The New-day Learning

  • _Grammar Rules
  • __Parts of Speech
  • __Narration
  • _Vocabulary
  • __One Word Substitution
  • __Etymology

Telegram Button

Active and passive voice examples with answer (advanced level).

Change the Voice Examples from Active to Passive (Advanced Level)

Posted by Souvik

You may like these posts, post a comment.

Leave a comment

  • Privacy Policy

Most Popular

 Degree Change Exercise with Answers | Interchange of degrees of comparison- Exercises

Degree Change Exercise with Answers | Interchange of degrees of comparison- Exercises

Interchange of Degrees of Comparison – Comparative Degree and Superlative Degree | Degree Chenge

Interchange of Degrees of Comparison – Comparative Degree and Superlative Degree | Degree Chenge

Change the Narration (Advanced Level Rules) | Direct speech to Indirect Speech

Change the Narration (Advanced Level Rules) | Direct speech to Indirect Speech

  • Conditionals 3
  • Contractions 1
  • Current News 1
  • English Mock Test 6
  • error correction 1
  • Etymology 1
  • Geography 1
  • Grammar Rules 32
  • Indian Polity 1
  • Narration 13
  • One word substitution 1
  • Parts of Speech 2
  • phrasal verb 1
  • previous questions 1
  • Subject-Verb Agreement 2
  • Traditional GK 2
  • Transformation of Sentences 4
  • Vocabulary 11

Popular Posts

100+ Narration Change Exercises with Answers | Direct and Indirect Speech Exercises

100+ Narration Change Exercises with Answers | Direct and Indirect Speech Exercises

Change the Narration (Advanced Level Rules) | Direct speech to Indirect Speech

Menu Footer Widget

Contact form.

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Changing Passive to Active Voice

OWL logo

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

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' phase and reworking the sentence will give it the active voice.

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

This sentence (most of the class is reading the book) now includes the active voice because the agent (most of the class) is now the subject.

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 sentence, results will be published in the next issue of the journal, does not explicitly include a by the...phrase. However, the agent is most likely the researchers, so making the agent the subject of the sentence will simplify it and give it the 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.

The sentence, the researchers will publish their results in the next issue of the journal, uses the active voice because the agent (the researchers) are now performing the action as the sentence subject.

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

The passive voice sentence, a policy of whitewashing and cover-up has been pursued by the CIA director and his close advisors, includes an agent of change (the CIA director and his close advisors) that are not performing the action in the sentence. Making the agent the subject will give the sentence the active voice.

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.

The sentence, the CIA director and his close advisors have pursued a policy of whitewashing and cover-up, now uses the active voice because the agent (the CIA director and his close advisors) are performing the action as the sentence subject.

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 the sentence, mistakes were made. It is most likely we. This sentence uses the passive voice.

The agent is not specified in this sentence.

The sentence, we made mistakes, now uses the active voice because the agent (we) is the subject of the sentence.

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

The sentence, the presiding officer vetoed the committee's recommendation, includes the agent (the presiding officer) performing the action as the sentence subject.

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

The sentence, the committee's recommendation was vetoed by the presiding officer, now uses the passive voice. 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.

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.

The active voice sentence, the leaders are seeking a fair resolution to the crisis, includes the agent (the leaders) as the subject performing the action of the verb.

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

The sentence, a fair resolution to the crisis is being sought, now uses the passive voice because the subject was changed from the agent (the leaders) to the object of the verb (a fair resolution).

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 the active voice sentence, scientists have discovered traces of ice on the surface of Mars.

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

The passive voice sentence, traces of ice have been discovered on the surface of Mars, no longer specifies the agent (scientists) and now uses the passive voice because the verb's object (traces of ice) is now the subject.

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.

  • PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
  • EDIT Edit this Article
  • EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Happiness Hub Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
  • Browse Articles
  • Learn Something New
  • Quizzes Hot
  • Happiness Hub
  • This Or That Game
  • Train Your Brain
  • Explore More
  • Support wikiHow
  • About wikiHow
  • Log in / Sign up
  • Education and Communications
  • English Grammar

How to Change a Sentence from Active Voice to Passive Voice

Last Updated: September 5, 2024 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 518,280 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

Step 1 Identify different types of present tenses.

  • 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.”

Step 2 Identify different past tenses.

  • 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.”

Step 3 Identify future tenses.

  • 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

Step 1 Move the object to the beginning of 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.”

Step 2 Add an auxiliary verb “be” before the main verb.

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

Step 3 Add the preposition “by” before the subject.

  • 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.

Step 4 Maintain the sentence tense.

  • 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

Step 1 Remove emphasis from the subject.

  • 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.

Step 2 Place the direct object in a place of importance.

  • 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.

Step 3 Writing a scientific or technical paper in passive voice.

  • 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

he accepted the assignment change the voice

Expert Q&A

Richard Perkins

  • 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. [14] X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing Lab Trusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

he accepted the assignment change the voice

You Might Also Like

Avoid Using the Passive Voice

  • ↑ 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
  • ↑ https://www.yourdictionary.com/articles/active-passive-voice-examples
  • ↑ https://www.hunter.cuny.edu/rwc/repository/files/grammar-and-mechanics/verb-system/Active-and-Passive-Voice.pdf
  • ↑ https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/revising/passive-voice/
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/active_and_passive_voice/choosing_passive_voice.html

About This Article

Richard Perkins

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

  • Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Juanna reese Peterson

Juanna reese Peterson

Jun 24, 2020

Did this article help you?

Juanna reese Peterson

Khizer Salam

Jul 2, 2017

Vered Ofer

Feb 16, 2017

Sandeep Singh

Sandeep Singh

Jun 4, 2020

Uvini Manchanayake

Uvini Manchanayake

Jul 17, 2017

Do I Have a Dirty Mind Quiz

Featured Articles

Enjoy Your Preteen Years

Trending Articles

"Hot to Go!" by Chappell Roan: The Flirtatious Lyrics & Their Meaning

Watch Articles

Make French Fries

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Info
  • Not Selling Info

Don’t miss out! Sign up for

wikiHow’s newsletter

he accepted the assignment change the voice

  • Active and Passive voice

Active and Passive voice: Words come together to form a sentence and these sentences can be formed in more than one way. The way these sentences are made make a lot of difference in writing and we are going to learn all about that in this chapter. One thing to note here is that no matter what the structure of the sentence is, the meaning of the sentence does not change. That’s actually a very important point to remember throughout this chapter. Keep it in mind. Let’s dive straight into the realm of Active and Passive voice.

Suggested Videos

he accepted the assignment change the voice

Active and Passive Voice:

You know that every subject has a subject , a verb , and an object. A subject is an agent who performs the verb on the object. Let’s understand this with the help of an example:

  • I swim in the ocean. –  I  is the subject,  swim  is the verb, and  ocean  is the object.
  • My mom plays violin. –  My mom  is the subject,  plays  is the verb, and  violin  is the object.

Active voice: When a subject is directly acting on the object, the sentence is written in Active voice.

Passive voice: When the object is acted upon by the subject, the sentence is written in Passive voice.

Learn more about Verb here in detail.

