Active & Passive Voice
In English, a sentence can focus either on the doer of the action (Active Voice) or the receiver of the action (Passive Voice).
- Active: The teacher explained the lesson.
- Passive: The lesson was explained by the teacher.
Passive voice is used when the action or receiver is more important than the doer, or when the doer is unknown or unnecessary.
General Rule: Object of active sentence → becomes Subject in passive sentence.
Structure: Object + appropriate form of “be” + past participle + (by + subject)
Present Simple
Active: S + V₁(s/es) + O
Passive: O + am/is/are + V₃ + (by + S)
- She writes a letter. → A letter is written by her.
Present Continuous
Active: S + am/is/are + V-ing + O
Passive: O + am/is/are + being + V₃ + (by + S)
- She is writing a letter. → A letter is being written by her.
Present Perfect
Active: S + has/have + V₃ + O
Passive: O + has/have + been + V₃ + (by + S)
- She has written a letter. → A letter has been written by her.
Past Simple
Active: S + V₂ + O
Passive: O + was/were + V₃ + (by + S)
- She wrote a letter. → A letter was written by her.
Past Continuous
Active: S + was/were + V-ing + O
Passive: O + was/were + being + V₃ + (by + S)
- She was writing a letter. → A letter was being written by her.
Past Perfect
Active: S + had + V₃ + O
Passive: O + had + been + V₃ + (by + S)
- She had written a letter. → A letter had been written by her.
Future Simple
Active: S + will/shall + V₁ + O
Passive: O + will/shall + be + V₃ + (by + S)
- She will write a letter. → A letter will be written by her.
Future Perfect
Active: S + will/shall + have + V₃ + O
Passive: O + will/shall + have + been + V₃ + (by + S)
- She will have written a letter. → A letter will have been written by her.
Note: The following four tenses cannot be changed into passive voice:
- ❌ Present Perfect Continuous
- ❌ Past Perfect Continuous
- ❌ Future Continuous
- ❌ Future Perfect Continuous
These tenses emphasize the duration of action, not the result. Therefore, no passive form is possible.
Intransitive verbs do not take a direct object, so passive voice cannot be formed because there’s no receiver of the action.
- He sleeps well. ❌ (no object → no passive)
- They arrived early. ❌ (no object → no passive)
- She goes to school. ❌ (no object → no passive)
- He runs fast. ❌ (no passive form possible)
Stative verbs describe a state or condition rather than an action. Since there’s no actual “doing,” they rarely appear in the passive voice.
- I know him. ❌ (Not: He is known by me.)
- The house belongs to her. ❌ (Not: She is belonged by the house.)
- He loves music. ❌ (Not: Music is loved by him.)
Imperative sentences express commands, requests, or advice. In active voice, the subject (“you”) is understood. In passive, use Let + object + be + past participle.
- Active: Close the door. → Passive: Let the door be closed.
- Active: Clean the room. → Passive: Let the room be cleaned.
- Active: Open the window. → Passive: Let the window be opened.
- Active: Finish the task. → Passive: Let the task be finished.
We often use the passive voice for polite or formal requests:
- Active: Help the poor. → Passive: You are requested to help the poor.
- Active: Follow the rules. → Passive: You are advised to follow the rules.
- Active: Submit the file. → Passive: You are instructed to submit the file.
- When the doer is unknown: The window was broken.
- When the doer is unimportant: English is spoken worldwide.
- To emphasize the result: The project was completed successfully.
- In formal or scientific writing: The data was analyzed carefully.
- To sound polite or indirect: A mistake has been made.
- Only transitive verbs can form passive voice.
- Use be + past participle for correct passive formation.
- Four tenses (Present/Past Perfect Continuous, Future Continuous, Future Perfect Continuous) → no passive form possible.
- Imperative sentences → Let + object + be + V₃.