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Writer's pictureChetana Karla Shakti

Active & Passive Voice

turn into passive voice (answers below):

More Practice:


  • The teacher helps the students.(Present simple)

  • The dog chased the cat.(Past simple)

  • She will write a letter.(Future simple)

  • The chef is cooking dinner.(Present continuous)

  • They have cleaned the room.(Present perfect)

  • The mechanic fixed the car.(Past simple)

  • The children will decorate the tree.(Future simple)

  • He reads books every night.(Present simple)

  • Someone broke the window.(Past simple)

  • We are watching a movie.(Present continuous)


Grammar:


Understanding the Form of the Passive Voice

To form the passive voice, it’s important to understand how it differs from the active voice.


In an active sentence, the subject is the doer of the action, and the focus is on who or what is performing it:

  • Structure: Subject + Verb + Object

  • Examples:

    • The bear ate a fish.

    • John broke our TV.


In a passive sentence, the focus shifts to the action or the receiver of the action. The doer (agent) may still be mentioned, but it’s less important or can be omitted entirely.

  • Structure: Subject (receiver) + Helping Verb (be) + Past Participle (+ 'by' + Agent)

  • Examples:

    • The fish was eaten (by the bear).

    • Our TV was broken (by John).

Notice how the emphasis in the passive sentences is on the fish and our TV, making them the main focus instead of the bear or John.


Forming Passive Voice in Different Tenses

To construct a sentence in the passive voice, follow these steps:

  1. Identify the object in the active sentence (this will become the subject in the passive sentence).

  2. Use the correct form of the helping verb "be" (adjusting for tense).

  3. Add the past participle of the main verb.

Here’s a breakdown with examples:

Tense

Active Voice

Passive Voice

Present Simple

The chef cooks dinner.

Dinner is cooked by the chef.

Past Simple

The mechanic fixed the car.

The car was fixed by the mechanic.

Future Simple

She will write a letter.

A letter will be written by her.

Present Perfect

They have cleaned the room.

The room has been cleaned by them.

Continuous

He is reading a book.

A book is being read by him.

Omitting the Agent

In many cases, the doer (agent) can be omitted if it is not necessary to mention them. For example:

  • The car was repaired. (We don’t need to say by the mechanic if it’s obvious or unimportant.)

  • Dinner is served at 6:00. (By whom? It doesn’t matter as long as it’s served.)

By mastering this structure, you’ll be able to easily transform active sentences into passive ones and use them naturally in writing or conversation. Ready to practice? Let’s try some examples!


turn into passive voice:


Sentence Practice:


My secretary doesn't print the documents.

My secretary didn't print the documents.

My secretary won't print the documents.

Our manager fired three employees.

Their boss won’t sign the contract tomorrow.


Here are the sentences rewritten in passive voice:

  1. My secretary doesn't print the documents.

    • Passive: The documents aren't printed by my secretary.

  2. My secretary didn't print the documents.

    • Passive: The documents weren't printed by my secretary.

  3. My secretary won't print the documents.

    • Passive: The documents won’t be printed by my secretary.

  4. Our manager fired three employees.

    • Passive: Three employees were fired by our manager.

  5. Their boss won’t sign the contract tomorrow.

    • Passive: The contract won’t be signed by their boss tomorrow.


Here are explanations for transforming each sentence into the passive voice:


1. My secretary doesn't print the documents.

  • Active voice: The subject (my secretary) performs the action (doesn't print) on the object (the documents).

  • Passive transformation: The object (the documents) becomes the subject of the sentence, and the verb is adjusted to passive voice using the auxiliary verb to be and the past participle (printed).

    • Explanation: "The documents" are the focus now, with "aren't" as the negative form of "are" in present simple, followed by the past participle "printed."

    • Result: The documents aren't printed by my secretary.


2. My secretary didn't print the documents.

  • Active voice: The subject (my secretary) performs the action (didn't print) on the object (the documents).

  • Passive transformation: The object (the documents) becomes the subject. The auxiliary verb "didn't" changes to "weren't" (negative past tense of to be), and the main verb "print" becomes "printed."