In both the above sentences, the meaning remains the same and only the structure is what that changes. Usually, the structure or sequence of the subject, verb, and object expressed in the active voice sentence gets reversed in the passive voice of the same sentence. To understand the difference, just focus on how the subject and object change the structure of the sentences in the table below:

I ate the strawberry pie The strawberry pie was eaten by me
I bought a Honda car A Honda car was bought by me
The sun rises from the east East is where the sun rises from
Reema can do skydiving Skydiving can be done by Reema

Now you must have gotten some idea of how the active and passive voice sentences look like. Note again how the meaning has stayed the same throughout. You may use some different words in situations where you must. But this conversion from one voice to another voice is really simple when you know a few rules that we will chalk out for you here:

Browse more Topics under Transformation Sentences

  • Parts of Speech
  • Reported Speech
  • Types of Sentences

Structure of Active and Passive voice:

Active voice: Subject + Verb + Object Passive voice: Object + Verb + Subject

You must have seen that the verb form changes when you switch from active to passive voice. Now verbs used are of two kinds: the main and the auxiliary verbs. Usually, an auxiliary verb is accompanied by the main verb. The auxiliary verb like be, do or have shows the tense or mood of the verb. For example, in the sentence “I have finished my scuba diving course in the Havelock Islands”, finished is the main verb and have is the auxiliary verb.

he accepted the assignment change the voice

As a thumb rule, Passive voice sentences always take the third form of the verb also called the past participle form of the verb (example- eat, ate, eaten- eaten is the third form of a verb). Notice this being used in the sentence above in the table: “The strawberry pie was eaten by me.”

So the usage of the main verb is pretty simple to convert. It’s the auxiliary verb that we need to understand further. Let’s get into it:

Rules for changing Active voice to Passive voice:

  • Simply exchange the places of the subject and the object. The subject should become the object and vice-e-versa while changing a sentence from Active to Passive voice or reverse.
  • Active voice: She bought a new car . (She  is the subject and a new car is an object.)
  • Passive voice: A new car was bought by her . ( A new car is a subject and her is the object.)

Learn more about Active Voice and Passive Voice here in detail.

2. Always blindly convert the main verb into its past participle or third form while converting from active to passive voice. To remind you what the third form of a verb looks like, let’s look at a few examples:

Buy Bought Bought
Sing sang sung
Grow grew grown
  • Active voice: Bhaanu wrote a book on gun violence.
  • Passive voice: A book on gun violence was written by Bhaanu.

3. Use the word “by” before the subject in the passive sentence. For example:

  • Active voice: My brother sang a song.
  • Passive voice: A song was sung by my brother.

4. Change of tense of the auxiliary word: Now when you change the verb form of the main verb, the tense of the auxiliary also changes accordingly. Let’s see this with the help of a few examples:

  • Present tense –
  • Active voice: Sun rises from the east.
  • Passive voice: East is where the sun rises from.
  • Past tense –
  • Active voice: She walked my dog home.
  • Passive voice: My dog was walked home by her.
  • Future tense –
  • Active voice: Sheena will do the craft work.
  • Passive voice: Craft work will be done by Sheena.

5. Sometimes you may completely omit the subject from the passive voice if the idea you are trying to convey is clear. You just have to take a judgement call for that. For example:

  • Active voice: Distance is measured in kilometers.
  • Passive voice: Kilometres is a measurement unit for distance.

6. Words like “with” or “to” are also used in passive voice. You may recall that we use “by” quite frequently in an active voice to passive voice conversion.

  • Active voice: I know her.
  • Passive voice: She is known to me.
  • Active voice: Love fills my heart.
  • Passive voice: My heart is filled with love.

Now test yourself by solving these Problems and Practice Questions on Active and Passive Voice.

That pretty much sums up our chapter of Active and Passive voice. We recommend you pick up a few sentences below, identify whether they are in active or passive voice and convert them to the other form.

  • I love my music teacher.
  • This painting is done by me.
  • She cast a beautiful spell on me.
  • I want to go home after school.

Go ahead and enjoy your sentences and their marvels of structures. Have fun with grammar!

Customize your course in 30 seconds

Which class are you in.

tutor

Transformation of Sentences

37 responses to “active and passive voice”.

Simple but very nice explanation and helpfull too.

What is the voice change of ” I have endeavoured to understand the fundamental truths.”

ENDEAVOUR HAS BEEN MADE BY ME TO UNDERSTAND THE FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH.

The fundamental truths have been endeavoured to be understood by me

The fundamental truths to understand had been endeavoured by him

The fundamental truths have endeavoured to be understood by me

The fundamental truths has been understood endeavoured to by me

How to change the voice for the following sentence – the books will be received by tomorrow

By whom? We need a subject. If the subject was for example “The library”, then the sentence in active voice would read “The library will receive the books by tomorrow”.

You will receive the books by tomorrow.

Tomorrow you will receive the book

You will receive the books (by) tomorrow.

Someone will receive the books by tomorrow

Tomorrow will be receive the books

HE WILL RECEIVE THE BOOKS BY TOMORROW.

By tomorrow the books will be received.

By tomorrow, you will receive the books

Tomorrow received the book

Change this “take right and turn left” into passive voice

Let the right be taken amd left be turned

‘amd’ is “and” 😅

You are advised to take right and turn left

Very helpful information thanks

Very well explained all basics that can lead to gain further knowledge very easily

What is in this box change into passive

what is the voice change of,” some people think nuclear is the best, because it doesnt add to global warming “….

Brilliant stuff!! – Rishabh

A kite was made by Ravi . What is the active form of this statement???

how to change into passive this sentence “when they were shifting the patient to the I.C.U.,he died

change into passive voice this sentence “when they were shifting the patient to I.C.U.,he died .

May you tell us tense conversion in voice.

Sentences without action like…. Jim is a doctor . Is it active or passive and if any how would you decide without having a main verb ?

It is named after the name of its principal tree ‘sundari'(passive)

how can ocean be object 🙄???

They made a bag

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Download the App

Google Play

Approach English Grammar Insights

Home / English Grammar / Active Passive Voice Change / 25 + Active and Passive Voice Exercises with Answers 2024-2025

Active and Passive Voice Exercises

25 + Active and Passive Voice Exercises with Answers 2024-2025

Engage in 25 + active and passive voice exercises to enhance your grammar skills, improve your writing, and boost your language proficiency. This guide provides practical exercises to help you identify, transform, and select the appropriate voice for different contexts. By practicing these exercises, you’ll develop precision and confidence in using active and passive voice effectively.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises for Practice

Active and passive voice exercises 1:.

Turn the following sentences from Active voice to Passive voice.

1. The chef prepares the meal.

2. The company launched the new product.

3. The teacher is explaining the lesson.

4. The workers were fixing the road.

5. The committee has approved the proposal.

6. The scientist had discovered the cure.

7. The engineer will design the bridge.

8 The team must finish the report.

9. Please wash the dishes.

10. Did the manager approve the budget?

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 2:

Choose the correct passive voice form from the given options .

1. The gardener waters the plants.

A) The plants were watered by the gardener. B) The plants are watered by the gardener. C) The plants are being watered by the gardener. D) The plants will be watered by the gardener.

2. She will complete the assignment .

A) The assignment is completed by her. B) The assignment was completed by her. C) The assignment will be completed by her. D) The assignment has been completed by her.

3. They have built a new hospital.

A) A new hospital is built by them. B) A new hospital was built by them. C) A new hospital has been built by them. D) A new hospital is being built by them.

4. The chef is cooking the meal.

A) The meal is cooked by the chef. B) The meal was cooked by the chef. C) The meal is being cooked by the chef. D) The meal has been cooked by the chef.

5. The manager approved the plan.

A) The plan is approved by the manager. B) The plan was approved by the manager. C) The plan has been approved by the manager. D) The plan will be approved by the manager.

6. The police caught the thief.

A) The thief is caught by the police. B) The thief was caught by the police. C) The thief has been caught by the police. D) The thief is being caught by the police.

