not bring her laptop.
Passive – Her laptop will not be brought by her.
Interrogative Sentence –
Active – Will they play the game ?
Passive – Will the game be played by them?
Rules – i. All the rules are the same like Present Indefinite or Simple Present Tense except the use of ‘ will be ‘ instead of am / is / are .
ii. In case of Negative Sentence – we use ‘ not ‘ between ‘will’ and ‘be’ in passive voice.
iii. In case of Interrogative Sentences – We use ‘ will ‘ at the beginning of the sentence in passive voice.
12. Voice change in case of Future Continuous Tense –
Active – We will be practising our lessons .
Passive – Our lessons will be being practised by us .
Active – The bees will be eating honey .
Passive – Honey will be being eaten by the bees .
Negative Sentence –
Active – She will not be doing the job. .
Passive – The job will not be being done by her .
Interrogative Sentence –
Active – Will she be practising her lessons?
Passive – Will her lesson be being practised by her ?
Rules – i. The object in the active voice becomes the subject in the passive voice.
ii. Then we use will + be + being
iii. Then we use the Past Participle form of the verb .
iv. Then we use ‘ by ‘
v. Then we use the subject in the active voice or its changed form
vi. Negative Sentence – We use ‘ not ‘ between ‘ will ‘ and ‘ be ‘ in the passive voice.
vii. Interrogative Sentence – We use ‘ Will ‘ at the beginning of the sentence in the passive voice.
13. Voice change in Future Perfect Tense –
Active – They will have finished the lunch when you go .
Passive – The lunch will have been finished by then when you go .
Active – He will have left the hotel at 7 pm. tomorrow.
Passive – The hotel will have been left by him at 7 pm tomorrow.
Negative Sentence –
Active – We will not have completed the project before you come tomorrow.
Passive – The project will not have been completed by us before you come tomorrow.
Interrogative Sentence –
Active – Will they have finished that lesson before their teacher arrives ?
Passive – Will that lesson have been finished by them before their teacher arrives ?
Rules – i. The object in the active voice becomes the subject in the passive voice.
ii. Then we use will + have been
iii. Then we use the Past Participle form of the verb .
iv. Then we use ‘ by ‘
v. Then we use the subject in the active voice or its changed form
vi. Then Rest of the sentence.
vii. Negative Sentence – We use ‘ not ‘ between ‘ will ‘ and ‘ have ‘ in the passive voice.
viii. Interrogative Sentence – We use ‘ Will ‘ at the beginning of the sentence in the passive voice.
14. Voice change in Future Perfect Continuous Tense –
Active – He will have been doing the job for five years next month.
Passive – The job will have been being done by him for five years next month .
Active – They will have been playing hockey for almost an hour when their coach arrives.
Passive – Hockey will have been being played by them for almost an hour when their coach arrives.
Negative Sentence –
Active – They will not have been playing hockey for an hour when their coach arrives.
Passive – Hockey will not have been being played by them for an hour when their coach arrives.
Interrogative Sentence –
Active – Will he have been doing the job for five years next month?
Passive – Will the job have been being done by him for five years next month?
Rules – i. The object in the active voice becomes the subject in the passive voice.
ii. Then we use will + have + been + being
iii. Past Participle form of the verb .
iv. Then we use ‘ by .’
v. Then we use the subject in the active voice or its changed form
vi. Then Rest of the sentence.
vii. Negative Sentence – We use ‘ not ‘ between ‘ will ‘ and ‘ have ‘ in the passive voice.
viii. Interrogative Sentence – We use ‘ Will ‘ at the beginning of the sentence in the passive voice.
15. Some specific Phrasal verbs that are used in passive voice instead of ‘ by ‘ –
Active – The situation astonished us .
Passive – We are astonished at the situation .
Active – He invited us to a party.
Passive – We were invited to a party by him .
Active – Susan married Rimo .
Passive – Rimo was married to Susan .
Active – We know him .
Passive – He is known to us .
Active -She was listening to a song .
Passive -A song was being listened to by her .
Active – The beautiful place amazed us .
Passive – We were amazed at the beautiful place .
Active – The teacher compared me with Rimo .
Passive – I was compared to Rimo by the teacher .
Active – The subject interests me .
Passive – I am interested in the subject.
Active – The trainer prepared us for the interview.
Passive – We were prepared for the interview by the trainer .
Active – The student pleased his teacher .
Passive – His teacher was pleased with the student.
