Active Passive Voice Rules are an important topic in English Grammar. Active Passive Voice Rules and Examples have been described in this article associated with Exercises and Answers. Get yourself knowledgeable with our comprehensive guide on Active Passive Voice Rules.
Definition of Voice in English Grammar
Voice is the form of verb that shows whether the subject (person or thing) of the sentence is active (does something) or passive (something is done to him or her or it) at the action.
- (1) The teacher rebuked me.
- (2) I was rebuked by the teacher.
The form of the verb of the first sentence shows that the subject (the teacher) is active i.e. he/ she does something (rebuked). When the subject is the doer of an action, it is the active subject. And the form of the verb is in Active Voice.
The form of the verb in the second sentence shows that the subject (I) is passive i.e. something is done to him/her (was rebuked). When the subject inactively receives an action (was rebuked), it is in the passive voice. And the verb form is in Passive voice.
Types of Voice in English
According to the subject of a sentence remains active (does something himself/herself/itself) or remains passive (something done to him/her/it), the voice in English has been categorized into two forms. For example,
- Active Voice: She did the homework.
- Passive Voice: The homework was done by her.
Active Voice
When the verb form indicates that the subject of the sentence does something or is in action, we can say the sentence is in Active Voice. For example,
- I eat rice.
- They play football
- He made the doll.
- You are driving the car.
Passive Voice
When the verb form indicates that the subject of the sentence remains inactive or is in inaction, we can say the sentence is in Passive Voice. For Example,
- Rice is eaten by me.
- Football is played by them.
- The doll was made by him
- The car is being driven by you.
Active Passive Voice Rules to Change in Sentences
How to change active voice to passive voice is a very important part of the Voice Change Topic. Explore the active Passive Voice rules that are shown below to change active to passive voice in sentences.
Suppose you have been given the following sentences that you have to change from active to passive voice.
- Sentence 1: She was singing a song.
- Sentence 2: John eats rice.
- Sentence 3: You have written a letter.
- Sentence 4: He will have been playing football.
Rule 1
In the first step, find out the subject, Verb, and Object of the sentences you have to change from active to passive voice. For example,
| Sentence | Subject | Verb | Object |
| She was singing a song. | She | was (be verb), singing (main verb of ‘sing’) | a song |
| John eats rice. | John | eats | rice |
| You have written a letter. | You | have (have verb), written (the main verb, ‘write’). | a letter |
| He will have been playing football. | He | will (modal verb), have (have verb), been (be verb past-participle form), and play ( main verb). | football |
Rule 2
In the second step, identify the ‘Tense and its form’, and ‘Voice‘ of the given sentences. For example,
| Sentence | Tense and its form | Voice |
| She was singing a song. | Past Continuous | Active voice |
| John eats rice. | Simple Present | Active voice |
| You have written a letter | Present Perfect | Active voice |
| He will have been playing football. | Future Perfect Continuous | Active voice |
We can pick out 'Tense and its form', and 'Voice' from the 'Main Verb' of the given sentences.
Rule 3
In the third step, to turn the above-given sentences into the passive voice, write the ‘object’ of the ‘active voice’ as the ‘subject’ of the ‘passive voice’ at the beginning. Study the following infographic description for example.
Rule 4
In the fourth step, Auxiliary Verbs as (am/is/are/has/have/was/were/had/shall be/will be) with ‘Being’ or ‘Been‘ (where necessary) according to ‘Tense and its forms’, and ‘Passive Subjects’ come before the Main Verb in the Passive Sentence. For example,
| Active Voice | Passive Voice |
| eat/eats | am/is/are eaten |
| am/is/are eating | am being/is being/are being eaten |
| has/have eaten | has been/have been eaten |
| has been/have been eating | has been being/have been being eaten |
| ate | was/were eaten |
| was/were eating | was being/were being eaten |
| had eaten | had been eaten |
| had been eating | had been being eaten |
| shall/will eat | shall be/will be eaten |
| shall be/will be eating | shall be being/will be being eaten |
| shall have/will have eaten | shall have been/will have been eaten |
| shall have been/will have been eating | shall have been being/will have been being eaten |
Rule 5
In the fifth step, write the past-participle form of the main verb of the active sentence immediately after the auxiliary verb in the passive sentence. Study the following infographic description for example.
Rule 6
In the sixth step, a ‘preposition’ comes after the main verb in the passive sentence. Generally, in most cases, we use the preposition, ‘by’ but there are some exceptions.
Rule 7
In the final step, to turn the above-given sentences into the passive voice, write the ‘Subject’ of the ‘active voice’ as the ‘Object’ of the ‘passive voice’ at the end of the sentence. Study the following infographic description for example.