7. The students are writing the exam.

A) The exam is written by the students. B) The exam was written by the students. C) The exam is being written by the students. D) The exam has been written by the students.

8. He had delivered the package.

A) The package is delivered by him. B) The package was delivered by him. C) The package has been delivered by him. D) The package had been delivered by him.

9. The artist painted a beautiful portrai t.

A) A beautiful portrait is painted by the artist. B) A beautiful portrait was painted by the artist. C) A beautiful portrait has been painted by the artist. D) A beautiful portrait is being painted by the artist.

10. The company will launch a new product next month.

A) A new product is launched by the company next month. B) A new product was launched by the company next month. C) A new product has been launched by the company next month. D) A new product will be launched by the company next month.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 3:

A. the following paragraph is not completed. pick out the most appropriate answer from the options given below..

Learning to …………… [ (a. speak) (b. spoke) (c. spoken) ] a new language can be challenging but also very rewarding. It requires …………… [ (a. dedication) (b. dedicate) (c. dedicating) ] and practice to become fluent. Many people find that …………… [ (a. joining) (b. join) (c. joined) ] a language class helps them stay motivated. Additionally, …………… [ (a. immerse) (b. immersing) (c. immersed) ] yourself in the language by listening to music, watching movies, and reading books can be very beneficial. Remember, the key to success is to …………… [ (a. persistent) (b. persist) (c. persistence) ] and never give up.

b. Complete the paragraph with proper forms of verbs given in brackets.

Traveling to new places …………… [ (a. exposes) (b. exposing) (c. expose) ] you to different cultures and experiences. It is important to …………… [ (a. planning) (b. plan) (c. planned) ] your trip in advance to avoid any last-minute hassles. While traveling, always …………… [ (a. carry) (b. carrying) (c. carries) ] a map or a GPS device to help you navigate. Meeting new people and …………… [ (a. try) (b. tries) (c. trying) ] local cuisines can make your journey memorable. Lastly, make sure to …………… [ (a. respect) (b. respecting) (c. respected) ] the customs and traditions of the places you visit.

c. Complete the paragraph with proper forms of verbs given in brackets.

Reading books ……………[ (a. expand) (b. expands) (c. expanding) ] your knowledge and imagination. It allows you to ……………[ (a. explore) (b. explores) (c. explored) ] different worlds and perspectives. When choosing a book, consider ……………[ (a. checking) (b. check) (c. checks) ] reviews and recommendations. Joining a book club can help you ……………[ (a. discuss) (b. discusses) (c. discussed) ] what you have read with others. Most importantly, ……………[ (a. enjoy) (b. enjoys) (c. enjoying) ] the journey that each book offers.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 4:

Read the following sentences and identify whether they are in active or passive voice.

(1) The chef prepared a delectable meal.

(2) The masterpiece was created by a renowned artist.

(3) The company announced its new product line.

(4) The research paper was written by the students.

(5) The dog chased the ball across the park.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 5:

Rewrite the following sentences, changing them from active to passive voice.

(1) The mechanic repaired my car.

(2) The teacher explained the lesson to the students.

(3) The chef is cooking a special dish.

(4) The gardener prunes the bushes every week.

(5) The artist painted a beautiful landscape.

People also ask

) )
)
)
)

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 6:

Rewrite the following sentences, changing them from passive to active voice.

(1) The book was read by Sarah.

(2) The letter has been written by the secretary.

(3) The movie was watched by a large audience.

(4) The cake was baked by my grandmother.

(5) The song was sung by the famous singer.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 7:

Select the appropriate voice (active or passive) for each sentence.

(1) The cake ____________ by my sister for my birthday. (bake)

(2) The detective ____________ the mystery. (solve)

(3) The ancient ruins ____________ by archaeologists for years. (study)

(4) The company ____________ a new marketing strategy. (develop)

(5) The music ____________ by the orchestra was mesmerizing. (perform)

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 8:

Write two sentences for each of the following scenarios, using both active and passive voice.

(1) Scenario: The house was cleaned by the housekeeper.

Active Voice:

Passive Voice:

(2) Scenario: The team won the championship.

(3) Scenario: The novel was written by a famous author.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 9:

Active: Subject + verb (s/es) + Object

Passive: Object + am/is/are + verb( past participle) + by + Subject.

Active: Subject + verb (past form) + Object

Passive: Object + was/were+ verb( past participle) + by + Subject.

Active: Subject + shall/will + verb + Object

Passive: Object + shall/will + be + verb (past participle) + by + Subject.

Transform the following active sentences into passive voice:

(1) Ishan plays hockey.

(2) He writes letters.

(3) Amar loves books.

(4) I water the plants in the morning,

(5) Sita knows me.

(6) Granny read out a story.

(7) We lost the match.

(8) Bose invented Crescograph.

(9) I liked the movie.

(10) His behavior shocked us.

(11) She will paint the house.

(12) The news will please you.

(13) We will conquer the enemy.

(14) Sahil will clean the room.

(15) My mother will bake cupcakes.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 10:

Active: Subject + am/is/are +verb + ing+ Object

Passive: Object + am/is/are + being + verb( past participle) + by + Subject.

Active: Subject + was/were +verb + ing+ Object

Passive: Object + was/were + being + verb (past participle) + by + Subject.

Active: Subject + shall/will + be  +verb + ing+ Object

Passive: Object + shall/will + be + being + verb( past participle) + by + Subject.

Rewrite the following active sentences in passive voice:

(1)  I am painting a picture.

(2) The man is reading a book.

(3) Soma is cooking meat.

(4) Timothy is cooking lemon chicken

(5) The doctor is treating the patients

(6) Shobha was sending messages.

(7) Ali was reading a book.

(8) Father was watching TV.

(9) Rupa was reading stories.

(10) He will be watering the trees.

(11) Ishita will be cooking fish curry.

(12) He will be completing the task.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 11:

Active: Subject + has/ have + verb( past participle) + Object

Passive: Object + has/have + been + verb (past participle) + by + Subject.

Active: Subject + had + verb( past participle) + Object

Passive: Object + had + been + verb( past participle) + by + Subject.

Active: Subject + shall/will + have + verb (past participle) + Object

Passive: Object + shall/will + have + been + verb (past participle) + by + Subject.

(1) Mother has slapped him.

(2) He has seen a tiger.

(3) have written a story.

(4) He has sent the flowers.

(5) They have bought a pen.

(6) I had given him a pastry.

(7) I had done the work.

(8) Sandip had sold the computer.

(8) They had called a meeting.

(9) He had caught a fish.

(10) We shall have made him captain.

(11) She will have spoken the truth.

(12) You will have done the work.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 12:

Active: Subject + has/have + been + verb + ing + Object.

Passive: Object + has/have + been + being + verb (past-participle form) + by + Subject.

Active: Subject + had + been + verb + ing + Object.

Passive: Object + had + been + being + verb (past-participle form) + by + Subject.

Active: Subject + shall/will + have + been + verb + ing + Object.

Passive: Object + shall/will + have + been + being + verb (past-participle form) + by + Subject.

(1) We have been playing football for two hours.

(2) She has been driving the car.

(3) They have been learning lessons.

(4) We had been watching a cricket match.

(5) They had been eating biriyani.

(6) You had been writing a letter.

(7) I shall have been solving the problem.

(8) You will have been forgiving me.

(9) They will have been tying the knot.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 13:

Active: Subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb +Object

Passive: Object + auxiliary verb + not + verb( past participle) + by + Subject.

(1) I do not like milk.

(2) The postman is not delivering letters.

(3) They have not repaired the pipe.

(4) I was not climbing the stairs.

(5) We had not seen the movie.