    • Explanation: In the past simple, passive sentences use "was" or "were" depending on the subject. Since "the documents" is plural, "weren't" is used.

    • Result: The documents weren't printed by my secretary.


3. My secretary won't print the documents.

  • Active voice: The subject (my secretary) performs the action (won't print) on the object (the documents).

  • Passive transformation: The object (the documents) becomes the subject. In future tense, "won't be" is used as the auxiliary, followed by the past participle "printed."

    • Explanation: The future passive structure is will/won’t + be + past participle.

    • Result: The documents won’t be printed by my secretary.


4. Our manager fired three employees.

  • Active voice: The subject (our manager) performs the action (fired) on the object (three employees).

  • Passive transformation: The object (three employees) becomes the subject. The verb is changed to passive form using "were" (past tense of to be) and "fired" (past participle).

    • Explanation: In past simple passive, the structure is was/were + past participle.

    • Result: Three employees were fired by our manager.


5. Their boss won’t sign the contract tomorrow.

  • Active voice: The subject (their boss) performs the action (won’t sign) on the object (the contract).

  • Passive transformation: The object (the contract) becomes the subject. For future tense, "won’t be" is used with the past participle "signed."

    • Explanation: The future passive structure is will/won’t + be + past participle. The time expression ("tomorrow") remains unchanged.

    • Result: The contract won’t be signed by their boss tomorrow.


Key Takeaway:

To transform active voice into passive:

  1. Move the object to the subject position.

  2. Adjust the verb using to be in the correct tense and add the past participle of the main verb.

  3. Optionally include the original subject as an agent (e.g., "by my secretary").


The sentences "The documents didn't get printed by my secretary" and "The documents weren't printed by my secretary" are both grammatically correct, but they differ slightly in tone, style, and emphasis. Here's a breakdown:


1. The documents didn't get printed by my secretary.

  • Explanation:This version uses the verb "get" in place of "be" to form the passive voice. The "get" passive is more informal and conversational compared to the standard "be" passive. It's commonly used when we want to describe outcomes or events with a slight sense of process or result.

    • Example: "The cake got eaten" (implying something happened to the cake).

  • Context:This sentence might be more natural in spoken English or casual writing. It emphasizes that something happened (or didn’t happen, in this case) to the documents, focusing on the result of the action.


2. The documents weren't printed by my secretary.

  • Explanation:This version uses the standard "be" passive construction. It is neutral and formal, making it suitable for written or professional contexts.

    • Example: "The report wasn't approved by the committee."

  • Context:This sentence is more straightforward and formal, often used in academic, technical, or official language.


Key Differences:

Aspect

"Didn't get printed"

"Weren't printed"

Tone

Informal, conversational

Formal, neutral

Focus

Outcome/result of the action

Fact that the action didn’t happen

Usage

Spoken English, everyday contexts

Written English, professional contexts

Both forms are grammatically correct and convey the same meaning, but the choice depends on the context and level of formality required.


  1. The teacher helps the students.

    • Passive: The students are helped by the teacher.

  2. The dog chased the cat.

    • Passive: The cat was chased by the dog.

  3. She will write a letter.

    • Passive: A letter will be written by her.

  4. The chef is cooking dinner.

    • Passive: Dinner is being cooked by the chef.

  5. They have cleaned the room.

    • Passive: The room has been cleaned by them.

  6. The mechanic fixed the car.

    • Passive: The car was fixed by the mechanic.

  7. The children will decorate the tree.

    • Passive: The tree will be decorated by the children.

  8. He reads books every night.

    • Passive: Books are read by him every night.

  9. Someone broke the window.

    • Passive: The window was broken by someone.

  10. We are watching a movie.

    • Passive: A movie is being watched by us.


    Helping Verb TO BE

    The verb "to be" can be used in several tenses as a helping verb, including the present, past, and future tenses:

    • Present tense: "Am", "is", "are"

    • Past tense: "Was", "were"

    • Future tense: "Will be" 


    "To be" is often used with another verb to form a complete verb phrase. For example, "She is walking" is in the present continuous tense, while "She was walking" is in the past continuous tense. 

    "To be" can also be used as an action verb, standing alone in all its tenses. For example, "I was a writer for the New York Times".


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