Active and Passive Voice

“The voice of a verb tells us whether the subject is performing or receiving the action.”

📘 What is Active Voice?

In the **active voice**, the subject of the sentence performs the action. It focuses on the doer of the action.

Example: *The cat (subject) chased (verb) the mouse (object).* Here, the cat is performing the action of chasing.

📚 What is Passive Voice?

In the **passive voice**, the subject of the sentence receives the action. The focus is on the action or the recipient rather than the doer.

Example: *The mouse (subject) was chased (verb) by the cat (agent).* In this case, the focus is on the mouse receiving the action.

🔄 Active to Passive Voice Conversion

  • Step 1: Identify the subject, verb, and object in the active voice sentence.
  • Step 2: Move the object of the active sentence to the subject position of the passive sentence.
  • Step 3: Change the verb to the appropriate form of the verb "to be" + past participle of the main verb.
  • Step 4: If necessary, add the agent (doer of the action) after the word "by".

Example 1: Active: *She writes a letter.* → Passive: *A letter is written by her.*

Example 2: Active: *The teacher explains the lesson.* → Passive: *The lesson is explained by the teacher.*

🧠 Key Points to Remember

  • In the **passive voice**, the verb "to be" (is/was/are/were) is used with the past participle of the main verb.
  • When converting from active to passive, the agent (the doer of the action) can be omitted if it's not important or unknown.
    Example: *The window was broken* (without mentioning who broke it).
  • Not all sentences can be converted to the passive voice, especially intransitive verbs (verbs that don’t have an object).
    Example: *She sleeps peacefully* (cannot be passive because "sleeps" doesn't have an object).

📌 Practice: Active to Passive Voice

  • Active: *The children are reading the book.*
    Passive: *The book is being read by the children.*
  • Active: *They built a new house.*
    Passive: *A new house was built by them.*
  • Active: *He has written the letter.*
    Passive: *The letter has been written by him.*

📋 Questions Asked in Exams

  • Q: Convert the following active sentence to passive voice: *She cooks dinner every evening.*
    A: *Dinner is cooked by her every evening.*
  • Q: Which of the following sentences is in the passive voice?
    A) *She won the prize.*
    B) *The prize was won by her.*
    Answer: *B) The prize was won by her.*