(6) Tea shall not be taken by me today.

(7) I do not distribute newspapers.

(8) She is not purchasing the house.

(9) He has not eaten a banana.

(10) I did not see him.

(11) The maid was cleaning the room.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 14:

Active: Auxilary verb + subject + main verb + object/remaining part of the sentences?

Passive:   Auxilary verb + subject + verb (past-participle form) + by + object?

Active: Wh-word + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb + object?

Passive:   Wh-word  + auxiliary verb + subject + verb (past-participle form) + by + object?

Change the Voice

(1) Do I eat rice?

(2) Does he beat you?

(3) Did I eat rice?

(4) Did he beat you?

(5) Shall I eat rice?

(6) Will he beat you?

(7) Where did Anil find the bag?

(8) How did you open the door?

(9) Why does Biswajit beat the boy?

(10) Who has broken the glass?

(11) Which saree has Mou selected?

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 15:

Let + Object + be + main verb (past participle). 

Object + should + be + main verb (past participle)

You are requested/ordered/advised + to + main verb + ………

Let + object + be + main verb + by + …………

Turn the following sentences into passive voice

(1) Do this work.

(2) Solve the sum.

(3) Open the door.

(4) Polish your school shoes.

(5) Let us do it.

(6) Please look after the pet for

(7) Write the answer.

(8) Please do not smoke.

(9) Prepare yourself well.

(10) Clean the kitchen.

(11) Obey your elders.

(12) Read the text carefully.

(13) Change the TV channel.

(14) Rectify your mistakes.

(15) You are requested to drive slowly.

(16)  Let the curtains be drawn.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 16:

Active: May + Subject + main verb + Object.

Passive: May + Subject + be + Verb (past-participle form) + by + Object.

(1) May God grant you a long life.

(2) May God bless you.

(3) May India win the test series.

(4) May they begin life from the beginning.

(5) May we maintain the system.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 17:

The Passive Voice Transitive verbs with two objects are formed by changing either of the objects into the subject and retaining the other as the object.

(1) He teaches us English.

(2) I gave him a book.

(3) She gave me a present.

(4) I sent a card to her.

(5) Grandmother told me a story.

(6) Me. Smith gifted me a book.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 18:

In changing the voice of complex sentences the voices on both the Principal and Subordinate Clauses should be changed. The introductory ‘it’ also may be sometimes used.

Change the voice of the following

(1) I know that she did this.

(2)  We cannot undo what we do.

(3)  What cannot be cured must be endured. Ans.

(4)  Everybody knows that radio was invented by Marconi.

(5)  They informed us that they would do the job

(6) We must endure what we cannot cure.

(7) I know that he did the work.

(8) I hope that she will sign in life.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 19:

Active: Subject + helping verb + to + main verb + object

Passive: Subject + Auxiliary Verb + to be + main verb ( past participle) + by + Object

(1) I saw him play.

(2) There are a lot of things to do.

(3) You have to admit this.

(4) She is to cook the food.

(5) I am to buy the book.

(6) They have to read Sanskrit.

(7) She has to marry John.

(8) I have to make a plan.

(9) He has a lot of money to spend.

(10) They did not want to lose the game.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 20:

Active: Subject + modal Auxilary + main Verb + Object

Passive: Subject+  Modal Auxilary + be + Main V(P.P) + by + Object.

(1) He can drive a car.

(2)  Could I use your laptop?

(3)  You must do it.

(4)  She may allow you to go out.

(5)  I cannot remember the incident.

(6)  The poor should be helped by the rich.

(7) I can do this work.

(8) You may help your brother.

(9) He should respect his father.

(10) I would do physical exercise in my youth.

(11) The teacher must punish him.

(12) You might take the book.

(13) we ought to help the poor.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 21:

(1) Honey tastes sweet.

(2) The stone feels rough.

(3) Lime tastes sour.

(4) Her skin feels soft.

(5) Rose is sweet when it is smelt.

(6) The milk smells sour.

(7) The book reads well.

(8) The milk smells sour.

(9) The book reads well.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 22:

(1) They run a race.

(2) She slept a sleep.

(3) I dreamt a dream.

(4) They laughed at us.

(5) They fought the battle.

(6) Tiya ran a race.

(7) Students should maintain discipline.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 23:

(1) They made him King.

(2) He called me a fool.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 24:

(1) She fans herself.

(2) He killed himself.

(3) Know yourself.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 25:

(1) He laughs at me.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 26:

(1) I have lost my phone.

(2) One should keep one’s promises.

(3) People speak English all over the world.

(4) Authorities will prosecute trespassers. 

(5) Devotees worship Gods in the temple. 

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 27:

(1) We call the tiger our ANtional Animal.

(2) I know her.

(3) Their behavior shocked us.

(4) The news pleased us.

(5) Tears filled her eyes.

(6) He married her.

(7) Someone wrote this letter in the nineteenth century.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises 28:

Change the following sentences into passive voice

(1) I enjoyed the soup.

(2) You will cook the meal.

(3) He is making a kite.

(4) I was eating chips.

(5) Is the girl playing hockey?

(6) That night an earthquake hit the town.

(7) Hina will pay the telephone bill.

(8) The police arrested the leader of the dacoits.

(9) They handed her the keys.

(10) Call the police immediately.

(11) The sacks were changed by the miller and his son.

(12) Shilpa offered him another chance.

(13) The old man was leading the procession of silent men and women

(14) We must listen to his words.

(15) Don’t stick bills on the walls of our house.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: why is it important to practice active and passive voice .

A: Practicing these grammatical structures enhances your writing skills, allowing you to effectively convey different nuances and styles.

Q: Can you use both active and passive voice in the same paragraph? 

A: Yes, mixing both forms can add variety and rhythm to your writing, making it more engaging.

Q: Which voice should I use in formal writing? 

A: Both voices have their place. Active voice is often preferred for clarity, while passive voice can be useful for object focus or tactful communication.

Recommended Articles:

15 Class 9 Reading Comprehension Passages with Answers

  • English Grammar
  • Active and Passive Voice

Active and Passive Voice - Difference, Rules of Usage & Examples

Having learnt about the different parts of speech in the English language and the 12 different tenses , the next topic that you should focus on is the active voice and the passive voice. In this article, you will learn all about the active and passive voice, what it means, its definition and usage. Along with the difference between the two voices and examples given in the article, you will be able to understand and use the active voice and passive voice accurately and effectively.

he accepted the assignment change the voice

Table of Contents

‘voice’ – what is it, what is the active voice – meaning and definition, what is the passive voice – meaning and definition, using the active voice and the passive voice – points to remember, difference between the active voice and the passive voice, rules to be followed when converting the active voice to the passive voice, examples of the active and passive voice, check your understanding of the active voice and the passive voice, frequently asked questions on the active voice and the passive voice.

The term ‘voice’ is a term that is used to denote the form of the verb which shows if the subject in a given sentence is the doer or receiver of the action. The voice of a verb describes the relationship between the action and the participants ( subject or object ) in a sentence.

The Two Voices in the English Language

There are two voices in the English language and they are as follows:

  • Active Voice
  • Passive Voice

Let us look into the two voices a little in detail with the help of the meaning and definition given below.

The active voice, in a sentence, denotes that the noun or pronoun that acts as the subject in the sentence is the doer of the action. In other words, the subject performs the action or acts upon the verb.

According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, the active voice is defined as “the form of a verb in which the subject is the person or thing that performs the action”, and according to the Collins Dictionary, the active voice is defined as “a voice of verbs used to indicate that the subject of a sentence is performing the action or causing the event or process described by the verb.”

