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Changing Passive to Active Voice

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If you want to change a passive-voice sentence to active voice, find the agent in a "by the..." phrase, or consider carefully who or what is performing the action expressed in the verb. Make that agent the subject of the sentence, and change the verb accordingly. Sometimes you will need to infer the agent from the surrounding sentences which provide context.

If you want to change an active-voice sentence to passive voice, consider carefully who or what is performing the action expressed in the verb, and then make that agent the object of a by the... phrase. Make what is acted upon the subject of the sentence, and change the verb to a form of be + past participle. Including an explicit by the... phrase is optional.

This passive voice contains a by the... phrase. Removing the by the... phrase and reworking the sentence will give it the active voice.

Image Caption: Making "most of the class" the subject of the sentence moves the action of the sentence onto the class, and shifts the sentence from passive into active voice.

The agent is not explicitly stated, but it is most likely researchers. Making the agent the subject of the sentence will allow you to use the active voice.

This sentence now uses the active voice because the agent (the researchers) are now performing the action as the sentence subject.

The CIA director and his close advisors are the agent of change in this sentence, but they are not the subject. Making the agent the subject will transform the sentence into a more concise, active voice phrase.

This sentence now uses the active voice because the agent (the CIA director and his close advisors) is performing the action as the sentence subject.

The agent is not specified in this sentence.

This sentence now uses the active voice because the agent (we) is the subject of the sentence.

This active voice sentence's agent is the presiding officer, which is the subject.

Changing the sentence subject from the agent (the presiding officer) to the object of the verb (the committee's recommendation) and adding a by the...phrase transforms the sentence into the passive voice.

This sentence includes the agent (the leaders) as the subject performing the action of the verb.

This sentence now uses the passive voice because the subject has been changed from the agent (the leaders) to the object of the verb (a fair resolution).

The scientists are the agent performing the verb's action in this active voice sentence.

This passive voice sentence no longer specifies the agent (scientists) and now uses the passive voice because the verb's object (traces of ice) is now the subject.

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• English Grammar

How to Change a Sentence from Active Voice to Passive Voice

Last Updated: March 31, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Richard Perkins . Richard Perkins is a Writing Coach, Academic English Coordinator, and the Founder of PLC Learning Center. With over 24 years of education experience, he gives teachers tools to teach writing to students and works with elementary to university level students to become proficient, confident writers. Richard is a fellow at the National Writing Project. As a teacher leader and consultant at California State University Long Beach's Global Education Project, Mr. Perkins creates and presents teacher workshops that integrate the U.N.'s 17 Sustainable Development Goals in the K-12 curriculum. He holds a BA in Communications and TV from The University of Southern California and an MEd from California State University Dominguez Hills. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 514,106 times.

Switching voice is an important skill to possess when writing in any context, including academically, professionally, or personally. Changing a sentence from active to passive voice does not change the meaning of the statement, but it does switch the emphasis from the subject (the person doing the action) to the direct object (the thing that receives the action). To change a sentence to passive voice, you’ll first need to identify the tense that the sentence is written in, as it’s necessary to keep the correct tense when switching from active to passive voice. Second, identify the sentence’s subject, verb, and direct object. Finally, change the format so that the sentence begins with the direct object and ends with the subject.

Identifying the Tense of the Sentence

• Simple present tense combines a subject + verb. For example: “He writes.”
• Present continues tense combines a subject + being verb (am, is , are) + verb1 + ing. For Example: “He is writing.”
• Present perfect tense combines a subject + have/has + verb. For example: “He has written.”
• Present perfect continuous tense combines subject + has/have + been + verb + ing. Example: “He has been writing.”

• Simple past tense combines a subject + verb in the sentence. For example: “He wrote.”
• Past perfect tense combines the subject + had + verb. For example: “He had written.”
• Past continuous tense combines a subject + being verb (was, were) + verb + ing. For example: “He was writing.”
• Past perfect continuous tense combines subject + had + been + verb + ing. For example: “He had been writing.”

• Simple future tense combines a subject + “will” + verb. For example, “He will write.”
• Future perfect tense combines the subject + “will have” + verb. For example, “He will have written.”
• Future continuous tense combines a subject + “will” + being verb + verb. For example, “He will be writing.”
• Future perfect continuous tense combines the subject + “have been” + verb + “ing.” For example, “He will have been writing.”

Converting the Sentence

• For example, the sentence “He will write a letter” is in the future tense and active voice.
• To change this to passive voice, move the direct object to the beginning of the sentence, while keeping the future tense: “A letter will be written by him.”

• Depending on the tense of the sentence, being verbs include: “is,” “was,” “will be,” “has been,” etc.

• In cases where the subject (one who does the action) is unknown, you may not be able to add the word “by.”
• For example, if you have received a letter but do not know who sent it, you would write, “The letter was sent to me on November 1st,” but you would not say by whom it was sent.

• Active voice, present tense: The cat kills the mice.
• Passive voice, present tense: The mice are killed by the cat.
• Active voice, past continuous tense: Some boys were helping the wounded men.
• Passive voice, past continuous tense: Wounded men were being helped by some boys.
• Active voice, future perfect tense: Someone will have stolen my purse.
• Active voice, future perfect tense: My purse will have been stolen by someone.

Knowing When to Use the Passive Voice

• Be careful when removing emphasis from the subject of a sentence, as in some cases it can be seen as confusing to the reader. Passive voice can also remove the subject of a sentence altogether.
• For example, a politician who says, “I have lied to the American people” may be seen as repentant and forthcoming. If the individual were to say “The American people have been lied to,” they politician would be removing any blame from themselves by phrasing the sentence in the passive voice and removing the subject.

• For example, the sentence “American nuclear devices were first tested in July 1945” places the emphasis on the nuclear testing and leaves the specific researchers anonymous.

• For example, instead of writing “My team placed seven stream gages in the river,” you would write, “Seven stream gages were placed in the river.”
• Here the passive voice lends anonymity to the action: anyone can replicate the experiment by repeating the same procedures. By using the passive voice, you’re arguing that the results can be replicated regardless of which scientists perform the actions.

Practice Sentenes and Answers

Expert Q&A

• Passive voice is also commonly used in sayings or maxims that are supposedly applicable to everyone. A saying like “rules are made to be broken” must be in the passive voice, since there is no specific subject breaking a rule in the sentence. Thanks Helpful 25 Not Helpful 6

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/english-grammar-reference/present-tense
• ↑ https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/english-grammar-reference/past-tense
• ↑ https://www.thesaurus.com/e/grammar/future-tense-verbs/
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/active_and_passive_voice/active_versus_passive_voice.html
• ↑ Richard Perkins. Writing Coach & Academic English Coordinator. Expert Interview. 1 September 2021.
• ↑ https://webapps.towson.edu/ows/activepass.htm
• ↑ http://www.lingolex.com/tensexp.htm
• ↑ http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-active-and-passive-voice.html
• ↑ https://www.hunter.cuny.edu/rwc/repository/files/grammar-and-mechanics/verb-system/Active-and-Passive-Voice.pdf
• ↑ http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/style-and-editing/passive-voice

About This Article

To change a sentence from active to passive voice, start by moving the object to the beginning of the sentence. Then, add the auxiliary verb “be” prior to the main verb, which will emphasize how the object is acted on. For example, if the original sentence is “He will write the letter,” you should make it “A letter will be written by him.” Take care to keep the same tense when you switch a sentence from active to passive voice. If the original sentence is “The cat kills the mice,” the correct passive voice would be “The mice are killed by the cat,” not “The mice were being killed by the cat.” For tips on when it’s OK to use the passive voice and when to avoid it, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Passive Voice Example Sentences & Exercises: Present & Past

Advanced English Grammar Course  

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Let’s learn about active voice vs. passive voice in English, with plenty of examples (and how to change active voice sentences to passive sentences).

What is passive voice?

Passive voice is a grammar structure that places the emphasis on the RECEIVER of the action (the verb) in the sentence. Let me show you the difference between active voice and passive voice:

In the active voice, the subject of the sentence DOES the action:

• John painted the house last week. Subject / verb / object

In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence RECEIVES the action. Now let’s change the sentence to passive voice:

• The house was painted last week. Subject / verb

Passive Voice: Use

The passive voice in English is used when:

• We do not know who did the action Example: The documents were stolen. (we don’t know who stole the documents)
• The receiver of the action is more important Example: The pyramids were built nearly 5,000 years ago by the ancient Egyptians. (we want to emphasize “pyramids” more than “ancient Egyptians”)

Passive Voice: Form

To change an active voice sentence to a passive voice sentence:

• Make the object of the active voice sentence into the subject of the passive voice sentence.
• Use the verb “to be” in the same tense as the main verb of the active voice sentence.
• Use the past participle of the main verb of the active voice sentence.

