Apeejay School, NOIDA

Active and Passive Voice

When a sentence is written in the active voice, the subject performs the action.
Example-
The chimpanzee is eating a fruit. (chimpanzee is the doer of the action; he is active)

In the passive voice, the subject receives the action.

Example-
A fruit is being eaten by the chimpanzee. (fruit is receiving the action; it is passive)

Guidelines
• Subject in active voice becomes the object in the passive voice and vice versa.
Example
Ronald sold the house. (active voice)
The house was sold by Ronald. (passive voice)
(First sentence is in Active voice. Second sentence is in Passive voice. Therefore, subject in the Active voice, Ronald,
is the object in the passive voice.)
• Personal pronouns in the active voice are changed as-

Active Voice (subject form) Passive Voice (object form)

I Me
We Us
He Him
She Her
They Them
You You
It It

• The preposition by is used before the object of the passive voice.

• The main verb in the active voice has to be changed in it's third form before using it in the passive voice.
• Helping verb, while changing a sentence from active voice to passive voice, is changed as-

Change of verb as per tense Examples

Active Voice Passive voice Active Voice Passive Voice
Simple Present bake/bakes is/are baked They bake a cake. A cake is baked by them.
Present is/are baking is/are being They are baking a cake A cake is being baked by
Continuous baked them
Present Perfect has/have baked has/have been They have baked a cake. A cake has been baked by
baked them.
Simple Past baked was/were baked They baked a cake. A cake was baked by them.
Past continuous was/were baking was/were being They were baking a A cake was being baked by
baked cake. them.
Past Perfect had baked had been baked They had baked a cake. A cake had been baked by
them.
Simple Future will bake will be baked They will bake a cake. A cake will be baked by
them.
Future Perfect will have baked will have been They will have baked a By evening, a cake will have
baked cake by evening. been baked by them.
Q. Study the table given above and use the sentence 'I eat an apple’ to construct a similar table.

Tense Active Voice Passive Voice