Voice means whether the action of a verb is active or passive. Different forms of expression of verbs in sentences are called voice. When the subject does the action of a verb actively, it is called active voice.  When the subject remains inactive and the object does the action of the verb, it is called passive voice. 

Voice is of three kinds.

1. Active voice: subject subject does the action of verb actively

2. Passive voice: subject remains inactive and object does the action of verb

3. Quasi-passive voice:  In terms of meaning  Passive but structurally Active

Transformation of Active and Passive Voice

How to Change From Active to Passive?

If you look carefully at the image below, it will be much easier to transform from Active to Passive Voice.

 

• The subject of active voice will always be the object of passive voice after ‘by’
• The object of active voice will always be the subject of passive voice.
• According to the tense of the active voice, the passive voice will take the auxiliary verb. 
• The principal verb of active voice will be past participle in the passive voice.
• The tense of active voice and passive voice will be the same.

Below is a list of how it will turn out the subjective case of active voice to the objective case of passive voice.

   Below is a list of auxiliary verbs used in passive voice according to active voice.

Note: There is no use of passive voice  perfect continuous tense though passive voice perfect continuous tense can be formed. 

Changing rules of Modal Auxiliary Verb 

Assertive Sentence 

Structure:

Active: S + V + O + Extension

Passive: O + A.V + P.V3 + by/ to/ with/ at + S + Extension 

Example:

Active: He wrote a novel.

Passive: A novel was written by him.

Voice Change Rules Of Interrogative Sentence

Structure 1:

Active: A.V + S + P.V + O + Extension?

Active:  Assertive Sentence.

Passive:  Passive Voice.

Passive: A.V + O + P.V3 + by/ to/ at/ with+ S + Extension?

Example:

Active: Does he take tea in the morning?

Active: He takes tea in the morning.

Passive: tea is taken by him in the orning.

Or, tea is taken in the morning by him.

Passive: Is tea taken by him in the morning?

Or, is tea taken in the morning by him?

Active: Have you watched television at night?

Active: You have watched television at night.

Passive: Television has been watched by you at night.

Passive:  Has television been watched by you at night?

Structure 2:

Active: Who + V + O + Extension?

Passive:  Passive Voice.

Passive: By/ to/ at/with + whom +A.V + O + P.V3 + Extension?

Example:

Active: Who has broken the glass?

Passive: The glass has been broken by whom.

Passive: By whom has the glass been broken?

Structure 3:

Active: Whom + A.V + S + P.V + O + Extension?

Active: who + assertive sentence

Passive: who + passive

Passive: Who + A.V + O + P.V3 + by + S + Extension?

Example:

Active: whom have you given the book?

Active: Who + you have given the book.

Passive: Who + the book has been given by you.

Active: Who has the book been given by you?

Structure 4:

Active: Why/when/ how/ where + A.V + S + P.V + O + Extension?

Active: Why/when/ how/ where + assertive sentence

Passive: Why/when/ how/ where + passive

Passive: Why/When/ How/ Where + A.V + O + P.V3 + by + S + Extension?

Example:

Active: Why are you making a noise in the class?

Active: why + you are making a noise in the class.

Passive: why + a noise is being made by you in the class.

Passive: Why is a noise being made by you in the class?

Active: Where will you sell the goose?

Active: Where + you will sell the goose.

Passive: Where + the goose will be sold by you.

Passive: Where will the goose be sold by you?

Active: How did he catch the bird?

Active: How + he caught the bird.

Passive: How+ the bird was caught by him.

Passive: How was the bird caught by him?

Structure 5:

Active: Which + Noun (obj) + A.V + S + P.V + Extension?

Active: Which + Noun + assertive sentence

Passive: Which + Noun (obj) + passive?

Example:

Active: Which book have you bought today?

Active: Which book + you have bought today.

Passive: Which book has been bought by you today?

Active: Which pen did you want?

Passive: Which pen + you wanted.

Passive: Which pen was wanted by you?

Structure 6:

Active: What + a.v + s + p.v + Extension?

Active: What + assertive sentence.

Passive: What + passive voice?

Example:

Active: What do you want?

Active: What + you want.

Passive: What is wanted by you?

Active: What has he done?

Active: What + he has done.

Passive: What has been done by you?

Imperative Sentence

☻Subject second person will be omitted.

☻Generally, the sentence starts with the base form of the principal verb.

☻Sometimes let/ please/ kindly/ always/ do not/ never is used at the very beginning of the sentence.

Structure 1

Active: P.v1 + obj + Extension.

Passive: Let + obj + be + p.v3 + Extension.

Example:

Active: Pen through the lines.

Passive: Let the lines be penned through.

Active: Shut the door quickly.

Passive: Let the door be shut quickly.

Structure 2

Active: Do not + p.v1 + obj + Extension.

Passive: Let not + obj + be + p.v3 + Extension.

Example:

Active: Do not make a noise in the class.

Passive: Let not a noise be made in the class.

Structure 3

Active: Never + p.v1 + obj + Extension

Passive: Let + obj + never + be + p.v3.

Example:

Active: Never tell a lie.

Passive: Let a lie never be told.

Structure 4

Active: Please/ kindly + p.v1 + obj + Extension.

Passive: you are requested + to + p.v1 + Extension.

Example:

Active: Please post the letter.

Passive: You are requested to post the letter.

Structure 5

Active: P.v1 + n/ objective case (him, me, us, her, them etc) + object.