Here are some active and passive voice examples to help!

• Active voice: People drink champagne on New Year’s Eve. Passive voice: Champagne is drunk on New Year’s Eve.
• Active voice: Chefs use these machines to mix the ingredients. Passive voice: These machines are used to mix the ingredients.
• Active voice: They renovated the restaurant in 2004. Passive voice: The restaurant was renovated in 2004.
• Active voice: The teachers informed the students that the class had been cancelled. Passive voice: The students were informed that the class had been cancelled.

Passive Voice in the Present Tense

In the present, the passive voice uses the verbs is and are + past participle of the main verb.

The passive voice present is often used to describe:

• Processes First the apples are picked , then they are cleaned , and finally they’ re packed and shipped to the market.
• General thoughts, opinions, and beliefs New York is considered the most diverse city in the U.S. It is believed that Amelia Earhart’s plane crashed in Pacific Ocean. Hungarian is seen as one of the world’s most difficult languages to learn. Skin cancers are thought to be caused by excessive exposure to the sun.

Passive Voice in the Past Tense

In the past, the passive voice uses the verbs was and were + past participle of the main verb.

The passive voice past is often used to describe:

• Events in history George Washington was elected president in 1788.
• Crimes / Accidents Two people were killed in a drive-by shooting on Friday night. Ten children were injured when part of the school roof collapsed.

…as well as in many other situations when the person who did the action is unknown or unimportant.

Now that you’ve seen a lot of passive voice examples, try writing some of your own sentences that are similar to the ones in this lesson! Putting it into practice will help you remember the passive voice better and use it in your own English.

Quiz: Passive Voice Exercises - Present and Past

Master the details of English grammar:

More Espresso English Lessons:

About the author.

Shayna Oliveira

Shayna Oliveira is the founder of Espresso English, where you can improve your English fast - even if you don’t have much time to study. Millions of students are learning English from her clear, friendly, and practical lessons! Shayna is a CELTA-certified teacher with 10+ years of experience helping English learners become more fluent in her English courses.

Using the Passive Voice with Different Tenses

We can use passive voice with most tenses.

To change the tense of a passive sentence, you change the form of the verb ‘be’. The main verb in a passive sentence is always in the past participle form.

It is uncommon to use the passive voice with the following tenses:

• Present Perfect Continous;
• Future Continuous;
• Future Perfect Continous;
• Past Perfect Continous.

If we used the passive voice for these tenses, we would have two forms of the verb ‘be’ together. This makes the sentence awkward and confusing.

We make the present perfect continuous tense in the active voice like this:

subject + have + been + verb (-ing)

The present perfect continuous tense in the passive voice would look like this:

subject + have + been + being + past participle

Passive Voice in English Grammar

When to use the passive in english grammar, how to form the passive in english grammar, how to change a sentence from active to passive, the passive in sentences with two objects, personal & impersonal passive, have/get something done.

• Lingolia Plus English

What is the passive voice?

The passive voice in English grammar allows us to make the recipient of the action the focus of the sentence; the person or thing performing the action is unknown, unimportant or obvious. The passive is formed as follows: form of be + past participle .

Learn the difference between the active and passive voice with Lingolia, then put your knowledge to the test in the exercises.

My bike was stolen last night.

The cellar in our building was broken into and several bikes were taken .

I called the police earlier, but they had already been informed by my neighbour.

An investigation is being conducted , but the thief has not been arrested yet.

Any information should be reported to the police.

Active sentences usually follow the subject-verb-object word order and focus on the person or thing performing the action.

In contrast, the passive voice focuses on the action itself. Passive sentences tell us what happens to the recipient of the action.

We use the passive when the person or thing performing the action (known as the agent ) is unknown, unimportant or obvious.

If we want to include the agent of a passive sentence, we use the preposition by .

Passive sentences are formed as follows: form of be + past participle of the main verb .

Only the form of the verb be changes depending on the tense that we are using; the past participle remains the same in every tense.

The table below provides an overview of the passive voice in all of the English tenses .

The present perfect progressive and the past perfect progressive do not exist in the passive. Instead, we use the simple forms ( present perfect simple and past perfect simple ).

When transforming a sentence from active to passive, we can take a step-by-step approach.

• Step 1: identify the object of the sentence and bring it to the front
• Step 2: identify the tense and conjugate the verb be accordingly
• Step 3: find the past participle of the main verb
• Step 4: decide if you need to include the agent
• Step 5: if the agent is important, we introduce it using the preposition by .

Because the direct object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence, we can only use transitive verbs in the passive voice (e.g., steal a car, write a book, make a mistake … ). Intransitive verbs do not take a direct object (e.g., arrive, die, go … ) so cannot be used in the passive.

Learn more about the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs.

Table of English Tenses in Active and Passive

Check out the table below to learn how to change active sentences into the passive voice in every tense.

Certain verbs like ask, give, offer, pay, send, show etc. are used with two objects. Usually, one is a person (indirect object) and the other is a thing (direct object).

In the active voice, these sentences can be expressed in two different ways:

This is the same in the passive voice; either object can become the subject of the passive sentence.

Changing object pronouns to subject pronouns

When the indirect object of an active sentence is an object pronoun (me, you, him, her …), we must change it to a subject pronoun in the passive voice.

In formal situations such as news reports or academic articles, we use reporting verbs and verbs of speech and thought in the passive voice to express information in a neutral, unbiased way.

Common verbs: agree, announce, assume, believe, claim, consider, declare, expect, feel, find, know, mention, say, suppose, think, and understand .

Such sentences can start with it (impersonal passive) or with the subject (personal passive) .

Impersonal Passive

Sentences in the impersonal passive begin with it: it is said/believed/agreed etc. + that + clause.

Note: in the impersonal form, only the reporting verb is formed in the passive voice; the rest of the sentence stays the same.

Personal Passive

Sentences in the personal passive begin with the subject and contain an infinitive clause: subject + is said/believed/thought etc. + to + infinitive.

We use the perfect infinitive (have + past participle ) after the reporting verb to refer to the past.

We can also form the passive with have/get + object + past participle . (Note: g et is more informal than have).

We use this form when someone else does something for us, particularly in the context of paid services.

Like with a standard passive, the agent of the action is unknown or unimportant; the focus is on the action itself.

If we want to include the agent, we use by .

We can use this structure in every tense:

This passive structure is a type of causative.

You can learn more on our page all about causative structures with have and get .

Passive with have

In addition to services, the passive with have has an extra meaning.

We use have + object + past participle to express an experience that was negative, painful or unpleasant.

How good is your English?

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The Passive Voice In English (Definition, Form, And Examples)

Active voice vs. passive voice.

The primary distinction between active and passive voice in English lies in the role of the subject. In active voice, the subject performs the action, while in passive voice, it receives the action. Consider the following example:

Examples of Active and Passive Voice In English:

Form of the Passive Voice In English

Use of the passive voice in english, examples of the passive voice.

Passive Voice Sentences with Two Objects

Impersonal passive voice, passive voice with infinitives, passive voice with gerunds, what tense is used in passive voice, is passive voice bad, is passive voice formal or informal, when to use the passive voice.

Active to Passive Imperative Sentences with Examples

To change from active to passive imperative sentences, we must follow some simple steps. Active to passive imperative sentences are an important part as far as voice change is concerned in English Grammar.

We find active to passive imperative sentences frequently in different board exams as well as competitive exams. If you are looking for how to convert an active to the passive voice of imperative sentences, this article will satisfy your query.

What is an imperative sentence?

When a sentence expresses a request , order , or advice , we may call this an imperative sentence.

The subject of an imperative sentence will be in the 2nd person (You) and this remains understood i.e., we do not write the subject. For example,

• (You) Please give me a glass of water. (request)
• (You) Obey your parents. (advice)
• (You) Don’t make noise. (order)
• (You) Go there. (order) (without object)

Sometimes an imperative sentence begins with ‘Let ‘. For Example,

• Let us do it.
• Let me have a cup of coffee.
• Let’s play football.

