Active and Passive Voice — Full Rules, Formulas, Tricks & Practice for Exams
Active and Passive Voice — Full Rules, Formulas, Tricks & Practice for Exams
What is Active and Passive Voice?
In Active Voice, the subject performs the action. In Passive Voice, the subject receives the action.
Active: The dog bit the man.
Passive: The man was bitten by the dog.
The Golden Rule of Passive Voice
Object + appropriate 'be' form + Past Participle (V3) + by + Subject
The 'be' form changes with each tense. Everything else — pronoun changes, question conversions, dropping the agent — builds on this.
All Tense Formulas
Present Simple
Active: Subject + V1 + Object
Passive: Object + is/am/are + V3 + by + Subject
Example:
ACTIVE | PASSIVE |
She writes a letter. | A letter is written by her. |
Present Continuous
Active: Subject + is/am/are + V-ing + Object
Passive: Object + is/am/are + being + V3 + by + Subject
Example:
ACTIVE | PASSIVE |
They are building a bridge. | A bridge is being built by them. |
Present Perfect
Active: Subject + has/have + V3 + Object
Passive: Object + has/have + been + V3 + by + Subject
Example:
ACTIVE | PASSIVE |
He has completed the project. | The project has been completed by him. |
Past Simple
Active: Subject + V2 + Object
Passive: Object + was/were + V3 + by + Subject
Example:
ACTIVE | PASSIVE |
The teacher punished the student. | The student was punished by the teacher. |
Past Continuous
Active: Subject + was/were + V-ing + Object
Passive: Object + was/were + being + V3 + by + Subject
Example:
ACTIVE | PASSIVE |
Workers were repairing the road. | The road was being repaired by workers. |
Past Perfect
Active: Subject + had + V3 + Object
Passive: Object + had + been + V3 + by + Subject
Example:
ACTIVE | PASSIVE |
She had submitted the report. | The report had been submitted by her. |
Future Simple
Active: Subject + will + V1 + Object
Passive: Object + will + be + V3 + by + Subject
Example:
ACTIVE | PASSIVE |
The manager will sign the document. | The document will be signed by the manager. |
Future Perfect
Active: Subject + will have + V3 + Object
Passive: Object + will have + been + V3 + by + Subject
Example:
ACTIVE | PASSIVE |
They will have finished the work by Monday. | The work will have been finished by Monday. |
Modals (can/could/should/must/may/might)
Active: Subject + modal + V1 + Object
Passive: Object + modal + be + V3 + by + Subject
Example:
ACTIVE | PASSIVE |
You should respect elders. | Elders should be respected by you. |
Special Cases You Must Know
Imperative Sentences
Commands use 'Let' in the passive voice:
Active: Open the window.
Passive: Let the window be opened.
Active: Help the poor.
Passive: Let the poor be helped.
Interrogative (Question) Sentences
Active: Did she write the letter?
Passive: Was the letter written by her?
Active: Who broke the window?
Passive: By whom was the window broken?
Verbs Using 'to' Instead of 'by'
Certain verbs of perception/emotion use 'to' instead of 'by':
Active: I know him.
Passive: He is known TO me. (NOT 'by me')
Active: Her attitude surprised us.
Passive: We were surprised AT her attitude.
When to Drop the Agent
Drop 'by + agent' when the doer is unknown, obvious, or irrelevant:
My purse was stolen. (unknown thief)
The road was widened. (obvious: workers)
Pronoun Changes (Critical for Exams)
As Subject (Active Voice) | After 'by' (Passive Voice) |
I | me |
He | him |
She | her |
They | them |
We | us |
You | you (no change) |
Quick Reference: All Tenses at a Glance
Tense | Active Formula | Passive Formula |
Present Simple | S + V1 + O | O + is/am/are + V3 |
Present Continuous | S + is/am/are + V-ing + O | O + is/am/are + being + V3 |
Present Perfect | S + has/have + V3 + O | O + has/have + been + V3 |
Past Simple | S + V2 + O | O + was/were + V3 |
Past Continuous | S + was/were + V-ing + O | O + was/were + being + V3 |
Past Perfect | S + had + V3 + O | O + had + been + V3 |
Future Simple | S + will + V1 + O | O + will + be + V3 |
Future Perfect | S + will have + V3 + O | O + will have + been + V3 |
Modals | S + modal + V1 + O | O + modal + be + V3 |
Common Mistakes Examiners Look For
Wrong 'be' form: "The letters are written by she" ❌ → "...by her" ✔
Wrong pronoun: "by he" ❌ → "by him" ✔ | "by I" ❌ → "by me" ✔
Unnecessary agent: "The glass was broken by someone" ❌ → "The glass was broken" ✔
Missing 'being' in continuous: "The car is repaired by him" (reads as Present Simple!) ❌ → "...is being repaired" ✔
Wrong past participle: "The cake was ate" ❌ → "was eaten" ✔ | "was broke" ❌ → "was broken" ✔
50+ Practice Sentences: Active → Passive
Study these sentence pairs. Cover the Passive column and try converting yourself before checking.