Active Passive Rules Chart of Pronouns
| Subject Pronoun | Object Pronoun | Possessive Pronoun |
| I | me | my |
| We | us | our |
| You | you | your |
| He | him | his |
| She | her | her |
| They | them | their |
| Ravi | Ravi | Ravi’s (his) |
N.B – There will be no change of 'Nouns' in terms of Subject and Object from Active to Passive Voice.
Uses of Passive Voice
We use Passive voice in the following situation
1. when we do not know who has done the action:
Example: My pocket has been picked. [who has stolen my purse is not known.]
2. the action done is more important than knowing who has done it.
Example: English is accepted as a global language.
3. In situations of social and historical significance.
Example: America was discovered by Columbus.
4. In Newspaper Report.
Example: Delhi was lashed by a thundershower on Monday evening.
5. To describe a Process.
Example: A mango pickle is prepared with the following steps.
6. In invitation, request, and announcement.
Example: Passengers are requested to keep a safe distance.
Active Passive Voice Rules Chart of Tense.
Present Tense
| Active Voice Examples | Passive Voice Structure | Passive Voice Examples | |
| Indefinite | I play football. | S+ am/is/are+ V(P-P)+ by + O | Football is played by me. |
| Continuous | We are playing football. | S+ am/is/are+ being +V(P-P)+ by+ O | Football is being played by me. |
| Perfect | He has played football. | S+ has/have+ been +V(P-P)+ by+ O | Football has been played by me. |
| Perfect Continuous | They have been playing football. | S+ has/have+ been + being + V(P-P)+ by + O | Football has been being played by me. |
Past Tense
| Active Voice Examples | Passive Voice Structure | Passive Voice Examples | |
| Indefinite | I played football. | S+ was/were+ V(P-P)+ by + O | Football was played by me. |
| Continuous | We were playing football. | S+ was/were+ being +V(P-P)+ by+ O | Football was being played by me. |
| Perfect | He had played football. | S+ had+ been +V(P-P)+ by+ O | Football had been played by me. |
| Perfect Continuous | They had been playing football. | S+ had + been + being + V(P-P)+ by + O | Football had been being played by me. |
Future Tense
| Active Voice Examples | Passive Voice Structure | Passive Voice Examples | |
| Indefinite | I shall play football. | S+ shall be / will be+ V(P-P)+ by + O | Football will be played by me. |
| Continuous | We will be playing football. | S+ shall be / will be+ being V(P-P)+ by + O | Football will be being played by me. |
| Perfect | He will have played football. | S+ shall have/will have+ been +V(P-P)+ by+ O | Football will have been played by me. |
| Perfect Continuous | They will have been playing football. | S+ shall have / will have + been + being + V(P-P)+ by + O | Football will have been being played by me. |
Read More:
Active to Passive Voice Examples
| Active Voice | Passive Voice |
| 1.Ram kills a frog. | 1. A frog is killed by Ram. |
| 2. I am doing the work. | 2. The work is being done by me. |
| 3. I have drawn the picture. | 3. The picture has been drawn by me. |
| 4. He has been building a new house in the town. | 4. A new house has been being built in the town by him. |
| 5. Harris read a book. | 5. A book was read by Harris. |
| 6. They were playing football. | 6. Football was being played by them. |
| 7. You had finished the home task. | 7. Home task had been finished by you. |
| 8. They had been doing the work for 3 hours. | 8. The work had been being done for 3 hours by them. |
| 9. I shall give you a pen. | 9. A pen will be given to you by me. |
| 10. They will be carrying loads. | 10. Loads will be being carried by them. |
| 11. We will have done the work. | 11. The work will have been done by us. |
| 12. The children will have been playing football for 2 hours tomorrow. | 12. Football will have been being played by the children for 2 hours tomorrow. |
Exercises of Active to Passive Voice
A. Change the following into passive Voice.
1. They play cricket.
2. They are beating the man mercilessly.
3. John has obtained high marks.
4. The worker has been doing work for 3 hours.
5. The girl threw a stone.
6. Children were sucking oranges.
7. Virat Kohli declared the end of the innings after Rohit Sharma had scored his century.
8. The boy had been doing his Homer for half an hour.
9. Shefali will buy a bag.
10. The farmers will be catching fish.
11. Anirban will have retained the Nobel by this time.
12. They will have been finishing the task by that time.
13 . Naveen does not look at the moon.
14. Sonali is not eating an Apple.
15. Tania has not composed a poem.
16. The man has not been driving the car for 2 hours.
17. We did not kill a Tiger.
18. The boy was not throwing stones at the frog.
19. I had not written the letter before he came.
20. They had not been playing football for 3 hours.
21. You will not get the price.
22. Father will not be reading the newspaper in the morning.
23. Mother will not have finished cooking before father comes.
24. They will not have been making noise before the teacher arrives