People also ask

Active Passive Voice Rules

Active Passive Voice of all Tenses with Structures

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Passive Voice of Optative sentences

All Difficult Types Active to Passive Voice Change

Voice Change Class 9

Voice Change Class 8

Voice Change Class 7

Rules to convert Active to Passive Imperative Sentences

Basically, there exist two general rules to convert active to passive Imperative Sentences. For changing Active to Passive Imperative Sentences first, we should look for two points .

• 1st point: imperative sentence with the object.
• 2nd point: imperative sentence without the object.

Conversion of Passive Imperative Sentences with objects

If an active imperative sentence contains an object, the following two formulas may be applied to convert active voice to passive voice.

Let + Object +be + Past Participle of Main Verb.

Passive voice Example with ‘Let’

Take a look at the following infographic description.

You are told/requested/ordered/advised + to + active imperative sentence part . Whether it will be requested/ordered/advised , depends on the sense of the active imperative sentence. If the sense of the active imperative sentence is not clearly understood, ‘told’ may be used.

Passive voice Example without ‘Let’

Imperative sentences voice change examples

Active to Passive Imperative Sentences without objects

For imperative sentences without objects, ‘ have ‘, ‘ put ‘, ‘ should ‘, and ‘ You are requested/ordered/advised/told …..’ are to be used.

‘Let’ is never used to convert active to passive imperative sentences without objects

Active to Passive Imperative Sentences Examples without objects

Active to Passive Imperative Sentences Exercises

Change the following sentences into passive voice..

1. Clean the dishes.

2. Answer the question.

3. Submit the report.

4. Finish the project.

5. Close the door.

6. Water the plants.

7. Feed the pets.

8. Complete the assignment.

9. Send the email.

10. Turn off the lights.

11. Prepare the presentation.

Turn the following sentences into passive voice.

1. Do not lose your temper.

2. Please don’t do this again.

3. Keep away from evil company.

4. Change the voice.

5. Leave the room by this door.

6. Repair your Calculator.

7. Keep your promise.

8. Keep away from evil company.

9. Keep away from evil company.

10. Let him work out the sum accordingly.

Change the following into active voice.

1. The dishes should be cleaned.

2. The question should be answered.

3. The report should be submitted.

4. The project should be finished.

5. The door should be closed.

6. The plants need to be watered.

7. The pets should be fed.

8. The assignment must be completed.

9. The email needs to be sent.

10. The lights should be turned off.

11. The presentation must be prepared.

Change the voice to passive.

1. Let’s prepare the presentation.

2. Let’s answer the question.

3. Let’s feed the pets.

4. Let’s complete the report.

5. Let’s clean the dishes.

6. Let’s finish the project.

7. Let’s send the email.

8. Let’s turn off the lights.

9. Let’s complete the assignment.

10. Let’s water the plants.

Change the following into active voice

1. The presentation should be prepared.

2. The question must be answered.

3. The pets need to be fed.

4. The report should be completed.

5. The dishes must be cleaned.

6. The project should be finished.

7. The email needs to be sent.

8. The lights should be turned off.

9. The assignment must be completed.

10. The plants need to be watered.

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Help changing active to passive voice in this sentence?

What would be the passive of the sentence?

He will have eaten the whole mango by the time I eat a single piece.

Simply, I want to know that what would be the change in time clause, other than today, yesterday, etc.

• passive-voice
• active-voice
• 1 Can you explain what the "change in time clause" has to do with passive voice? A change from active to passive voice is a matter of agency, not tense. –  Isabel Archer Commented May 29, 2020 at 12:02
• 1 If you're learning English, see English Language Learners –  marcellothearcane Commented May 29, 2020 at 12:05
• This sentence has two transitive clauses. Passive can happen to either clause or to both. Which one is "the passive" of the sentence? –  John Lawler Commented May 29, 2020 at 14:27
• We can passivise the main clause: "The whole mango will have been eaten (by him) by the time I eat a single piece", or we can passivise just the subordinate clause: He will have eaten the whole mango by the time a single piece has been eaten (by me)". –  BillJ Commented May 29, 2020 at 15:12

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Active and Passive Voice | Rules for All Tenses

• Grammar Lessons >
• Active and Passive Voice

Overview of Active and Passive Voice:

Introduction to active and passive voice, what is active voice, example sentences with active voice, when to use active voice, advantages of active voice, what is passive voice, how to recognize passive voice, example sentences with passive voice, when to use passive voice, subjects in passive voice, how to convert active voice into passive voice.

• Active and Passive Voice - Quiz

Mark Twain was in London when he heard that his obituary news had been published by mistake. He sent a cable to the USA, which read: the reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.

Voice is one of the five basic properties of English grammar. The other four are mood, tense, person, and number. Voice is the connection between the subject and the object, which are linked through a verb. It's interesting to see how English enables us to play with sentences by changing the word order, and come up with two entirely different structures to form active and passive. While the active voice is undoubtedly the more common of the two, the passive voice is used to serve certain purposes. In this lesson, we are going to take a look at how and when we use active and passive voices.

The active voice is a style of writing where the subject acts upon its verb. Here, the subject always comes first, followed by the verb and the complements. The active voice is so called because, unlike the passive voice where the subject is passive, the subject here is active.

Andrew hit the ball.

Students always learn by doing.

People call Orlando the theme park capital of the world.

Catherine doesn't enjoy visiting malls.

The active voice is the more preferred of the two voices. Because using active voice helps make writing shorter, more precise, and more straightforward, a lot of people choose to use it in most of their communication. This means unless there is a specific requirement making passive voice an ideal choice, we stick to active voice. Given this fact, there are more rules for when to use passive voice than there are for when to use active voice.

Since a sentence in active voice has a clear subject, it is easier for the reader to understand the sentence.

Consider the below sentence, for example:

I love reading Mark Twain's witty quotes. (active voice)

If we wrote the sentence in passive voice, it would sound awkward.

Reading Mark Twain's witty quotes is loved by me. (passive voice)

If we rewrote the sentence "Reading Mark Twain's witty quotes is a favorite pastime of mine", it would sound great. But, this is yet again an instance of active voice and not of passive voice.

Active voice instantly connects with the reader. This is because it's free from the tangle of phrases that often accompany the passive voice.

Read the following example:

Mr. Miller said the park must introduce an entrance fee in order to facilitate uninterrupted service. (active voice)

It was said by Mr. Miller that an entrance fee must be introduced by the park in order for uninterrupted service to be facilitated. (passive voice)

The string of phrases introduced in the passive version of this sentence makes it a little hard for the reader to understand. Hence, we prefer to use the active voice.

The passive voice is the style of writing where you change the order of words and make the object of the action the subject of a sentence. In other words, the subject is the recipient of a verb's action. It's called passive because, unlike the active voice where the subject is active, the real subject is passive here.

To recognize if a sentence is in passive voice, look for the following words. This is not an exhaustive list, though.

Kim's wallet was stolen during the fair.

50 volunteers are required to make the campaign a success.

Over 1000 people were killed during the war.

The results will be published later today.

There are specific rules for when using the passive voice is better or more appropriate than using active voice.

when we don't know who is responsible for the action

My pet dog has been stolen. (Someone has stolen the dog; we don't know who it is.)

My essay has been corrected. (You gave your essay to the correction service, and one of the teachers corrected it.)

when it's not important who did the action, or we don't want people to know who did it

My car was fixed on Monday. (What is important is that the car was fixed; we don't really care who fixed it.)

Mistakes were made. (We don't want to specifically mention who made the mistakes.)

when the reader or listener knows who did the action

Kenneth has been asked to submit the grammar assignment again. (It's obvious from the context that it's the English teacher who has asked Kenneth to submit the assignment again.)

when people in general are responsible for the action

The worksheet can be freely downloaded from the website. (Anybody can download a free worksheet, so the passive voice is used.)

when we report crimes or write in scientific contexts

The burglars were arrested as soon as they left the building.

The animals were kept in a zoo for two years as part of an experiment.

The subject in passive voice is introduced with " by ". That said, not every passive sentence has a by phrase containing the subject. Subjects can sometimes be assumed or remembered from a previous sentence.

The dish was prepared by Grandma. (The subject is introduced in the by phrase .)

After the party, a lot of food was wasted. (The subject is not mentioned, but it can be assumed from the context.)

