Active and Passive Voice

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In English grammar, voice refers to the form of a verb that shows whether the subject performs or receives the action. There are two types of voice: active voice and passive voice.

Active Voice

A sentence is in active voice when the subject performs the action. This structure makes sentences clear and direct. The pattern is:

Subject + Verb + Object

Examples:

  • She writes a letter.
  • They cleaned the room.
  • The teacher explained the lesson.

Passive Voice

A sentence is in passive voice when the focus is on the action rather than the doer. The object of the active sentence becomes the subject in the passive sentence. The pattern is:

Object + be (is, am, are, was, were, been) + past participle + (by + subject, if needed)

Examples:

  • A letter is written by her.
  • The room was cleaned by them.
  • The lesson was explained by the teacher.

Changing Active Voice to Passive Voice

Formula for Passive Voice:

Object + be (is/am/are/was/were/been) + past participle + (by + subject, if needed)

1. Present Simple Tense:
Active: He writes a story.
Passive: A story is written by him.

2. Past Simple Tense:
Active: She painted the picture.
Passive: The picture was painted by her.

3. Future Simple Tense:
Active: They will build a house.
Passive: A house will be built by them.

4. Present Continuous Tense:
Active: She is reading a book.
Passive: A book is being read by her.

5. Past Continuous Tense:
Active: They were watching a movie.
Passive: A movie was being watched by them.

6. Present Perfect Tense:
Active: He has finished the work.
Passive: The work has been finished by him.

7. Past Perfect Tense:
Active: She had completed the assignment.
Passive: The assignment had been completed by her.

8. Future Perfect Tense:
Active: They will have launched the project.
Passive: The project will have been launched by them.

When to Use Passive Voice?

• Passive voice is used when the doer is unknown or unimportant.
Example: The window was broken. (The person who broke it is unknown.)

• It is used when the action is more important than the doer.
Example: A new law was passed last year.

• It is also used in scientific or formal writing.
Example: The experiment was conducted carefully.

When to Use Active Voice?

• Active voice is used when the subject is important.
Example: Scientists discovered a new planet.

• It is used when writing needs to be direct and clear.
Example: The company launched a new product.

Differences Between Active and Passive Voice

Active voice focuses on the subject performing the action, while passive voice focuses on the action itself.

Example of Active: The chef cooked the meal.
Example of Passive: The meal was cooked by the chef.

Conclusion

Active voice makes writing strong and direct. Passive voice is useful when the action is more important than the subject. Knowing when to use each type helps improve writing and communication.

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