The passive voice, on the other hand, represents that the subject is one acted upon by the action or verb in the sentence. It can also be said that the passive voice indicates that the subject in the sentence is no longer active but passive.

According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, the passive voice is defined as “the form of a verb used when the subject is affected by the action of the verb”, and according to the Collins Dictionary, the passive voice is “formed using ‘be’ and the past participle of a verb. The subject of a passive clause does not perform the action expressed by the verb but is affected by it.”

There are a few points that you have to bear in mind when using the active voice and the passive voice. In the English language, the active voice is used generally as they give the information in a direct and clear manner. Make sure you do not use the passive voice just because you think it sounds better. Use it only if it is necessary. Remember that the active voice has the subject doing the action and the passive voice has the subject receiving the action. If you want to communicate your thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively, especially in a professional setup, it would be best to use the active voice.

A pro tip for you to master the active voice and the passive voice is to know the structure and formula by which they work.

Active Voice – Subject + Verb + Object

Passive Voice – Object + Verb + Subject

Analysing the difference between the active voice and the passive voice is what will help you in a much better way to learn how to use the two voices effectively. Take a look at the following table to know how they differ.

When converting the active voice into the passive voice or vice versa, there are changes in the tenses and pronouns used in the sentences.

The table given below shows you how the tenses change when converting the active voice to the passive voice and vice versa.

Active

Brendon plays cricket.

Brendon is playing cricket.

Brendon has played cricket.

Brendon has been playing cricket.

Passive

Cricket is played by Brendon.

Cricket is being played by Brendon.

Cricket has been played by Brendon.

No Passive

Active

Brendon played cricket.

Brendon was playing cricket.

Brendon had played cricket.

Brendon had been playing cricket.

Passive

Cricket was played by Brendon.

Cricket was being played by Brendon.

Cricket had been played by Brendon.

No Passive

Active

Brendon will play cricket.

Brendon will be playing cricket.

Brendon will have played cricket.

Brendon will have been playing cricket.

Passive

Cricket will be played by Brendon.

No Passive

Cricket will have been played by Brendon.

No Passive

I

Me

We

Us

He

Him

She

Her

They

Them

It

It

There are a few other points that you have to know so that you can use the two voices effectively. They are as follows:

  • When converting a sentence in the active voice to the passive voice, the first thing that you have to do is interchange the subject and the object.
  • The next part of speech you have to focus on is the verb. When converting the active voice into the passive voice, you just have to convert the main verb into its past participle or its third form. The third form of the main verb is the past participle form of the verb.
  • When you are changing the tense of the main verb, make sure you use an auxiliary verb which maintains the tense the sentence represents.
  • Always use the preposition , ‘by’ before the subject in a passive sentence.
  • If there are any adverbs used in the sentence with the active voice, be sure to include it in the passive voice as well. Do not just drop it when you convert a sentence in the active voice to the passive voice or vice-versa.

Given below are a few examples of how to convert the active voice into the passive voice.

  • Active Voice – Twinkle likes adventure stories.

Passive Voice – Adventure stories are liked by Twinkle.

  • Active Voice – Latha is learning French this year.

Passive Voice – French is being learnt by Latha this year.

  • Active Voice – Kurt has brought macaroons.

Passive Voice – Macaroons have been brought by Kurt.

  • Active Voice – Sidharth played cricket.

Passive Voice – Cricket was played by Sidharth.

  • Active Voice – They were making invitation cards.

Passive Voice – Invitation cards were being made by them.

  • Active Voice – Becky had packed the bags.

Passive Voice – The bags had been packed by Becky.

  • Active Voice – Mira will buy the refreshments for the party.

Passive Voice – The refreshments for the party will be bought by Mira.

  • Active Voice – Sanjay will have given the forms to all the participants.

Passive Voice – The forms will have been given to all the participants by Sanjay.

Now that you have seen a number of examples and learnt how the conversion is done, try converting the following sentences as directed.

1. Varun is helping Reshmi. (Change into passive voice)

2. A gift was given to Manassa by me. (Change into active voice)

3. Santana will sing All My Life at the Nationals. (Change into active voice)

4. A mouse was being chased by my cat. (Change into active voice)

5. Naveen loves Praveena. (Change into passive voice)

6. The decorations for the annual day will be done by Emma. (Change into active voice)

7. J. K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter novels. (Change into passive voice)

8. Ms. Holly will teach Spanish this year. (Change into passive voice)

9. Mike was hit by Nick. (Change into active voice)

10. Naslen is being scolded by his mom. (Change into active voice)

Check out if you did the conversion right from the answers given below.

1. Reshmi is being helped by Varun.

2. I gave Manassa a gift.

3. All My Life will be sung by Santana at the Nationals.

4. My cat was chasing a mouse.

5. Praveena is loved by Naveen.

6. Emma will do the decorations for the annual day.

7. The Harry Potter novels were written by J. K. Rowling.

8. Spanish will be taught by Ms. Holly this year.

9. Nick hit Mike.

10. Naslen’s mom is scolding him.

What is the active voice?

What is the passive voice.

The passive voice, on the other hand, denotes that the subject is acted upon by the action or verb in the sentence. It can also be said that the passive voice indicates that the subject in the sentence is no longer active but passive.

What is the definition of the active voice?

What is the definition of the passive voice.

According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, the passive voice is defined as “the form of a verb used when the subject is affected by the action of the verb”, and according to the Collins Dictionary, the passive voice is “formed using ‘be’ and the past participle of a verb. The subject of a passive clause does not perform the action expressed by the verb but is affected by it.”

Give some examples of active voice and passive voice.

Given below are some examples of active and passive voice for your reference. Active Voice – Twinkle likes adventure stories. Passive Voice – Adventure stories are liked by Twinkle. Active Voice – Sidharth played cricket. Passive Voice – Cricket was played by Sidharth. Active Voice – Mira will buy the refreshments for the party. Passive Voice – The refreshments for the party will be bought by Mira.

ENGLISH Related Links

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your Mobile number and Email id will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Request OTP on Voice Call

Post My Comment

he accepted the assignment change the voice

Register with BYJU'S & Download Free PDFs

Register with byju's & watch live videos.

How to rewrite a sentence in active voice

Learn how to convert passive voice to active voice in 3 easy steps

Stacy Goh

You may have heard the argument that active voice is better than passive voice. In most cases, this is true. Active voice can make your writing clearer, shorter, and punchier. Heck, even lawyers and academics are now encouraged to use it thanks to Plain Language policies .

In that case, how do you change passive voice to active?

Some writing guides will use terms like "past participles" and "gerunds" to answer this question. While these are handy for students and linguists, they're probably of no interest to you.

Instead, we've put together three mostly jargon-free steps on how to rewrite a sentence in active voice (plus a link to a tool that can do it all for you).

The 3-step rewrite process

Step 1: identify passive voice.

First, we need to figure out if a phrase is written in passive voice. We've discussed the differences between passive and active voice before , but put simply:

  • Active voice = subject of the sentence performs the verb action
  • Passive voice = subject of the sentence receives the verb action

Let's look at an example.

The car was purchased by Olivia .

The subject of this sentence is the car. We can tell the car is receiving an action because it "was purchased". It didn't actually do anything. If you can't tell, look out for the word "by" after the verb—it's a good sign that a sentence is written in passive voice.

Step 2: Change word order

Imagine we want Olivia to be the focus of our sentence, not the car. We'll need to move her name to the front of the sentence, and move the car to the end.

Olivia was purchased by the car .

Our sentence still makes sense grammatically, but not logically. Cars aren't that advanced (yet). This brings us to step 3.