There was a gathering at Grandma's. All family members were invited. (In the second sentence, the subject "Grandma" is remembered from the first sentence.)

The chart below includes all tenses that are used in passive voice. There is no passive voice for perfect progressive tenses (present, past, and future) and future progressive tense.

Take an Active and Passive Voice Quiz Now!

Strengthen your skills using our free printable Active and Passive Voice Worksheets .

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📝 Author: Hilary

📅 Published: August 31, 2023 08:51am

🎈 Updated On: May 26, 2024 15:22pm

💬 3733 words ▪️ ⏳ Reading Time 19 min

📥 Download 12.3 Mb ▪️ 👓 Read Transcript

English grammar passive voice: The secret weapon you never knew you needed.

Have you ever been puzzled by the passive voice? Do you wonder why native English speakers use it so frequently in everyday conversation? Say hello to the ultimate guide that'll unravel all the intricacies of the #passivevoice in English!

Here's Why This Lesson Is a Game-Changer:

• 💡 Clarity: Breaks down what passive voice is, how to construct it, and why it’s so darn important.
• 🎯 Real-world Examples: Helps you understand when and where passive voice is commonly used—like in news reporting, politics, and scientific studies.
• 🤔 Quiz Time: Provides a thorough quiz at the end of the lesson to help you test your mastery.
• 🎧 Replay Value: Complex topic made simple! Listen a few times, and you'll get the hang of it.
• 👋 Instructor-led: Led by Hilary, a seasoned expert from Adept English, guiding you every step of the way.
• 📚 Multi-Tense Coverage: Tackles passive voice across all tenses, so you get a complete understanding.

The passive voice is safe. ⭐ William Zinsser, from: On Writing Well

✔Lesson transcript: https://adeptenglish.com/lessons/grammar-english-understanding-passive-voice/

In today's lesson, we'll dig deep into the passive voice-a trick of the trade that even 82% of our listeners wanted to know more about! This isn't just some grammar rule that collects dust in academic textbooks; people use it in everyday conversations, news reports, and even in science journals. We'll not only show you what it is, but how to construct it, flip it, and master it across all tenses.

Oh, and for those who think they're already experts? Buckle up! We've got a 'Passive Voice Quiz' that might just humble you a bit. It's practice made perfect! Don't let your #englishlearning hit a snag. Discover how to confidently use passive voice and sound more like a native speaker. This lesson is not just a one-time listen; it's your long-term English companion!

Your grammar is a reflection of your image. Good or bad, you have made an impression. And like all impressions, you are in total control. ⭐ Jeffrey Gitomer

So, are you in or are you out? Dive into this lesson, and elevate your English skills like never before! 📌 Visit adeptenglish.com for this lesson and hundreds more! 👇 Don't Forget to Share & Review! 🌟

More About This Lesson

Unlock the mysteries of the passive voice with Adept English! Our latest podcast dives deep into learning this crucial aspect of English. Perfect for learners interested in British English, the lesson offers a hands-on quiz and uses real-world examples to make your learning stick.

Don’t let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. ⭐ Steve Jobs

Things you will learn listening to this English grammar lesson:, you will discover:

• Introduction of Passive Voice Topic: Sets clear expectations for what the lesson will cover.
• Real-World Usage of Passive Voice: Highlights that native speakers use it in daily conversations.
• Explanation of Passive Voice: Clearly defines what it is and how to construct it.
• Quiz Mention: Adds an interactive element for self-assessment.
• Active vs Passive Voice: Demonstrates the difference with simple, relatable sentences.
• Use Cases in Different Fields: Shares how scientists, teachers, and reporters use passive voice.
• Detailed Examples: Walks through sentence structure in both active and passive forms.
• Tense Coverage: Comprehensive review of passive voice in various tenses.
• Quiz: Opportunity for practical application and reinforcement.
• Answers to Quiz: Instant feedback to help learners gauge their understanding.
• Encouragement for Repetition: Stresses the importance of repeat listening for mastery.
• Sign-off & Additional Resources: Directs listeners to where they can find more lessons.
• Deep Understanding : Don't just learn the basics. We dissect passive voice across all tenses.
• Active Engagement : Our Passive Voice Quiz lets you test your knowledge on the spot.
• Real-world Use : See how the passive voice works in daily life, from conversations to scientific papers.

Become Fluent Faster: Sharpen your English skills effortlessly by tuning into easy-to-follow explanations and real-world examples.

• Why Master Passive Voice : Many learners struggle with it, but native speakers use it often.
• Quiz for Hands-On Learning : Test what you've learned with our interactive quiz.
• From Basic to Expert : We take you step-by-step, making the complex simple.
• Solve Your Fears : We tackle common worries about using the passive voice, offering solutions for each.

Grammar is the logic of speech, even as logic is the grammar of reason. ⭐ Richard C. Trench

Repeat and Retain : Listen multiple times for deep learning that sticks.

• Don't Get Lost in Conversation : Master passive voice to understand native speakers with ease.
• Be Test-Ready : Our quiz prepares you for any language test that covers the passive voice.
• Speak with Confidence : Know when and how to use each voice when you speak.

Ready to turn your English up a notch? Don't miss out on this game-changing lesson. Plug in your earphones and let's crack the code of passive voice together! Unlock the keys to fluent conversation. Learn the ins and outs of passive voice today! #FluentInEnglish

Imagine you're a musician, fine-tuning your instrument. The passive voice in English is like that elusive note—hard to pin down but essential for the full symphony of language. This English lesson is your musical score, guiding you through the composition of sentences. It equips you with the tools to create a compelling linguistic masterpiece, toggling between the active and passive voice like a maestro wielding his baton. This isn't just English; it's your orchestrated English life! Dive deep, practice with the interactive quiz, and master this crucial note in your language repertoire.

• What is the main goal of the lesson on passive voice? The main goal of the lesson is to enhance your English fluency by diving deep into the construction and usage of the passive voice. It breaks down its different tenses and offers a quiz for hands-on practice.
• Why is it important to understand passive voice when learning British English? Understanding passive voice matters because native speakers use it frequently, even in casual conversations. Mastering this concept enriches your comprehension of British English, allowing you to engage more naturally in various settings.
• How does the podcast quiz contribute to my understanding of passive voice? The quiz serves as a practical exercise to test your grasp of the passive voice across different tenses. It reinforces your learning, making it easier for you to use the passive voice accurately.
• Does the passive voice hold any real-world applications? Absolutely. Passive voice is commonly used in science, news reporting, and politics to shift focus from the "doer" to the action or outcome. For example, instead of saying "Scientists fed rats Omega-3 supplements," you'd hear "Rats were fed Omega-3 supplements."
• What tenses are covered when discussing the passive voice? The lesson provides comprehensive coverage of all major English tenses in passive voice, from simple present to future perfect. The goal here is to familiarize you with how the passive voice works across different tenses.
• Podcast : An online audio show you can listen to.
• Construct : To build or make something.
• Norm : A rule or standard that most people follow.
• Adjective : A word that describes a noun (like "big" or "happy").
• Tenses : Different forms of verbs that show when an action happens.
• Quiz : A short test to check what you know.
• Evasive : Not clear or direct, often on purpose.
• Mechanics : How something works or the rules of how something is done.
• Diplomatic : Skilled in dealing with people and not causing offence.
• Recap : A quick review or summary of what has been said or done.

Transcript: Your Essential Guide to Passive Voice

Hi there. Remember the podcast I did on sentence structure recently - and word order? It was podcast 669 - very recent. Well, we did a Spotify poll and 82% of you said you’d like a whole podcast on the passive voice. So ‘no time like the present’ as we say in English - here it is! Did you know that native English speakers use the passive voice a lot, even in casual conversations? Surprised? Well, it’s not just used in formal speech or written English. Stick around, because today we're going to cover passive voice thoroughly and practise using it, in all of its tenses!

One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way. ⭐ Frank Smith

I’ll explain what the passive voice is - and how to construct it. I’ll talk about why and where it’s used. And for everyone, but especially the 6% of you, who said they knew the passive voice well enough - listen to the end of this podcast and use my ‘Passive Voice Quiz’ to test how well you know it. The quiz will test that you know the different tenses in the passive voice. It’s good to practise!

Hello, I’m Hilary, and you’re listening to Adept English. We will help you to speak English fluently . All you have to do is listen . So start listening now and find out how it works.