Passive: Let + obj + be + p.v3 + for + n/ objective case.

Example: 

Active: Buy me a shirt.

Passive: Let a shirt be bought for me.

Structure 6

Active: Let + n/ objective case + p.v1 + obj.

Passive: Let + obj + be + p.v3 + by + n/ objective case.

Example:

Active: Let Rahim play cricket.

Passive: Let cricket be played by Rahim.

Active: Let them do the work.

Passive: Let the work be done by them.

Voice Change Of Factitive Object

In spite of having an object after a verb, when a sentence does not fully convey the meaning, it takes one more object to express its full meaning. That new object is called a factitive object.

Note: Factitive object can never be the subject in passive voice.

Example:

Active: We made him captain.

Passive: He was made captain by him.

Active: We call him a fool.

Passive: He is called a fool by us.

voice change of Reflexive object 

The object which points back to the subject is called  Reflexive object. The subject of Reflexive object  refers to the same person or thing.

Reflexive objects are

I = myself

We = ourselves

You (s) = yourself

You (p) = yourselves

He = himself

She = herself

They = themselves

It = itself

Structure

A: S +V + R.O

P: S +A.V + P.V3 + BY + R.O

Example:

Active: He killed himself.

Passive: He was killed by himself.

Active: She fans herself.

Passive: She is fanned by herself.

Active: They helped themselves.

Passive: They were helped by themselves.

Active: He poisoned himself.

Passive: He was poisoned by himself.

Retained Object:

When there are two objects after the active voice, passive voice can be formed taking any one of the subjects. The other subject will remain unchanged. The changed object is called a retained object.

Example:

Active: He teaches us English.

Passive: We are taught English by him.

Active: He gave me a pen.

Passive: I was given a pen by him.

Note: Generally, the first object is a personal object. Most of the grammarians suggest using the first object as subject in the passive voice.

Voice Change Active to Passive Rules

Cognate Object:

Generally intransitive verbs have no passive form. If there is any synonym word after an intransitive verb used as object, the object is called cognate object.

Example:

Active: He ran a race.

Passive: A race was run by him.

Active: The girl dreamt a sweet dream.

Passive: A sweet dream was dreamt by the girl.

Active voice without object: 

Many times an active voice has no object. Then ‘it’ is taken as an object to form a passive voice.

Example:

Active: He says

Passive: It is said by him.

Active: They know.

Passive: It is known to them.

Voice Change Active to Passive With Examples

Quasi – passive voice: 

Quasi means half. In terms of meaning passive but structurally Active.

How to know.

In quasi – passive voice, there is an adjective after a verb.

Structure:

Active: s + v + adjective.

Passive: s + a.v + p.v3 + adjective

Or,  s + a.v + when it/ they is/ are + p.v3.

Example:

Active: Honey tastes sweet.

Passive: Honey is tasted sweet.

Or, Honey is sweet when it is tasted.

Active: Rice sells cheap.

Passive: Rice is sold cheap.

Or, rice is cheap when it is sold.

Active: The bed feels soft.

Passive: The bed is felt soft.

Or, The bed is soft when is felt.

Active: My pen writes well.

Passive: My pen is well when something is written.

Active: The book reads well.

Passive: The book is read well.

Or, The book is well when it is read.

Passive voice with marginal auxiliary verbs:

When  have to, has to, had to, used to, ought to, going to, have got to  are mentioned in Active voice, 'be' is used after the verb in the passive.

Example:

Active: Father is going to set up a school.

Passive: A school is going to be set up by father.

Active: We ought to love our country.

Passive: Our country ought to be loved by us.

Active voice to passive of group verb:

The preposition of group verbs will remain connected with ‘by’ in the passive voice.

Example:

Active: He is knocking at the door.

Passive: The door is being knocked at by him.

Active: The principal gave away the prizes among the winners.

Passive: The prizes were given away by the principal among the winners.

Different verbs require different prepositions in the passive voice:

After some verbs we cannot use the preposition ‘by’. Instead we have to use other prepositions such as gratified with, pleased with, satisfied with, blessed with, known to, surprised at, astonished at, annoyed at/with, filled with, marveled at, vexed at, contained in etc.

Example:

Active: I know the man.

Passive: The man is known to me.

Active: His conduct annoyed me.

Passive: I was annoyed at his behavior.

Active: The newspaper contains different news.

Passive: Different news is contained in the newspaper.

Compound Sentence voice change:

If subjects of two clauses are same in a compound sentence, the subject is used for once in the passive. 

Example: 

Active: I cut the cake and gave it to my daughter.

Passive: The cake was cut and it was given to my daughter by me.

 If subjects of two clauses are different, they will be used twice.

Example:

Active: They invited me and I accepted it.

Passive: I was invited by them and it was accepted by me.

Changing voice of Complex sentence 

To change Complex sentences to passive, both principal clause and sub- ordinate clause are to be changed into passive. If there is no object in the principal clause, ‘it’is used as an object. If the subjects of two clauses are the same, the subject will be used once.

 If the  sub-ordinate clause is universal truth and be verb/ have verb is used as the main verb,  this clause has no passive voice. 

Example:

Active: He said that he had killed a snake.

Passive: It is said that a snake was killed by him.

Active: The teacher said that the earth moves round the sun.

Passive: That the earth moves round the sun was said by the teacher.

Active: Badal said that it was a sin.

Passive: That it was a sin was said by Badal.