The Active voice  and Passive voice

 

voices are the most important part in English grammar.

Observe the following examples;

The teacher punished the boy.

The boy was punished by the teacher.

The above two meanings of sentences conveys same meaning.

But in the first sentence the form of the verb shows that the subject ‘Teacher’ is active. The subject ‘Teacher’ does something. So the verb punished is said to be in Active Voice.

In second sentence the subject is ‘boy’. The subject ‘ boy’ received the punishment, in other words we can we that the boy is receiver of the action. But it’s not active,  it’s a passive. The form of the verb shows that something is done to the boy denoted by the subject. So the verb was punished is said to be in Passive Voice. Note the change from the Active Voice to the Passive Voice in the following sentences.

A verb is in the ACTIVE VOICE when its structure shows (as in sentence1) that the person or thing denoted by the subject does something: or, in other words, is the doer of the action.

 

The active voice is so called because the person denoted by the subject 

 A verb is in the PASSIVE VOICE when its form shows (as in sentence2) that something is done to the person or thing denoted by the subject.

The Passive Voice is so called because the person or thing indicate by the subject is not active but passive, that is, suffers or receives some action. 

 

Note the change from the Active Voice to the Passive Voice in the following sentences.

Active Voice	Passive voice
1. Simple Present Tense(subject +V1/ V1+s/es+ object) Eg. 1. Site loves Savtri.  2. Children like balloons.	Object +Am/Is/are+ V3 + by+ subject Eg.1. Savitri is loved by Sita. 2. Balloons are liked by children.
*Simple Present Tense(subject +do/doesnot +V1+s/es+ object) Eg. 1. Sita does not love Savtri.  2. Children do not like balloons.	Object +Am/Is/are+ not+V3 + by+ subject Eg.1. Savitri is not  loved by Sita. 2. Balloons are not  liked by children.
*Simple Present Tense(do/does+ subject+V1+s/es+ object?) Eg. 1. Does Sita  love Savtri?	Am/Is/are+object+V3 + by+ subject Eg.1. Is Savitri loved by Sita?
2.Present Continuous Tense(subject+ am /is /are +V1 +ing+ object) Eg. 1. He is helping Suresh. 2. They are building the wall.	Object+ am/Is/are+ being+ V3+by+ subject 1. Suresh is being helped by him. 2.The wall is being built by them
*.Present Continuous Tense(subject+ am /is /are + not+V1 +ing+ object) Eg. 1. He is not helping Suresh. 2. They are not building the wall.	Object+ am/Is/are +not+ being+ V3+by+ subject 1. Suresh is not being helped by him. 2.The wall is not being built by them.
*Present Continuous Tense(am /is /are+ subject +V1 +ing+ object) Eg. 1.  Is he helping Suresh? 2. Are they building the wall?	Object+ am/Is/are+ being+ V3+by+ subject 1.  Is Suresh being helped by him? 2. Is the wall being built by them?
3. Present Perfect Tense(Subject+ has/have+ V3+ object) Eg. Suresh has written a letter.	Object+ has/have + been+V3+by+subject A letter has been written by Suresh.
* Present Perfect Tense(Subject+ has/have +not+ V3+ object) Eg. Suresh has not written a letter.	Object+ has/have +not + been+V3+by+subject A letter has not been written by Suresh.
*Present Perfect Tense(+ has/have+ subject+ V3+ object?) Eg.  Has Suresh written a letter?	Has/have + object+been+V3+by+subject Has a letter been written by  by Suresh?
4. Simple Past Tense (Subject+ V2+ object) Eg. Suresh broke the window.	Object + was/were+V3+ by+ subject Eg. The window was broken by Suresh
* Simple Past Tense (Subject+ did not +V1+ object) Eg. Suresh did not break the window.	was/were +object +V3+ by+ subject Eg. Was the window broken by Suresh?
* Simple Past Tense (did +Subject+ V1+ object) Eg. Did Suresh break the window?	was/were+ Object +V3+ by+ subject Eg. Was the window broken by Suresh?
5..Past Continuous Tense(subject +was/were +V1 +ing + object) Eg. 1. He was helping Suresh. 2. They were building the wall.	Object+ was/were+ being+ V3+by+ subject 1. Suresh was being helped by him. 2.The wall was being built by them
*Past Continuous Tense(subject +was/were +not  +V1 +ing+ object) Eg. 1. He was not helping Suresh. 2. They were not building the wall.	Object+ was/were + not+ being+ V3+by+ subject 1. Suresh was not being helped by him. 2. The wall was not being built by them.
*Past Continuous Tense(was/were+ subject+ V1 +ing+ object) Eg. 1. Was he helping Suresh? 2.  Were they building the wall?	was/were +Object+ being+ V3+by+ subject 1. Was Suresh being helped by him? 2. Was the wall being built by them?
6. Past Perfect Tense(Subject+ had+ V3+ object) Eg. Suresh had written a letter.	Object+ had+ been+V3+by+subject A letter had been written by Suresh.
* Past Perfect Tense(Subject+ had+ not + V3+ object) Eg. Suresh had not written a letter.	Object+ had+ not+been+V3+by+subject A letter had not been written by Suresh.
*Past Perfect Tense (Had+ subject+V3+ object?) Eg. Had Suresh written a letter?	Had+subject+been+V3+by+subject Had a letter been written by Suresh?
7. Simple Future Tense  Subject +will/shall+V1+object. Eg. Suresh will write a letter.	Object+ willshall+ be+ V3+ by +subject A letter will be written by Suresh.
*Simple Future Tense  Subject +will/shall+ not +V1+object. Eg. Suresh will not write a letter.	Object + will/shall+ not + be + V3+ by + subject. A letter will not be written by Suresh.
*Simple Future Tense will/shall+subject+V1+object. Eg. Will Suresh  write a letter?	Will/shall+ Object +be +V3+by + subject Eg. Will a letter be written by Suresh?
8.Future perfect Tense Subject + will/shall +have +V3+ object Eg. Suresh will have written a letter.	Object + will/shall +have +been +V3+by+ subject. Eg. A letter will have written by Suresh
Future perfect Tense Subject + will/shall+ have +not + V3 + object Eg. Suresh will have not written a letter	Object + will/shall +have +not + been +V3+ by +subject Eg. A letter will have not been written by Suresh.
Future perfect Tense  will/shall+ subject+ have+ V3+ object? Eg. Will Suresh have written a letter?	Will/shall+ object+ have+ been+V3+by+ subject? Eg. Will a letter have been written by Suresh?

There is no passive formation for the following tenses.

1. Present perfect continuous tense.

2.  Past perfect continuous tense.

3. Future perfect continuous tense

4. Future continuous tense.

So, friends,  now you got all information for making changes in a sentence with active and passive rules of all tenses. Practice it more and more.  If you find it helpful and useful, must share it to your friends and please leave a comment in comment box.