Don’t forget what else Adept English offers!

Don’t forget - if you like our podcasts, there are hundreds more on our website at adeptenglish.com, including many more grammar podcasts. And of course you can always buy our podcast downloads too. Just go to the Courses page to see what we offer. And if you’re on Spotify, don’t forget that you can help Adept English by sharing this podcast. I’m sure you know someone else who’d like to learn the passive voice.

So, most sentences in English are in the ‘active voice’ - that’s the norm. The word ‘active’, ACTIVE as an adjective means you’re ‘busy, full of action, always doing things’. And by contrast, the word ‘passive’, PASSIVE as an adjective means ‘you sit back, allow things to be done to you, wait and see what happens’. That’s ‘passive’. So if you’re the subject of the sentence and the verb is in active voice - you’re the one doing the action - ‘I hugged my daughter’. But if you’re the subject of the sentence in passive voice, you’re being acted upon - ‘I was hugged by my daughter’. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

So passive voice came up when I was talking in podcast 669 about word order and how in statements, it’s usually Subject-Verb-Object. ‘The dog chased the cat’. ‘I ate the apple’. ‘Millions of people watched the film’. So in those active voice sentences, the subject, the one doing the action comes first, then the verb, then the object - the thing that the action is being done to. But how do they sound in passive voice? Active voice first….

The dog chased the cat - becomes in passive voice - the cat was chased by the dog. I ate the apple - becomes in passive voice - the apple was eaten by me. Millions of people watched the film - becomes in passive voice - the film was watched by millions of people.

Your Essential Guide To Passive Voice Ep 672 Article Image

A photograph of a scientist. Grammar Mastery: Learn to build passive voice sentences like a pro, and know when to use them

Notice how the focus shifts from the doer of the action to the receiver of the action?

Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going. ⭐ Rita Mae Brown

We’ve swapped around the subject and the object of the sentence - so what was the object in the active voice has jumped to become first in word order in the passive voice and it’s become the subject of the verb, so the verb must agree with it. So ‘the cat’, ‘the apple’ and ‘the film’ are now each the subject in the new passive voice sentences. And the person or thing that was the subject in the active voice sentence - well, it’s like they’ve been ‘demoted’. They may be mentioned after the verb, but it makes the person or thing doing the action less important, an afterthought even. And you can even leave them out altogether. Sometimes that makes a less meaningful sentence - ‘the cat was chased’ or ‘the film was watched’. Both of those may have you thinking ‘Who by?’ or ‘By whom?’. But sometimes, passive voice allows us flexibility and choice. We can name who ate the apple - or we can simply leave that information out - and say ‘The apple was eaten’. We may not know who ate it - or we may not want to ‘point the finger of blame’! We’re being diplomatic in other words and not ‘naming names’.

There are many other reasons why you may want to leave out who did the action. Sometimes we don’t know. Imagine being in school again and someone has done something naughty and the teacher’s telling off the class of children. She might say ‘The window has been broken’ or ‘The bin has been tipped over and rubbish has been left on the floor’. Or ‘The classroom scissors have been lost’. The teacher may have her suspicions, but she doesn’t know for sure who’s done it. So she’s using passive voice because she doesn’t know who did it!

Let's say you're reading a scientific paper. You might find sentences like "Rats were fed Omega-3 supplements." Who fed them? It doesn’t really matter. The focus is on the experiment and the results. That's why scientists use the passive voice all the time, to write up their studies - it highlights the important information.

Passive voice is also used in news reporting and politics. Sometimes things are done by governments - and again, it’s not important which person, which civil servant or government employee actually collected the data or put together the report. The focus is on the content of the report or the data itself. So the passive voice has its uses. Sometimes, the passive voice can seem a little ‘evasive’ - we’re not saying ‘who did it’, we’re not naming names - even if it might be more honest. But there’s nothing wrong grammatically with using the passive voice - there are very good reasons for using it.

The grammar of the Passive Voice

So grammar. How do you make an ‘active voice’ sentence into a ‘passive voice ‘sentence’?

As I’ve said - what was the object of the verb in the active voice, swaps to become the subject and first in the word order in the passive voice. But the verb also changes. For passive voice, we use the verb ‘to be’, which must agree with the subject and have the correct tense. Finally we add the past participle. Yes, the past participle - despite its name, it isn’t just used for the past tense! So examples of past participles are ‘chased’, ‘cleaned’, ‘done’, ‘found’ and we use it for passive voice. ‘The windows were cleaned’, ‘The homework will be done’, ‘The lost puppies have been found’. Let’s cover all the tenses in English - so this will be a quick recap for many of you on tenses. I’ll give you the form for the passive voice for each one.

Simple present ‘I do the cooking’ in the passive voice becomes - ‘The cooking is done by me’.

Present Continuous tense - ‘I am doing the cooking’ in the passive voice becomes ‘The cooking is being done by me’. If you know it, try and say it ahead of me.

Simple past - ‘I did the cooking’ becomes in passive voice ‘The cooking was done by me’. Past Continuous tense ‘I was doing the cooking’ becomes ‘The cooking was being done by me’. Present Perfect tense - ‘I have done the cooking’ becomes in passive voice ‘The cooking has been done by me’. Past Perfect Tense - ‘I had done the cooking’ becomes ‘The cooking had been done by me’.

Simple Future - ‘I will do the cooking’ becomes ‘The cooking will be done by me’. Future Perfect - ‘I will have done the cooking’ becomes ‘the cooking will have been done by me’.

OK. You might want to listen to that a few times, so that the mechanics of the passive voice become clearer and easier to remember.

Hilary’s Passive Voice Quiz

Let’s do a quiz? Chance for you to practise your tenses and changing sentences between active and passive voice. So I’ll say whether it’s active or passive - and I’ll say the sentence. Then you need to change it to the other one. And remember - you need the verb agreeing with the new subject and use the same tense as I use. Quite a lot to do then! Here goes.

Active voice ‘The dogs were chasing the rabbit’. You do passive voice?

Passive voice ‘The biscuits had been baked by the neighbour’s children’. You do active voice.

Active voice ‘They have seen the boy who smashed the window.’ Can you put that into the passive voice?

In the passive voice ‘The dinner will have been eaten by them, by the time you arrive’. Can you put that into the active voice?

Active voice ‘He is using up the leftover chicken.’ What does the passive voice sound like?

Passive Voice ‘The doors and windows are checked each evening by my father’. What does the active voice sound like?

Last one...

• Active Voice ‘I will pick the apples on the tree’. You do passive voice.

OK. You can pause there after the quiz and listen again.

Or you can continue straight to the answers. I’ll say the original sentence and then I’ll say whether active or passive and the tense. See if you can say the tense too and then I’ll give you the answer.

‘The dogs were chasing the rabbit’ - that’s active and past continuous tense. So in the passive voice - ‘The rabbit was being chased by the dogs’.

‘The biscuits had been baked by the neighbour’s children’. That’s passive voice and past perfect tense. In the active voice - ‘The neighbour’s children had baked the biscuits’.

‘They have seen the boy who smashed the window’ - active voice and present perfect tense. In the passive voice - ‘The boy who smashed the window has been seen by them’.

The dinner will have been eaten by them, by the time you arrive’. So that’s passive voice and future perfect tense. In the active voice - ‘They will have eaten the dinner by the time you arrive’.

‘He is using up the leftover chicken.’ So active voice, present continuous tense. Same sentence in the passive voice? ‘The leftover chicken is being used up by him’.

‘The doors and windows are checked each evening by my father’ - that’s passive voice and simple present tense. In the active voice? ‘My father checks the doors and windows each evening’.

‘I will pick the apples on the tree’. So that’s active voice and future tense - simple future. In the passive voice - ‘The apples on the tree will be picked by me’.

OK. How did you find that? Listen to this podcast a few times until you get the hang of it. Passive voice is not easy, but it’s repeat listening, hearing it over and over that will help you automatically know how to do it.

Enough for now. Have a lovely day. Speak to you again soon. Goodbye.

Thank you so much for listening. Please help me tell others about this podcast by reviewing or rating it . And, please share it on social media. You can find more listening lessons and a free English course at adeptenglish.com

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Change into passive voice - rules and examples - active & passive voice.

Let us now understand the rules for changing into Passive Voice.

The 'object' of the verb in the Active Voice becomes the 'subject' of the verb in the Passive Voice and the 'subject' in the Active Voice becomes the 'object' in the 'Passive Voice'.

