Voice Change - Active & Passive Voice

Every sentence has an action (the verb). Voice tells us whether the Subject is doing the action or receiving the action.

• Active Voice (The Doer is main): The subject of the sentence performs the action.

• Example: Vinícius Jr. scored the goal. (Subject "Vinícius Jr." does the action).

• Passive Voice (The Receiver is main): The subject of the sentence receives the action.

• Example: The goal was scored by Vinícius Jr. (Subject "The goal" receives the action).

When do we use Passive Voice?

1. When the action is more important than who did it. (Example: The stadium was built in 1999).

2. When we don't know who did the action. (Example: My bicycle was stolen!).

5 Golden Rules of Transformation

To change any Active sentence into a Passive one, follow these 5 exact steps:

1. Swap the Subject and the Object: The Object of the active sentence becomes the new Subject. The Subject becomes the new Object.

2. Use the Magic "Be" Verb: You MUST insert a helper "Be" verb (is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been). The tense of the "Be" verb must match the tense of the original active sentence.

3. Always use V3: The main verb of the active sentence MUST be changed into its Past Participle (3rd Form) in the passive voice. (Passive Voice = Be + V3).

4. Add the Preposition "by": Place "by" right before the new object to show who did the action.

5. Change the Pronouns: If the subject/object is a pronoun, it must change its form when it switches sides.

• I - me | He - him | She - her | We - us | They - them | Who - whom.

Simple and Continuous Tenses

🧠Future Continuous and all Perfect Continuous tenses CANNOT be changed into passive voice.

1. The Simple Tenses

Tense	Active Formula	Passive Formula (New Subject + ...)	Example (Active → Passive)
Simple Present	V1 (s/es)	is / am / are + V3	Hansi Flick manages the team. - The team is managed by Hansi Flick.
Simple Past	V2	was / were + V3	The referee blew the whistle. - The whistle was blown by the referee.
Simple Future	will + V1	will be + V3	Our College will win the cup. - The cup will be won by our college

2. The Continuous Tenses

The trick here is to add the word "being" to keep the "ing" feel of the continuous tense.

Tense	Active Formula	Passive Formula	Example (Active → Passive)
Present Continuous	is/am/are + V(ing)	is/am/are + being + V3	The boys are playing football. $\rightarrow$ Football is being played by the boys.
Past Continuous	was/were + V(ing)	was/were + being + V3	He was editing the video. $\rightarrow$ The video was being edited by him.

Perfect Tenses & Modals

1. The Perfect Tenses (The "Been" Rule) For any Perfect Tense (which already uses V3), changing the voice is incredibly easy. All you have to do is insert the magic word "been" right after the helping verb (has/have/had).

• Present Perfect Tense
  
  

• Active Formula: Subject + has/have + V3 + Object

• Passive Formula: Object + has/have + been + V3 + by + Subject

• Active: The teacher has checked the notebooks. $\rightarrow$ Passive: The notebooks have been checked by the teacher. (Note: "notebooks" is plural, so 'has' changes to 'have' to match the new subject!).

• Past Perfect Tense
  
  

• Active Formula: Subject + had + V3 + Object

• Passive Formula: Object + had + been + V3 + by + Subject

• Active: The storm had destroyed the bridge. $\rightarrow$ Passive: The bridge had been destroyed by the storm.

• Future Perfect Tense
  
  

• Active Formula: Subject + will have + V3 + Object

• Passive Formula: Object + will have + been + V3 + by + Subject

• Active: She will have finished the project by tomorrow. $\rightarrow$ Passive: The project will have been finished by her by tomorrow.

2. Modal Verbs (Can, Could, Should, Must, May, Might) Modals do not change like normal tenses. To change a sentence with a modal into passive voice, simply add the word "be" after the modal, and change the main verb to V3.

• Active Formula: Subject + Modal + V1 + Object

• Passive Formula: Object + Modal + be + V3 + by + Subject

• Example 1: You must wear a uniform. $\rightarrow$ A uniform must be worn by you.

• Example 2: He can solve this puzzle. $\rightarrow$ This puzzle can be solved by him.

• Example 3: We should respect our elders. $\rightarrow$ Our elders should be respected by us.

Master-Level Exceptions

CBSE board exams love to test the tricky sentences that don't follow the basic structure.

1. Sentences with Two Objects Sometimes, a verb takes two objects: a Direct Object (usually a non-living thing) and an Indirect Object (usually a person).

• Active: The principal gave me (Indirect) a medal (Direct).

When changing this to passive voice, you can make either object the new subject!

• Method 1 (Bringing the person forward - Recommended): I was given a medal by the principal.

• Method 2 (Bringing the thing forward): A medal was given to me by the principal. (Notice you must add "to" before the person).

2. Interrogative Sentences (The Question Trap) This is where most students lose marks. A question in Active Voice MUST remain a question in Passive Voice. You cannot change it into a normal statement. The helping verb must stay at the very front of the sentence.

• Type A: "Yes/No" Questions (Starting with Do/Does/Did)
  
  

• Active: Does he play cricket? => Passive: Is cricket played by him?

• Active: Did the dog bite the boy? =>  Passive: Was the boy bitten by the dog?

• Type B: Questions starting with Has/Have/Had
  
  

• Active: Has she completed the work? $\rightarrow$ Passive: Has the work been completed by her?

• Type C: "Wh-" Questions (Why, When, Where, What)
  
  

• The "Wh-" word stays at the exact same spot at the front of the sentence.

• Active: Why did you break the window? $\rightarrow$ Passive: Why was the window broken by you?

• The "Who" Exception: If a question starts with Who, it changes to By whom in the passive voice.

• Active: Who wrote this poem? $\rightarrow$ Passive: By whom was this poem written?

3. Imperative Sentences (Orders, Requests, Advice) Imperative sentences do not have a visible subject (the word "You" is hidden). We use different formulas depending on the tone of the sentence.

• Orders and Commands (The "Let" Rule)
  
  

• Format: Let + Object + be + V3
  
  

• Active: Shut the door. => Passive: Let the door be shut.

• Active: Do not touch the wires. => Passive: Let the wires not be touched.

• Requests (Sentences with Please/Kindly)
  
  

• Format: You are requested to + [rest of the sentence]

• Active: Please bring me a glass of water. $\rightarrow$ Passive: You are requested to bring me a glass of water.

• Advice or Moral Duties
  
  

• Format: Object + should be + V3
  
  

• Active: Help the poor. $\rightarrow$ Passive: The poor should be helped.

4. The "No By" Rule (Vague Subjects) If the subject in the active voice is vague, obvious, or unknown (like Someone, Nobody, Police, People, They), we completely drop the "by + object" part in the passive voice.

• Active: Someone has stolen my pen. $\rightarrow$ Passive: My pen has been stolen. (Stop there! Do not write "by someone").

• Active: The police arrested the thief. $\rightarrow$ Passive: The thief was arrested.

5. Verbs with Fixed Prepositions If a verb has a preposition permanently attached to it in the active voice, that preposition MUST stay glued to the verb in the passive voice, right before the word "by".

• Active: The students laughed at the clown. $\rightarrow$ Passive: The clown was laughed at by the students.

• Active: The committee is looking into the matter. $\rightarrow$ Passive: The matter is being looked into by the committee.