So we can see here that some Phrasal verbs can be used instead of ‘ by ‘ in the passive voice. Some of these are – astonished at, amazed at, invited to, married to,known to, listening to, compared to, interested in, prepared for, pleased with, knocked at, content in, disguised with, annoyed at or annoyed with.
16. Voice change of Complex Sentence –
ii. When the sentence has objects in both the Principal and Subordinate clauses then we need to change the voice of both the clauses from active to passive or passive to active .
Active – Though he practised every type of skills , he could not execute it in the match .
Passive – Though every type of skills were practised by him , it could not be executed in the match .
Active – He told me that his father achieved a significant position.
Passive – I was told by him that a significant position was achieved by his father.
Active – Principal Clause + Passive – Subordinate Clause
We felt the problem that a mistake was made by him .
Voice change –
The problem was felt by us that he made a mistake .
ii. When the Principal clause does not have any object, we assume the subordinate clause as its object and change the voice as per the following examples –
Active – His boss thinks that he is a genius .
Passive – It is thought by his boss that he is a genius .
Or
That he is a genius is thought by his boss.
Active – I know that you are a talented boy .
Passive – It is known to me that you are a talented boy.
Or
That you are a talented boy is known to me .
Active – They said that they will qualify in the final.
Passive – It was said by them that they will qualify in the final.
17. Voice change of Compound Sentence –
Active – He bought a new dress and gave it to his brother .
Passive – A new dress was bought by him and was given to his brother.
Active – His boss considers him as talented but not as proactive.
Passive – He is considered by his boss as talented but not as proactive.
18. Voice chance of Optative Sentence – Optative sentence expresses wishes, prays, blessings, desires, curses , etc.
Change of Voice –
Active – May you achieve success in life .
Passive – May the success be achieved by you in life .
Active – May God bless you.
Passive – May you be blessed by God .
Active – May she receive the desired result .
Passive – May the desired result be received by her .
Negative Sentence –
Active – May you not receive any failure .
Passive – May any failure not be received by you.
19 . Voice change of Imperative Sentence –
i . Expressing order –
Active – Close the door .
Passive – Let the door be closed .
Active – Do it .
Passive – Let it be done .
Active – Bring vegetables.
Passive – Let the vegetables be brought .
Negative Sentence –
Active – Don’t close the window .
Passive – Let the window not be closed .
Rules – i. The sentence starts with ‘ Let ‘ in the passive voice.
ii. The object of the active voice becomes the subject of the passive voice .
iii. Then we use ‘ be ‘ .
iv. Then we use the Past Participle form of the verb.
v. Negative Sentence – We use ‘ not ‘ just before ‘ be ‘ in the passive voice .
Expressing order without using ‘ let ‘ –
Active- Go and bring vegetables for me .
Passive – You are ordered to go and bring vegetables for me.
Rules – i. Use ‘ You ‘ as the subject .
ii. Then use ‘ are ‘ .
iii. Then use ‘ ordered ‘ + to + verb .
iv. Rest of the sentence.
ii. Expressing request –
Active – Please give me a pen.
Passive – You are requested to give me a pen .
Active – Please give them a lot of practice.
Passive – You are requested to give them a lot of practice.
Negative Sentence –
Active – Please don’t give them too much pressure.
Passive – You are requested not to give them too much pressure.
Rules – i. In passive voice , use ‘ You ‘ as the subject .( Which is not mentioned in active voice)
ii. Then use ‘ are ‘ .
iii. Then use ‘ requested ‘ .
iv. Then use ‘ to ‘ + verb .
v. Rest of the sentence .
vii. Negative Sentence – Use ‘ not ‘ just before ‘ to .’
iii. Expressing advice or suggestion or obligation or to allow or to ask –
Active – Work hard to get success.
Passive – You are advised to work hard to get success.
You are suggested to work hard to get success .
Active – Respect the seniors .
Passive – You are obliged to respect the seniors.
Active – You can talk now.
Passive – You are allowed to talk now .
Active – Can you describe the cause?
Passive – You are asked to describe the cause.
Negative Sentence –
Active – Don’t waste time to get success.
Passive – You are advised not to waste time to get success .
You are suggested not to waste time to get success.
You are prohibited to waste time to get success.
Or
You are prohibited from wasting time to get success.
Or
You are forbidden to waste time to get success.