Step 3: Remove unnecessary words

Active sentences tend to be shorter than passive ones because they require less words (like a form of the verb "to be"). In this particular case, we can get rid of the words "was" and "by".

Olivia purchased the car .

Voilà! We have an active sentence.

Things to be mindful of

Obviously, not every passive sentence will neatly fit the three steps we just outlined. Here are some cases to look out for:

The sentence is missing details

Sometimes, a passive sentence won't have a "doer". That's because we don't know who did the thing, or it's not necessary to share that detail. You'll notice academics and journalists will use this tactic to maintain an objective tone.

The parcels were delivered on time.

If we want to make this sentence active, we'll need to add details about who or what made the delivery.

The parcels were delivered on time [by Fedex]. Fedex delivered the parcels on time.

The verb needs changing

So far, every example we've listed contained a regular verb. Regular verbs don't need to be changed when switching between passive and active voice.

Irregular verbs don't always have this luxury. Take the verb "write", for example:

The lyrics were written by Adele . Adele wrote the lyrics .

Clearly, "Adele written the lyrics" would be incorrect. So we use the simple past form of the word instead.

Use the same tense

The English language has three main tenses: past, present, and future. A passive sentence can be written in any of these. For example:

The cows are milked every morning. The cows were milked yesterday. The cows have been milked today. The cows will be milked tomorrow. The cows would have been milked today.

When you change a sentence to active voice, ensure you use the same tense. For example, the first sentence could be rewritten as "The farmer milks the cows every morning".

Get Outwrite to rewrite for you

There may be times when you've unintentionally used passive voice, or you can't figure out how to change it. Outwrite can help you in two ways:

1. Use our passive voice detector

The phrase "The report was finished by me" is underlined. An Outwrite pop up suggests using the active sentence "I finished the report"

One of Outwrite's most popular Pro features is our passive voice detector . It will underline any phrases it thinks are passive and suggest an active voice alternative.

2. Use our paraphrasing tool

The sentence "The video was posted by CNN last week" is highlighted. An Outwrite pop up suggests restructuring the sentence.

Alternatively, you can rewrite sentences instantly with our AI paraphrasing tool . Just double-click on or highlight a sentence, and Outwrite will generate a list of suggestions.

You can pick from six rewriting goals: improve, shorten, expand, restructure, casual, and formal. We'd suggest using the "restructure" goal if you want to fix a passive sentence.

Don't have an Outwrite account? Sign up for free!

Outwrite

Passive Voice in English Grammar

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.

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.

  • Exercises – Passive Voice

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 .

Tense Example
The thief .
The thief .
The thief .
The thief .
The thief .
The thief .
The thief .
The thief .
The thief .
The thief should .
The thief would
The thief should .
The thief would .

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.

Tense Active Passive
Simple Present Someone my bike. My bike .
Present Progressive Someone my bike. My bike .
Present Perfect Someone my bike. My bike .
Simple Past Someone my bike. My bike .
Past Progressive Someone my bike. My bike .
Past Perfect Someone my bike. My bike .
Will Future Someone my bike. My bike .
Future with going to Someone my bike. My bike .
Future Perfect Someone my bike. My bike .
Infinitive Someone would my bike.
Someone can my bike.
My bike would .
My bike can .
Perfect infinitive Someone would my bike.
Someone might my bike.
My bike would .
My bike might .

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.

Active Voice Object Pronoun Subject Pronoun Passive Voice
They told about the crime. me I was told about the crime.
They told about the crime. you you were told about the crime.
They told her about the crime. her she She was told about the crime.
They told him about the crime. him he He was told about the crime.
They reported it to the police. it it It was reported to the police.
They told us about the crime. us we We were told about the crime.
They told them about the crime. them they They were told about the crime.

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?

Find out with Lingolia’s free grammar test

Take the test!

Maybe later

Question Answer

Change the Voice Question and Answer

“Welcome to our ‘Change the Voice’ Question Answer Page! Here, you’ll find 30+ Q&A on ‘Change the Voice,’ where each statement is provided, and you can find the perfect answer from the options.”

Change the Voice Question

1.Change Voice: “After driving professor Kumar to the museum she dropped him at his hotel.”

a) After being driven to the museum, Professor Kumar was dropped at his hotel.

b) Professor Kumar was being driven dropped at his hotel.

c) After she had driven Professor Kumar to the museum she had dropped him at his hotel.

d) After she was driven Professor Kumar to the museum she had dropped him at his hotel.

2. Change Voice: “Having completed the assignment, he submitted it to the professor.”

a) The assignment was completed by him, and then he submitted it to the professor.

b) After completing the assignment, it was submitted to the professor by him.

c) After the assignment was completed, it was submitted by him to the professor.

d) He completed the assignment and submitted it to the professor.

3. Change Voice: “The dog chased the cat up the tree.”

a) The cat was chased up the tree by the dog.

b) Up the tree, the cat was chased by the dog.

c) The cat, up the tree, was chased by the dog.

d) Up the tree, the cat chased the dog.

4. Change Voice: “She will finish the project by next week.”

a) By next week, the project will be finished by her.

b) By next week, she will have finished the project.

c) The project will have been finished by her by next week.

d) Next week, she will finish the project.

5. Change Voice: “They are conducting the experiment in the laboratory.”

a) The experiment is being conducted in the laboratory by them.

b) In the laboratory, they conducted the experiment.

c) Conducting the experiment in the laboratory is being done by them.

d) The laboratory is where they are conducting the experiment.

6. Change Voice: “The company awarded him with the Employee of the Year trophy.”

a) He was awarded the Employee of the Year trophy by the company.

b) With the Employee of the Year trophy, the company awarded him.

c) He received the Employee of the Year trophy from the company.

d) The Employee of the Year trophy was awarded to him by the company.

7. Change Voice: “She had already prepared breakfast before he woke up.”

a) Breakfast was already prepared by her before he woke up.

b) Before waking up, breakfast had already been prepared by her.

c) Before he woke up, she had already prepared breakfast.

d) She prepared breakfast before he woke up.

8. Change Voice: “The storm destroyed many houses in the village.”

a) In the village, the storm destroyed many houses.

b) Many houses were destroyed by the storm in the village.

c) Many houses in the village were destroyed by the storm.

d) Many houses were destroyed by the storm.

9. Change Voice: “He will clean the car after finishing his homework.”

a) After finishing his homework, the car will be cleaned by him.

b) After his homework is finished, the car will be cleaned by him.

c) After finishing his homework, he will clean the car.

d) The car will be cleaned by him after he finishes his homework.

10. Change Voice: “The teacher asked the students to complete the assignment by Friday.”

a) By Friday, the assignment was asked to be completed by the students.

b) To complete the assignment by Friday, the students were asked by the teacher.

c) The students were asked by the teacher to complete the assignment by Friday.

d) The assignment was to be completed by the students by Friday.

11. Change Voice: “She has sent the invitations to all the guests.”

a) The invitations have been sent to all the guests by her.

b) All the guests have received the invitations from her.

c) All the guests have been sent the invitations by her.

d) She sent the invitations to all the guests.

12. Change Voice: “The committee will announce the results next week.”

a) Next week, the results will be announced by the committee.

b) The results will be announced by the committee next week.

c) The results will announce next week by the committee.

d) Next week, the committee will announce the results.

13. Change Voice: “They invited us to their wedding ceremony.”

a) We were invited to their wedding ceremony by them.

b) We were invited by them to their wedding ceremony.

c) To their wedding ceremony, we were invited by them.

d) They invited us to their wedding ceremony.