For example: In the active voice, the sentence is

My mother cooks the food. Here, Mother is the subject and the cooks is the verb. Food is the object of the sentence. In the passive voice, the sentence becomes: The food is cooked by my mother. Here, the Food becomes the subject of the sentence, and the Mother becomes the object of the sentence.

The main verb is changed into the Past Participle. The third form of the verb and an appropriate form of the helping verb according to the 'Tense' of the sentence is used.

Note in the above example, the main verb cooks in the active voice has changed into is cooked in the passive voice, which is in past participle form.

We would be discussing more about this rule in the further modules.

The 'subject' in the Active Voice' becomes the 'object' in the Passive Voice and the word 'by' is generally placed before the object.

As in the above example Mother, which was the subject of the sentence in the active voice has been changed to the object in the passive voice. Similarly, food, which was the object of the sentence in the active voice has been converted to a subject in the passive voice. Note, we have placed by before the object mother in the passive voice.

In order to convert from active to passive voice, we use two types of construction

Construction 1: By + agent This construction is used only when the agent is definite and important. (Note: Agent is nothing but the subject of the sentence in the active voice )

For example: Mohan reads a poem. In passive voice, this sentence becomes: A poem is read by Mohan.

Note, here the agent which is Mohan is definite, hence in the passive voice, we are using the construction "by + agent".

Construction 2: Without 'by' + agent is not used when the agent is vague.

Let us see this sentence: (i) Someone broke the window.

In passive voice, this sentence becomes: The window was broken.

Note in this sentence, the subject of the sentence, is vague, as someone is not definite but a vague reference to somebody. Hence, the construction by + agent has been omitted here.

Note, while changing active to passive voice,

The Nominative case of the pronoun is changed into the objective case.

For example:

• He changes to him
• She changes to her
• I changes to me
• We changes to us
• They changes to them
• You remains the same as You
• It remains the same as it

Another important point to note is that:

If a TransitiveVerb has two objects, either of them may be made the subject in the Passive Voice the other remains unchanged.

She gave me a pen. Here, we have two objects, me and pen.

The passive form of the sentence will become: I was given a pen by her OR A pen was given to me by her.

Read More: Definite Article: Use Of "The" - Rules - English Grammar

• November,30 2021

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The Passive Voice Complete Guide

In this Guide you will learn:

What is the passive voice?

In this example “The house” received the action but it is the subject of this sentence. This is not a common way to express a sentence in English and the passive voice can often sound formal. Keep reading to discover why we use the passive voice. The most common way to explain this sentence is the active voice.

What is the active voice?

So, you can see that in this sentence that “my father” was the actor of the sentence and he is also the subject. ( Subject/Verb/Object)

When to Use the Passive Voice

We use the passive voice for 4 situations, 1. when the subject is unknown.

If we don’t know the subject then we often want to place more emphasis on the action or the person who received the action.

My house was broken into last night.

 2. When the receiver of the action is more important.

The roads were destroyed by the typhoon. (Again the result is more important  because we don’t have roads!)

3. When the subject is obvious.

He was arrested at 6 am.

(It is obvious who collects the rubbish and it is more important that the rubbish was collected)

4 When the doer of the action is people in general.

(The people who accept this situation, in this case, is “everyone”)

Passive Voice Structure

How to form the passive voice, to form the passive voice we use the verb to be + past participle..

You need to use the correct verb tense of the verb to be. So if the sentence is in the future then you need to use will be + past participle.

More examples of the active and passive voice

Active : People play football all around the world.

Passive : The room was cleaned.

You can see from these examples that sometimes it is a good idea to use the passive voice if you follow the reasons why we use the passive voice. If you don’t follow the uses, you make the sentence more complicated than necessary. In fact, sometimes it just doesn’t make any sense in the passive voice.

Can you see how confusing the second sentence is?

Passive Voice Examples for all Tenses

Ok, so remember we need to conjugate the verb to be in the correct verb tense and then add the past participle of the verb we need to use. For example, the present perfect simple of the verb to be (have/has been) + the past participle( seen, done, etc)

Learn more about the Passive Voice

Asking questions in the passive voice.

Question : Were you collected by the bus driver?

Positive : The pens have been bought.

Common examples in news reports

The Airstrike in Syria is expected to end soon.

Get and the passive voice

In informal English, it is also possible to use get instead of be .

(You can also say” Nobody was hurt”)

He got hit on the head by a golf ball (something happened)

The passive agent, 

How to include the person/thing that does the action in the sentence.

So we learned that the person that does the action is not as important as the person who receives the action. Sometimes, we still want to include this person and hen we do, we use the word by.

The children were brought to school by their mother. 

Active Voice vs Passive Voice: More Practice

Let’s look at some more examples of how the sentences can change from the active voice to the passive voice before we try some exercises.

Exercises on the Active and Passive Voice

• Extra Benefits

Professional Passive Voice Converter

What is a passive to active voice translator.

An online tool to detect passive voice sentences and suggest the desired corrections in a piece of writing automatically with the help of predefined software-based linguistic algorithms and grammatical rules is known as a passive voice converter. The use of a passive voice checker free online tool has become a professional trend in almost all domains of writing across the industries and business domains. Making your writings more attractive and professional is the main purpose of using an online passive and active verb generator. Those active voice changer tools offer numerous capabilities such as grammar, punctuation, plagiarism, and vocabulary checking, linguistic accuracy, and much more.  Using an active verb converter provides you with numerous features and capabilities that help you make your piece of text awesome and have a great user experience. The top 3 features of an online professional-level active/passive voice changing tool should include ease in use, instant results, great reliability.

Simple & Intuitive

The simple to use and intuitive interface make a professional active to passive converter more attractive for the users. The input text-field or widget for pasting the text to check and translate sentences to passive voice should be placed in a very prominent position on the homepage of the website. Using the features of the tool should be so simple and just one click away.

Instant & Accurate

A great tool to change active voice to passive voice online should have features of great accuracy in text correction and choosing the right vocabulary and verbs. Passive to active voice changer should be instant to act even while writing some text in the text-checking field of the tool. The processing time of a copied and pasted text should be very fast with instant response to the flaws in the text.

Available & Reliable

24×7 availability of an online tool is one of the most important features. The need for a fix passive voice tool to remain online is always present because the internet does not sleep at all. To earn the reputation of reliable and trustworthy service, online passive checker tools to change passive to active should be up and available for at least 99.99% of the total time of the year.

For Whom Active Voice Checker Is Useful?

The use of passive sentences is extensively found in governmental, legal, research, corporate, and other forms of communication. Owing to the importance of those domains, the correct use of passive voice is highly needed. Using a passive checker tool is one of the best ways to make your sentences more accurate, accurate, and professional. A wide range of professionals and people working in different domains of business, industries, and sectors can benefit from changing passive to active voice. Mainly, the following people can benefit the most from it: ✓ Professors, researchers, and educationists ✓ Lawyers, judges, and complainants ✓ Corporate managers and consultants ✓ HR managers, job seekers, and employers ✓ Fiction writer, linguists, culturalists, and historians ✓ Government employees, officers, and analysts 

How to Use Active Voice Detector?

Using different types of active voice converter is very simple and easy. The online tool add a very simple way to interact with the tool and get the job done. In most cases, using a passive voice detector online tool consists of 3 steps. Let’s talk about those steps individually.

Copy and Paste Text

The first step of using an active voice changer is the copy and paste your text to the field or a widget available on the page of voice detector tool. Normally, passive to active voice generator allows a direct copy and paste option as well as an upload option to choose the desired file to upload and check for passive voice mistakes.

Errors Detection

The second step is to initiate the process of the detection of errors in the text. Normally, this process is triggered through a click of the button or with a strike of the return button on the computer. The automated process of checking the errors starts. This process of checking errors is done in the background with the help of predefined grammatical rules and software algorithms based on those rules. The detected errors are underlined in different colors.

Corrective Suggestions

The corrective suggestion is offered by the tool automatically; you need to just click the underlined word or sentence. The available options for passive voice check, correct version of the passive voice, verb, spelling, punctuation, or any other grammar-related mistakes appear in a popup window. You can read and check those suggestions for a better selection of the options.

How to Define Active and Passive Voices?