# | Tense | Active Voice | Passive Voice |
1 | Present Simple | She writes a letter. | A letter is written by her. |
2 | Present Simple | He drives the car. | The car is driven by him. |
3 | Present Simple | They play cricket every day. | Cricket is played by them every day. |
4 | Present Simple | The chef cooks delicious food. | Delicious food is cooked by the chef. |
5 | Present Simple | The students solve the problems. | The problems are solved by the students. |
6 | Present Simple | The government builds hospitals. | Hospitals are built by the government. |
7 | Present Simple | People speak English all over the world. | English is spoken all over the world. |
8 | Pres. Continuous | She is singing a song. | A song is being sung by her. |
9 | Pres. Continuous | They are building a bridge. | A bridge is being built by them. |
10 | Pres. Continuous | The mechanic is repairing the car. | The car is being repaired by the mechanic. |
11 | Pres. Continuous | The teacher is explaining the lesson. | The lesson is being explained by the teacher. |
12 | Pres. Continuous | Workers are laying the railway tracks. | The railway tracks are being laid by workers. |
13 | Pres. Perfect | He has completed the project. | The project has been completed by him. |
14 | Pres. Perfect | She has written three novels. | Three novels have been written by her. |
15 | Pres. Perfect | They have announced the results. | The results have been announced by them. |
16 | Pres. Perfect | The jury has delivered the verdict. | The verdict has been delivered by the jury. |
17 | Pres. Perfect | The bank has approved the loan. | The loan has been approved by the bank. |
18 | Pres. Perfect | The committee has postponed the meeting. | The meeting has been postponed by the committee. |
19 | Past Simple | The teacher punished the student. | The student was punished by the teacher. |
20 | Past Simple | Ram killed Ravana. | Ravana was killed by Ram. |
21 | Past Simple | She baked a chocolate cake. | A chocolate cake was baked by her. |
22 | Past Simple | The police arrested the thief. | The thief was arrested by the police. |
23 | Past Simple | Newton discovered gravity. | Gravity was discovered by Newton. |
24 | Past Simple | They selected five candidates. | Five candidates were selected by them. |
25 | Past Simple | The editor rejected his article. | His article was rejected by the editor. |
26 | Past Simple | Did she win the competition? | Was the competition won by her? |
27 | Past Simple | Someone stole my wallet. | My wallet was stolen. |
28 | Past Continuous | Workers were repairing the road. | The road was being repaired by workers. |
29 | Past Continuous | He was reading a newspaper. | A newspaper was being read by him. |
30 | Past Continuous | The students were writing the exam. | The exam was being written by the students. |
31 | Past Continuous | The cook was preparing lunch. | Lunch was being prepared by the cook. |
32 | Past Perfect | She had submitted the report. | The report had been submitted by her. |
33 | Past Perfect | They had completed the construction. | The construction had been completed by them. |
34 | Past Perfect | He had solved all the questions. | All the questions had been solved by him. |
35 | Past Perfect | The manager had approved the plan. | The plan had been approved by the manager. |
36 | Future Simple | The manager will sign the document. | The document will be signed by the manager. |
37 | Future Simple | She will cook dinner tonight. | Dinner will be cooked by her tonight. |
38 | Future Simple | They will announce the results tomorrow. | The results will be announced by them tomorrow. |
39 | Future Simple | The government will build a new highway. | A new highway will be built by the government. |
40 | Future Simple | The principal will inaugurate the event. | The event will be inaugurated by the principal. |
41 | Future Perfect | They will have finished the work by Monday. | The work will have been finished by Monday. |
42 | Future Perfect | She will have submitted the form by Friday. | The form will have been submitted by her by Friday. |
43 | Modals | You should respect elders. | Elders should be respected by you. |
44 | Modals | We must follow the rules. | The rules must be followed by us. |
45 | Modals | You can solve this problem. | This problem can be solved by you. |
46 | Modals | She could finish the task. | The task could be finished by her. |
47 | Modals | He may write the answer. | The answer may be written by him. |
48 | Modals | They might cancel the match. | The match might be cancelled by them. |
49 | Modals | Students should complete their homework. | Homework should be completed by students. |
50 | Modals | You must keep this secret. | This secret must be kept by you. |
51 | Modals | You need not do this work. | This work need not be done by you. |
52 | Imperative | Open the window. | Let the window be opened. |
53 | Special Case | I know him. | He is known to me. (not 'by me') |
Exam-Specific Tips
SSC CGL / CHSL / MTS: Expect 2-4 direct conversion questions per paper. Most tested: Simple Present, Simple Past, Future, and Modals.
Banking (IBPS / SBI): Error Spotting and Sentence Improvement sections include passive voice errors. Watch for wrong 'be' forms and pronoun changes.
Railways (RRB NTPC / Group D): Direct conversion questions. Focus on Past Simple and Modals — these appear most often.
School Boards (Class 8-12 CBSE/ICSE): Direct conversion questions for 1-2 marks each. Learn all 8 tense formulas plus imperative and interrogative rules.
Quick Revision Cheat Sheet
Passive = be + V3. Always.
The 'be' form tells you the tense: is/am/are (present), was/were (past), will be (future), has/have been (present perfect).
Pronoun must change: never 'by he', never 'by I'. Always use object pronouns.
Drop the agent when the doer is unknown, obvious, or irrelevant.
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