14. Change Voice: “The mechanic repaired my car yesterday.”

a) Yesterday, my car repaired by the mechanic.

b) Yesterday, the mechanic repaired my car.

c) My car repaired by the mechanic yesterday.

d) My car was repaired by the mechanic yesterday.

15. Change Voice: “She will return the book to the library before the due date.”

a) The book will return to the library before the due date by her.

b) Before the due date, the book will be returned to the library by her.

c) Before the due date, she will return the book to the library.

d) She will return the book to the library before the due date.

16. Change Voice: “The teacher gave the students a surprise quiz yesterday.”

a) Yesterday, a surprise quiz was given to the students by the teacher.

b) The students were surprised by the quiz given by the teacher yesterday.

c) A surprise quiz was given by the teacher to the students yesterday.

d) The teacher surprised the students with a quiz yesterday.

17. Change Voice: “They are building a new hospital in our neighborhood.”

a) In our neighborhood, they are building a new hospital.

b) They are being built a new hospital in our neighborhood.

c) Building a new hospital in our neighborhood by them.

d) A new hospital is being built in our neighborhood by them.

18. Change Voice: “The government implemented new tax regulations last month.”

a) New tax regulations were implemented by the government last month.

b) Last month, new tax regulations were implemented by the government.

c) The government was implementing new tax regulations last month.

d) The government implemented last month new tax regulations.

19. Change Voice: “He has completed the report ahead of schedule.”

a) Ahead of schedule, the report has been completed by him.

b) He completed the report ahead of schedule.

c) The report was completed ahead of schedule by him.

d) The report has been completed by him ahead of schedule.

20. Change Voice: “She will decorate the house for the party tomorrow.”

a) Tomorrow, the house will be decorated for the party by her.

b) The house will decorate for the party tomorrow by her.

c) Tomorrow, she will decorate the house for the party.

d) She will decorate the house for the party tomorrow.

Change Voice: Easy Exercise

Change voice: medium level exercise, change voice: hard level exercise.

  • Learn and Master the Voice in Grammar

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

Voice change in English grammar

Change the voice: "Is this given to him by him?"

I'm confused between "Does he give him this?" and "Does he give this to him?"

Which one is the correct answer?

  • active-voice

Ayush Padhy's user avatar

  • 1 If you want to retain the prepositional phrase structure ( gives this to him ) rather introduce an indirect object structure ( gives him this ), then... Passive: Is this given to him [by him]? Active: Does he give this to him? –  Tinfoil Hat Commented Nov 16, 2021 at 3:53
  • 1 The example is pointlessly confusing simply because him is being used twice in the same sentence to refer to different people - which is so klunky native speakers would normally avoid it. Why not let the possible donor be female: Is this given to him by her ? –  FumbleFingers Commented Nov 16, 2021 at 13:02
  • It's a stupid exercise and you shouldn't worry about it. –  John Lawler Commented Nov 16, 2021 at 15:47

You must log in to answer this question.

Browse other questions tagged grammar active-voice ..

  • Featured on Meta
  • User activation: Learnings and opportunities
  • Preventing unauthorized automated access to the network

Hot Network Questions

  • Are there individual protons and neutrons in a nucleus?
  • How similar were the MC6800 and MOS 6502?
  • Will a car seat fit into a standard economy class seat on a plane?
  • Are logic and mathematics the only fields in which certainty (proof) can be obtained?
  • Why was Z moved to the end of the alphabet when Zeta was near the beginning?
  • Is there any reason _not_ to add a flyback diode?
  • Why is China not mentioned in the Fallout TV series despite its significant role in the games' lore?
  • Place some or all of the White Chess pieces on a chessboard in such a way that none of them can legally move
  • Does this work for page turns in a busy violin part?
  • tan 3θ = cot(−θ)
  • Confused about empty plastic bottle in the freezer situation
  • Is a private third party allowed to take things to court?
  • Sticky goo making it hard to open and close the main 200amp breaker
  • Is there a name for this Fibonacci formula that uses hyperbolic trigonometry?
  • If two subgroups intersect in only the identity, do their cosets intersect in at most one element?
  • Does the Rogue's Evasion cost a reaction?
  • Is “No Time To Die” the first Bond film to feature children?
  • A scrambled word which can't be guessed without all of its letters
  • Purpose of sleeve on sledge hammer handle
  • Is there any language which distinguishes between “un” as in “not” and “un” as in “inverse”?
  • Is it common in modern classical music for timpani to play chromatic passages?
  • Why would an escrow/title company not accept ACH payments?
  • How many jet fighters is Azerbaijan purchasing?
  • Short story about a space traveller on a planet of people, each immensely talented

he accepted the assignment change the voice

kc9190544

  • Secondary School

He accepted the assignment. ( change the voice/start with 'the assignment' )​

OtakuSama

Q u e s t i o n : -

He accepted the assingment. (Change the voice/start with "the assingment")

A n s w e r : -

The assingment was accepted by him.

\\\\\\\purple{\sf{More\:explanation}}

To change an active voice into passive voice , we follow this structure:-

  • object + auxiliary verb (according to the tense of the given sentence) + p a t p a r t i c i p l e f o r m o f m a i n v e r b + by + object

Here, "He accepted the assignment" is in Past Indefinite tense, for this, we used " was " as the auxiliary verb.

S o m e e x a m p l e s : -

Active Voice : Sameer wrote a letter. (Subject) + (verb) + (object).

Passive Voice : A letter was written by Sameer. (Object) + (auxiliary verb) + (past participle) + (by) +(subject).

  • He did his homework.

Passive :- Homework was done by him.

  • She mailed the letter.

Passive ; The letter was mailed by her.

AtikRehan786

Assignment was accepted by him.

New questions in Math

Search questions and Textbooks

Question asked by Filo student

a) He accepted the assignment. (Change the voice) → b) it would be very difficult. ( Make it a negative sentence

he accepted the assignment change the voice

Views: 5,147 students

Updated on: Apr 4, 2023

Video Solution

Video solutions ( 1 )

Learn from their 1-to-1 discussion with Filo tutors.

Uploaded on: 4/4/2023

Connect instantly with this tutor

Connect now

tutor profile picture

Total classes on Filo by this tutor - 15,984

Teaches : English, Mathematics, SBI Examinations

Notes from this class ( 1 pages)

Arrow

Students who ask this question also asked

Views: 5,869

View solution

Views: 5,264

Views: 5,943

  • In the contrary, his mother thought
  • I take off my black coat
  • Ustad Bismillah khan was awarded, a Bharat Ratna.
  • It is a hot summer night; about 10 o'clock.

View 2 solutions

Views: 5,804

Doubt Icon

Stuck on the question or explanation?

Connect with our English tutors online and get step by step solution of this question.

Question Text b) it would be very difficult. ( Make it a negative sentence
Updated OnApr 4, 2023
TopicGrammar
SubjectEnglish
ClassClass 9
Answer Type Video solution:
Upvotes75
Avg. Video Duration1

Are you ready to take control of your learning?

Download Filo and start learning with your favourite tutors right away!

Home of English Grammar

Change into passive

Sentences are given in the active voice. Change them into the passive voice.