Any sentence having a subject, which directly performs the action characterized by the verb of the sentence on the object of the sentence is known as an active voice sentence. In an active voice sentence, the sequence of the parts of speech will be subject, the verb in an active form, and object. An example of an active voice sentence is given below:

“I write an essay”

Any sentence in which the subject is not in the active form and the object takes the position of the subject while the subject is acted upon by the verb is called a passive voice sentence. In a passive voice sentence, the subject of an active voice sentence acts as an indirect object acted upon by the verb, and the object of the sentence takes the place of the direct subject. An example of a passive voice sentence is shown below:

“An essay is written by me”

In the above example, you saw the form of pronoun changed from the subjective pronoun “I” to the objective pronoun “me” . This means, the direct subject “I” is now being acted upon by the verb “write” in its third form “past participle” is used.

Why Find and Convert Passive to Active Voice?

In any formal writing, the use of passive voice sentences is very common, especially in legal, research, scientific, literature, history, government, and corporate communication. Proper use of the passive voice sentences would leave an awesome impression on the readers.

The main reasons of why to find and use a passive converter tool include:

✓ Passive to active voice converter online is very fast to use and instant to access online passive checker tool ✓ A very easy and simple way to use it for free of charge ✓ Offers corrective measures to improve your writing skills and grammatical understanding ✓ A professional tool helps improve your writing quality tremendously ✓ Passive voice to active voice online converter decreases the grammatical mistakes especially the improper use of voices in the sentences ✓ Detects all punctuation and spelling mistakes to make your piece of text great ✓ Discards the possibility of any plagiarism in the text ✓ Change the voice online converter offers very reliable and accurate correction results ✓ Active to passive voice converter online also offers great availability and customer support

Manual Passive Voice Changing vs Using Passive Voice Generator

Almost, all fields and domains of industry and businesses of our day-to-day lives are highly influenced by modern technologies like the internet, websites, and telecommunication. Without the use of modern technologies, it has become so difficult to catch the pace of the competitors in the marketplace. This notion is also 100% true as far as the grammar checking of the text is concerned. The comparison of manual and online passive voice checking is given below.

Using Online Passive Voice Checker

✓ Very fast and efficient ✓ No need for any linguistic expertise at all ✓ Reduced chances of skipping of passive voice mistake ✓ Available in both free and paid versions of subscriptions ✓ Helps you improve your mistakes ✓ Easy to detect plagiarism in the text ✓ Numerous additional services such as spelling, punctuation, and plagiarism offered ✓ Offers multiple options of words to enhance your vocabulary and correct use of words

Manual Passive Voice Checking

✓ Slow and time-consuming ✓ Need expertise in linguistics ✓ Chances of missing the passive voice mistakes ✓ You need a huge fee for manual checking by professionals ✓ The turnaround time of manual service is so long ✓ You learn less in professional passive voice checking service ✓ It is not available round the clock ✓ Not possible to detect plagiarism easily ✓ The use of additional services cost you additionally ✓ You do not enhance your vocabulary as effectively

What Are Extra Benefits of Free Grammar Checker for Passive Voice?

An online grammar checker offers numerous additional benefits, which you cannot achieve through manual services by any writing services. The main reason is that online services are powered by the confluence of modern technologies and knowledge of linguistic experts. Besides, an online voice checker service helps you improve your vocabulary by using the most suitable word in the text to make it the most professional one. The main advantages offered by the online free grammar checker for passive voice sentences include:

Styling and Formatting

An online passive voice checker service also offers the services of document styling and formatting capabilities, which make your document look great.

Tone and Effectiveness Check

Online services also check for the tone and effectiveness the text leaves on the readers.

Punctuation and Spelling

An online passive voice checker also checks for the spelling and punctuation mistakes in the text and corrects them in addition to the passive voice correction.

Plagiarism Check

Plagiarism checking is one of the salient additional capabilities of an online passive voice checkers to help avoid this criminal act.

Does Passive Voice to Active Voice Converter Tool Offer Great Results?

The latest study suggests that online active and passive voice converter tools play a very important role in the improvement of grammar accuracy of L2 writing in the students. A majority of the students showed trust in those online tools. It is very important to note that there is a constant need for improvement in the online tools for making the text more accurate and professional by finding out the vaguest mistakes and sentimental expressions of the content. Implementing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) in the online grammar checker tools is continually improving the effectiveness and accuracy of those tools. The use of AI in online passive voice checker tools are helping understand the feedback and behavior of different types of writers and implementing them into the suggestion building algorithms. Thus, the level of trust for those tools is improving significantly. The accuracy rate has also improved in the modern online tools as compared to those used a few years back. The number of users is continuously increasing in all domains of industries and sectors of education, which is a clear indicator of the great results offered by those online passive voice converter tools in the marketplace.

As a writer who is constantly engaged in writing, chances are you’ve noticed some parts of your writing tend to shine, while others don’t. To iron out these dull sentences, you need to consider active and passive sentence construction, its contextual use, and how you can convert passive voice to active voice. But before that, let’s briefly take a look at how passive and active voices can transform your writing.

How to Transform Your Writing Style Using Active Voice

Adds clarity to your writing.

Using active voice results in shorter, sharper, and more concise sentences. This makes it easier for the readers to easily follow what you are trying to communicate, as well as visualize what’s happening.

For example:

Mary’s classmates cheered as she won the race.

Create vivid images in fiction writing

As a fiction writer, you can also use active voice to create vivid images and advance the plot. Students, on the other hand, can also use active voice to discuss complex academic subjects in their essays or to persuade readers to embrace their arguments.

The test results prove that the drug kills cancer cells.

Eliminates redundancy in your writing

When writing overly long sentences with detailed explanations, strictly using active voice can make your texts sound robotic and redundant. As such, using active to passive converter software to inject a healthy mix of both active and passive voice can help maintain concision and clarity.

How to Identify Active Voice in Your Writing

The easiest way to identify whether your sentence is in the active voice is to establish the location of the subject (actor) and the verb (action). When the subject precedes the verb in a sentence, you most likely have an active voice.

Alternatively, you can use an online passive to active generator like ours. The tool crawls through your texts identifying active voice-related mistakes, as well as allowing you to convert active voice to passive voice and vice versa.

Passive Voice

How to transform your writing style using passive to active converter, active voice vs. passive voice: differences and similarities.

Just like any other English writing building elements and blocks, both the passive and active voices have distinct roles, similarities, and differences. Let’s take a look at some of them.

If you want to make your writings professional and mistake-free, use our passive to active voice converter to polish your writing skills!

Passive Voice Converter

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Home of English Grammar

Changing a sentence into the passive voice when the active verb is in the simple future tense

We make simple future tense forms by putting will / shall before the base form (infinitive) of the verb.

• I will finish the job tomorrow.
• She will come tomorrow.

If the sentence in the active voice consists of an object, we can change it into the passive. In the example sentences given above, the first one has an object (the job). We can convert it into the passive voice.

• The job will be finished (by me) tomorrow.

The second sentence (She will come tomorrow) doesn’t have an object. Therefore we cannot convert it into the passive because there is nothing to become the subject of the passive verb.

The passive verb form in the simple future tense is made by putting will / shall + be before the past participle form of the verb.

Active form: will/shall + first form of the verb

Passive form: will/shall + be + past participle form of the verb

Change the following sentences into the passive.

1. They will tell you when the time comes.

2. She will accept the offer.

3. I will finish the job by Monday.

4. I will prepare the dinner before you come.

5. You will never forget this lesson.

1. You will be told (by them) when the time comes.

2. The offer will be accepted by her.

3. The job will be finished (by me) by Monday.

4. The dinner will be prepared (by me) before you come.

5. This lesson will never be forgotten by you.

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Change of Voice

Verbal ability tutorial.

Voice is the study of transitive verb. It is also the study of action of the subject and object.

Kinds of Voice

(1) Active Voice (2) Passive Voice

(1) Active Voice :- In which the work is done done by the subject. Formula- Subject + verb + Object Ex - He has called me.

(2) Passive Voice :- In which the work is done by the object. Formula- Object + Helping verb + V 3 + by + subject Ex- I have been called by him.

How To Change Active Into Passive :-

(1) The object is changed into the subject. (2) An extra unit of auxiliary verb is used. (3) Main verb will always be third form ( V 3 ) (4) Preposition 'by' is used. (5) The subject is changed into the object.

Ex- Active- He was playing chess. Passive- Chess was being played by him.