Rules – i. We use ‘ You ‘ as the subject in the passive voice .
ii. Then use ‘ are ‘ .
iii . Then use ‘ adviced ‘ or ‘ suggested ‘ or ‘ obliged ‘ or ‘ allowed ‘ or ‘ asked ‘ or ‘ prohibited ‘ or ‘ forbidden ‘
iv. Then use ‘ to ‘ + verb .
v. Then use the rest of the sentence.
vi. Negative Sentence – Use ‘ not ‘ just before ‘ to ‘ .
20. Voice change using Modal Verbs –
Modal verbs remain unchanged from active to passive form of voice .
Examples –
Active- He can do the job.
Passive – The job can be done by him .
Active – He could have done this better .
Passive – This could have been done better by him .
Active – We must complete the lessons .
Passive – The lessons must be completed by us .
Active – He may achieve the job.
Passive -The job may be achieved by him .
Active – She might help you.
Passive – You might be helped by her .
Active – You should obey traffic rules .
Passive – Traffic rules should be obeyed by you.
Active – She should have done it.
Passive – It should have been done by her .
Active – I would offer my boss a special coffee .
Passive – A special coffee would be offered by me to my boss.
Negative Sentence –
Active – He shouldn’t disobey traffic rules.
Passive – Traffic rules should not be disobeyed by him .
Interrogative Sentence –
Active – Can they grab the trophy ?
Passive – Can the trophy be grabbed by them ?
21. Voice change of WH Questions –
Active – Who did it ?
Passive – By whom was it done ?
Active – Who has done this ?
Passive – By whom has this been done ?
Active – How did they achieve the target?
Passive – How was the target achieved by them ?
22 . Voice change with Infinitives ( to + verb ) in Active Voice –
i. When object is after the infinitive –
Active – He wants to sing a melodious song.
Passive – A melodious song is wanted to be sung by him .
Active – It is a good time to invest the money. .
Passive – It is a good time for the money to be invested .
Active – That was a prime location to start the business .
Passive – That was a prime location for the business to be started .
ii. When object is before the infinitive –
Active – He likes to watch football.
Passive – Football is liked to watch by him .
23 . Voice change with Causative words in Active Voice –
Causative words are let, watch, see, bid, make, notice, help, hear, etc.
Active – The coach let the players do a game plan .
Passive – The players were let do a game plan by the coach .
Active – You will notice him perform in the drama .
Passive – He will be noticed to perform in the drama by you .
Active – I will hear you sing the song.
Passive – You will be heard to sing the song by me .
Active – She has helped everyone complete their tasks .
Passive – Everyone was helped to complete their tasks by her .
Rules – i . Don’t use ‘to’ after ‘ let ‘ in the passive voice.
ii. In every other case use ‘ to ‘ after the Past Participle form of the verb in passive voice .
24. Voice change with Gerunds ( verb + ing ) in Active Voice –
Active – He likes swimming.
Passive – Swimming is liked by him .
Active – They are practising writing.
Passive – Writing is being practised by them .
Negative Sentence –
Active – She doesn’t like driving.
Passive – Driving is not liked by her .
Interrogative Sentence –
Active – Do you like drawing ?
Passive – Is drawing liked by you ?
All the ‘ bold ‘ words used here are Gerunds.
25. Voice change of sentences having ditransitive verbs –
Ditransitive Verbs – Some verbs have two objects- a direct object and an indirect object. They are called ditransitive .
Example- He gave me a pen 🖊️ .
Here, two objects are – me and a pen .
Active – He gave me a pen.
Passive – A pen was given to me by him.
I was given a pen by him.
Active – The teacher provided him another chance.
Passive – Another chance was provided to him by the teacher.
He was provided another chance by the teacher.
26. Voice change of Quasi Passive Voice –
Example –
Active – Tamarind is sour.
Passive – Tamarind is sour when it is tasted.
In this Active voice ‘ tanarind’ is taking the role of subject but actually it can’t do any work. Even it is sour when someone else tests it. So here ‘tamarind’ is taking the both role of subject and object. It is called Quasi- Passive Voice.
Generally in these cases passive voice is formed with test, feel, read, cost, smell, sound , etc.
Rules of Active to Passive Voice –
1. Using a be verb ( am/ is / are ) in the place of the main verb.
2. We use ‘ when’ in passive form.
3. We use following structure of sentences in passive voice –
When + it + be verb ( am / is / are) + Past participle form of the main verb.
Example –
Active – The marble feels tough.
Passive – The marble is tough when it is felt.