1. He has bought a fiat car.

2. I put down the pen.

3. I saw a hut at a distance.

4. All of them welcomed the suggestion enthusiastically.

5. Most of my friends have watched this movie.

6. The teacher appreciated the boy’s work.

7. Somebody has stolen the bicycle.

8. The police finally caught the notorious thief.

9. The head of the organization will run the project.

10. Firemen miraculously saved the people living on the second and third floors.

11. I am drafting a document now.

12. She will have sent the report.

1. A fiat car was bought by him.

2. The pen was put down by me.

3. A hut was seen  (by me) at a distance.

4. The suggestion was enthusiastically welcomed by them all.

5. This movie has been watched by most of my friends.

6. The boy’s work was appreciated by the teacher.

7. The bicycle has been stolen.

8. The notorious thief was finally caught by the police.

9. The project will be run by the head of the organization.

10. The people living on the second and third floors were miraculously rescued by the firemen.

11. A document is being drafted by me.

12. The report will have been sent by her.

he accepted the assignment change the voice

IMAGES

  1. Active to Passive Voice Examples with Answer (Basic Level)

    he accepted the assignment change the voice

  2. Active and Passive Voice > 6 Advanced Level Rules for Voice Changing

    he accepted the assignment change the voice

  3. Change the voice

    he accepted the assignment change the voice

  4. Active Voice and Passive Voice Assignment Questions

    he accepted the assignment change the voice

  5. Change the Voice

    he accepted the assignment change the voice

  6. Change The Voice

    he accepted the assignment change the voice

VIDEO

  1. Moves Like Jagger (Studio Recording From "The Voice" Performance)

  2. The voice change at end🙏🏻💀 #funny #text

  3. Movie notes on "Raise Your Voice" (2004 film; 3 September 2024 viewing)

  4. The voice change😭 #funnytexts #textstories #englishorspanish

  5. A Lie Can Really Change A Person

  6. When Voice Actors have some remain lines left

COMMENTS

  1. Active and Passive Voice Examples with Answer (Advanced Level)

    Active - You will have submitted the assignment. Passive - The assignment will have been submitted by you. Active - I Would have told her everything. Passive - Everything would have been told to her by me. She would have been told everything by me. Active - We shall have done it within three days. Passive - It will have been done ...

  2. Changing Passive to Active Voice

    Changing Passive to Active Voice. 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 ...

  3. Change the voice

    Change the voice. 1. James broke another window. / Another window ..... by James . had broken . was broken . had been broken. Correct! Wrong! 2. I know the answer. ... The invitation was not accepted by her. 4. Their house has been sold by them. 5. The science of ship-building was known to ancient Indians. 6. I was shown a nice portrait by her.

  4. How to Change a Sentence from Active Voice to Passive Voice

    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.". 2. Add an auxiliary verb "be" before the main verb.

  5. Changing a sentence into the passive voice when the active verb is in

    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. Exercise. Change the following sentences into the passive. 1. They will tell you when the time comes.

  6. Change The Voice Exercise

    Answers. They nominated him for the post. / He was nominated for the post. I will not permit this. / This will not be permitted by me. She grows fruits and vegetables in her garden.

  7. Active and Passive Voice: Learn how to change the sentence ...

    Use the word "by" before the subject in the passive sentence. For example: Active voice: My brother sang a song. Passive voice: A song was sung by my brother. 4. Change of tense of the auxiliary word: Now when you change the verb form of the main verb, the tense of the auxiliary also changes accordingly.

  8. Active and Passive Voice Exercises with Answers

    Active and Passive Voice Exercises 6:. Rewrite the following sentences, changing them from passive to active voice. (1) The book was read by Sarah. (2) The letter has been written by the secretary. (3) The movie was watched by a large audience. (4) The cake was baked by my grandmother. (5) The song was sung by the famous singer. Active and Passive Voice Exercises 7:

  9. Active and Passive Voice

    The active voice does not require a linking verb to make sense. The passive voice uses a linking verb followed by the past participle of the main verb. The active voice focuses on the doer of the action. The passive voice comes in handy when the doer of the action is undetermined. Has a direct, clear and strong tone.

  10. How to rewrite a sentence in active voice

    Step 1: Identify passive voice. First, we need to figure out if a phrase is written in passive voice. We've discussed the differences between passive and active voice before, but put simply: Active voice = subject of the sentence performs the verb action. Passive voice = subject of the sentence receives the verb action. Let's look at an example.

  11. The change of voice from active to passive and vice-versa

    The change of voices includes two types of voices- Active and Passive voices. In an active voice, the subject present in the sentence acts upon the verb. In a passive voice, the subject goes through the action of the verb. The position of the subject gets changed in the two forms. When the doer of the action or the subject is not present in a ...

  12. Passive Voice in English Grammar

    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 ...

  13. Change the Voice Question and Answer

    6. Change Voice: "The company awarded him with the Employee of the Year trophy.". a) He was awarded the Employee of the Year trophy by the company. b) With the Employee of the Year trophy, the company awarded him. c) He received the Employee of the Year trophy from the company.

  14. Change the voice

    Answers. 1. The work has been completed by me.. 2. The cat has been let in.. 3. The match may be won by us.. 4. Let the weak not be insulted.. 5. The patient is being looked after by the nurse.. 6. The sparrows are being fed by the boy.. 7. The enemy has been defeated by our army.. 8. One's promises should be kept.. 9. I was offered a job by them.. 10. The fault in the machine was located by ...

  15. PDF Lesson 15: Passive Voice

    passive voice with these, because there is no object: The car slowed down. He is running away. Summary In the active voice, the subject of the sentence DOES the action. In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is acted upon. The passive voice is formed by a form of the verb TO BE + past participle of the main verb.

  16. Voice change in English grammar

    Change the voice: "Is this given to him by him?" I'm confused between "Does he give him this?" and "Does he give this to him?" Which one is the correct answer? If you want to retain the prepositional phrase structure (gives this to him) rather introduce an indirect object structure (gives him this), then...

  17. PDF Change the sentences to passive voice.

    PASSIVE VOICE PV 5 Change the sentences to passive voice. 1. The large house has been built by the Browns. 2. She was stung by a jellyfish while she was swimming. 3. She was given a nice present. 4. The new song is being sung by Jane. 5. The house was destroyed by the storm. 6. A lot of money was spent on the first shopping Saturday. 7.

  18. PDF B1 Passive Voice PA003

    8. They say he is an excellent pianist. He is said to be an excellent pianist. 9. They gave him a new outfit for the performance. He was given a new outfit for the performance. A new outfit was given to him for the performance. 10.What are they going to ask him? What is he going to be asked? 11.We will have to do this work by next Monday.

  19. Change the voice

    When we change imperative sentences into the passive voice, we begin with 'let'. An example is given below. Open the door. (Active voice) Let the door be opened. (Passive voice) Exercise. Change the voice. 1. Close the door. 2. Translate this into French. 3. Invite him to the party. 4. Do not invite her to the party. 5. Do not disturb him ...

  20. He accepted the assignment. ( change the voice/start with 'the

    He accepted the assignment. ( change the voice/start with 'the assignment' ) - 37855651. kc9190544 kc9190544 27.03.2021 Math Secondary School answered • expert verified He accepted the assignment. ( change the voice/start with 'the assignment' ) See answers Advertisement ...

  21. a) He accepted the assignment. (Change the voice) →b) it would ...

    Solution For a) He accepted the assignment. (Change the voice) → b) it would be very difficult. ( Make it a negative sentence World's only instant tutoring platform. Instant Tutoring Private Courses Explore Tutors. Login. Student Tutor. CBSE Class 9. English. Grammar. a) He accepted the assignment. (Change the voice) b) it would ...

  22. Change into passive

    Sentences are given in the active voice. Change them into the passive voice. 1. He has bought a fiat car. 2. I put down the pen. 3. I saw a hut at a distance. 4. All of them welcomed the suggestion enthusiastically. 5. Most of my friends have watched this movie. 6. The teacher appreciated the boy's work. 7. Somebody has stolen the bicycle. 8.