Change in Tenses

An extra unit of auxiliary verb is used.

Change in Pronouns

The ' object ' is changed into the ' subject ', and ' subject ' is changed to ' object '.

Different tense in Active voice and Passive voice :-

(1) Present Indefinite - Active - Subject + V 1 + Object Passive- Object + is/am/are + V 3 + by + subject Example- Active- He drives my car. Passive- My car is driven by him. Active- Ram loves Sita. Passive - Sita is loved by Ram. Active - He gives her books to the poor boy. Passive - The poor boy is given books by him.

(2) Present Continuous - Active- Subject + is/am/are + v + ing + object Passive - Object + is/am/are + being + V 3 + by + subject Example - Active - Laila is liking Manju. Passive - Manju is being liked by laila. Active - I am teaching voice. Passive - Voice is being taught by me.

(3) Present Perfect - Active- Subject + has/have + V 3 + object. Passive- Object + has/have + been + V 3 + by + subject. Example - Active - She has finished the work. Passive - The work has been finished by her. Active - Laila has liked Manju. Passive - Manju has been liked by Laila.

(4) Past Indefinite - Active- Subject + V 2 + object Passive- Object + was/were + V 3 + by + subject Example - Active - Hercules killed a lion. Passive - A lion was killed by Hercules. Active - Ram attended all seminars in Delhi. Passive - All seminars were attended by Ram in Delhi.

(5) Past Continuous - Active- Subject + was/were + V 1 + Ing + object Passive- Object + was/were + being + V 3 + by + subject Example- Active- He was playing football. Passive- Football was being played by him. Active- The committee was looking into the matter. Passive - The matter was being looked into by the committee.

(6) Past Perfect - Active- Subject + had + V 3 + object Passive- Object + had + been + V 3 + by + subject Example- Active- Jon had cleaned the tables. Passive- The tables had been cleaned by Jon. Active - I had closed the door. Passive - The door had been closed by me.

(7) Future Indefinite - Active- Subject + shall/will + V 1 + object Passive- Object + shall/will + be + V 3 + by + subject Example- Active - He will help you. Passive - You will be helped by him. Active - He will take dinner at 8 pm. Passive - Dinner will be taken by her at 9 pm.

(8) Future Perfect - Active- Subject + shall/will + have + V 3 + object Passive- Object + shall/will + have + been + V 3 + by + subject Active - She will have switched on the fan. Passive - The fan will have been switched on by her. Active - He will have taken medicines on time. Passive - Medicines will have been taken by her on time.

Special Rules of voice

(1) Sentences with 'am to', 'was to', 'has to', 'had to', 'have to', 'has to', 'had to' ……………. , In ' to ' sentences change active to passive add ' be '. Active- Subject + am/was/has/had + to + v 1 + object Passive- Object + am/was/has/had + to + be + v 3 + Subject Example- Active - He was to buy a car. Passive - A car was to be bought by him. Active - I have to finish the work. Passive - The work have to be finished by me. Active - She is to learn English. Passive - English is to be learnt by her.

(2) Sentences with can, could, may, might, ……………….., In ' model ' sentences change active to passive add ' be '. Active- Subject + can/could/might… + v 1 + object Passive- Object + can/could/might …..+ be + v 3 + subject Example- Active- I can help you. Passive- You can be helped by me. Active- He must follow the rules. Passive- The rules must be followed by him. Active- He should take exercise. Passive- Exercise should be taken by him.

(3) Sentences with double object :- In this type of question two objects available. Example- Active- The teacher teaches me English. Passive- I am taught English by the teacher. Or, English is taught to me by the teacher Active- The mother gave the baby a ball. Passive- The baby was given a ball by the mother. Or, A ball was given to the baby by the mother.

(4) Sentences with double preposition in passive Take care of, look at, look after, look down upon, work into, laugh at, smile at, …………… Example- Active- He takes care of me. Passive- I am taken care of by him. Active- I am searching for a job. Passive- A job is being search for by me.

(5) Sentences with people, police, someone, every body, any one, ……………., In this type of sentences in passive voice we not used ' object ' and ' by '. Example- Active- The people have arrested a thief. Passive- A thief has been arrested. Active- People speak English all over the world. Passive- English is spoken all over the world. Active- No one desire riots. Passive- Riot are not desired.

(6) Sentences with a clause as object :- In clause sentences structure of passive voice is- It + extra unit +v 3 + clause Example- Active - People say that God is every where. Passive - It is said that God is every where. Active - We think that Noida is progressing. Passive - It is thought that Noida is progressing.

(7) Sentences with it, here, there :- To change active to passive in it, here, there sentence copy the sentence and add 'be' after 'to'. Example- Active- It is time to play. Passive- It is time to be play. Active- There was no food to eat. Passive- There was no food to be eat.

(8) Voice of Imperative Sentence :- (a) Main verb - If a sentence give the meaning of order then change active to passive using this structure. Let + object into subject in same case + be + v 3 If a sentence give the meaning of suggestion then change active to passive using this structure. Object into subject + should be + v 3 Example- Active - Call him. Passive - Let him be called. Active - Help the poor. Passive - The poor should be helped. Active - Bring a glass of water. Passive - Let a glass of water be brought. Active - Serve the country. Passive - The country should be served.

(b) Do Not :- If a sentence start with Don't. If a sentence give the meaning of order then change active to passive using this structure. Let + obj into sub. in same case + not + be + v 3 If a sentence give the meaning of suggestion then change active to passive using this structure. Obj into sub. + should not be + v 3 Example- Active - Don't call him. Passive - Let him not be called. Active - Don't tease the animal. Passive - The animal should not be teased. Active - Don't make a noise. Passive - Let a noise not be made.

(c) Let :- Some imperative sentences started with let. Let + obj. into sub. same case + be + v 3 + by + sub. into obj. same case Example- Active - Let you call him. Passive - Let him be called by you. Active - Let her sing a song. Passive - Let a song be sung by her. Active - Let me play cricket. Passive - Let cricket be played by me.

(d) Please, kindly :- Some imperative sentences started with please, kindly. To change active to passive remove please or kindly and use this structure You are requested to + clause Example- Active - Please call him. Passive - You are requested to call him. Active - Kindly give me a pen. Passive - You are requested to give me a pen.

(9) Voice of Interrogative sentences :- In the passive voice of interrogative sentences, we start the sentence with the helping verb that goes with the object. Active- Have you seen the Tajmahal ? Passive - Has the Tajmahal been seen by you? Active - Was he playing chess? Passive - Was chess being played by him? Active - When will you buy a car? Passive - When will a car brought by you ? Active - Why was the baby making a noise? Passive - Why was a noise being made by the baby? Note :- 'Who' changed into 'by whom'. Active - Who will help you? Passive - By whom will you helped? Or, Who will you helped by? Active - Who can believe a liar? Passive - By whom can a liar be believed ? Or, Who can a liar be believed by ?

(10) Voice of exclamatory sentence :- Active - Hurrah! I have passed the exam. Passive - Hurrah! The exam has been passed by me. Active - Alas ! The thief looted him. Passive - Alas ! He was looted. Active - May god blem you! Passive - May you be blemed by god!

Create interactive YouTube assignments in Google Classroom more quickly and efficiently, with the help of AI

What’s changing, who’s impacted , why you’d use it , additional details , getting started .

• Admins: In order to enable the interactive questions feature, YouTube must be turned ON by administrators as an additional service for educators. This setting can be managed in the Admin console. Visit the Help Center to learn more about turning YouTube on or off for users. 
• End users:  
• If enabled by your admin, you can create or delete interactive questions for YouTube videos and grade & track interactive questions for YouTube videos.
• Suggested questions are available when you find a spark icon below the video title in the video search results. 
• Visit the Help Center to learn more about interactive questions for YouTube videos in Google Classroom. 
• Students: Students can complete a video activity regardless of whether YouTube is turned ON or OFF as an additional service. Please note that the video activity must have been created by an educator with YouTube turned ON. 

Rollout pace 

• This feature is available now. 

Availability 

• Education Plus and the Teaching & Learning Upgrade 

Resources 

• Google Workspace Admin Help: Turn YouTube on or off for users 
• Google Help: Learn about interactive questions for YouTube videos in Google Classroom 
• Google Help: Create or delete interactive questions for YouTube videos 
• Google Help: Grade and track interactive questions for YouTube videos

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