Active vs Passive Voice: Understanding the

Difference

Though fun, writing can also get pretty darn confusing, especially when you’re trying
to figure out whether to use the active or passive voice. What is the difference
between active and passive voice? When and how should you use them?

In this complete active voice vs passive voice guide, we'll go over how each voice
works in English grammar, when to use the two voices, and how to change a
sentence from passive to active (and vice versa). We’ll also give you an active vs
passive voice quiz to test your skills. Let's get started!

What Is Active Voice?

The active voice is when the subject of a sentence performs an action on an object.
In other words, the subject does the action, and the object receives the action.

The active voice is easy to identify in writing because it follows a simple form, which
is the basis of English grammar:

Subject (doer) → Verb → Object (recipient)

Here’s an example of a sentence using the active voice:

The dog ate my homework.

In this example, "the dog" is the subject, "ate" is the verb, and "my homework" is the
object. Here’s a diagram to better show this connection:

Subject Verb Object

The dog ate my homework

Here, "the dog" is doing (or, in this case, has already done) the action: it is the
one that "ate." Meanwhile, "homework" is the object that is receiving this action of
eating.

Here’s another example of the active voice at play:

She is writing an essay.

In this example, "she" is the subject, "is writing" is the verb (in the present
progressive tense), and "an essay" is the object.
Once again, the subject ("she") is the one performing the action: "she" is
"writing." And what is she writing? An "essay," i.e., the noun that’s receiving the
action.

Finally, here's an example of the active voice being used without an object:

He sings.

In this sentence, we have a subject ("he") and a verb ("sings") but no object.
Regardless, because the subject is performing the act of singing, we can
identify this as the active voice.

Passive voice would be if we were to switch our focus from the boy throwing the
basketball to the basketball itself.

What Is Passive Voice?

The passive voice is basically the opposite of the active voice: it’s when the subject
is acted upon by the object. In other words, the subject receives the action, and
the object does the action.

The passive voice is a little trickier to identify, as it uses more words than the active
voice. The basic structure is as follows:

Subject (recipient) → Verb (past participle of "to be" form) → Object (doer)

Note that the object here is always preceded by the word "by."

Additionally, the verb takes its "to be" form (meaning it’s preceded by "is/are" for the
present tense and "was/were" for the past tense) and is put in the past
participle (e.g., "eaten" for the verb "eat" or "given" for the verb "give").

Here’s an example of a sentence using the passive voice:

The ice cream was bought by the little girl.

In this example, "the ice cream" is the subject, "bought" is the verb, and "the little girl"
is the object. Here’s a diagram to help you understand this grammar pattern better:

Subject Verb Object

The ice cream was bought by the little girl

As you can see, "the ice cream" (as the subject) is the one receiving the action,
while "the little girl" (as the object) is the one performing the action.
Here's another passive voice example:

Our tests were graded by the teacher.

Here, the subject is "our tests," the verb is "were graded," and the object is "the
teacher." Again, the subject ("our tests") is receiving the action from the object
("the teacher"), which is, in turn, performing it (i.e., the one who is grading).

Sometimes you’ll see the passive voice being used without an object (i.e., without
identifying the doer of the action—only the recipient). Here’s an example:

The tea was poured.

In this sentence, "the tea" is the subject and "was poured" is the verb;
however, there’s no object performing the action of pouring. Simply put, we
don’t know who poured the tea! Nevertheless, we can identify this sentence as
passive based on its setup: a subject followed by a verb in its past participle "to be"
form.

If we wanted to insert an object here, we'd simply add the word "by" followed by a
noun:

The tea was poured by my grandmother.

Now, we have an object, or doer, of this act of pouring tea: "my grandmother."

Active vs Passive Voice: When Do You Use Them?

The active and passive voice express the same ideas, just in different ways. In terms
of when we actually use them, though, what is the difference between active and
passive voice?

In general, you should always aim to use the active voice whenever you
write. This is because the active voice is clearer and more direct, while the passive
voice is wordier and more confusing.

That being said, this doesn’t mean that the passive voice is inherently wrong. There
are many cases in which you might opt for the passive voice over the active voice.

Here are some scenarios in which you might want (or need) to use the passive
voice:

 When you want to emphasize the recipient of the action

 When you want to emphasize the action itself
 When you don’t know who or what is performing the action
 When the doer of the action is irrelevant or unimportant
For example, say you’re writing an essay about the Declaration of Independence and
you come up with the following sentence:

Most people believe that the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4,
but this is not actually the case.

Let’s parse this out a bit.

While part of the sentence is clearly in the active voice (the "most people believe"
section), the crux of it ("the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4") is in
the passive voice. Doing this lets you keep the emphasis on the document, i.e.,
the topic of your essay.

In addition, there were many people who signed the Declaration of Independence,
but listing them all here would only make the sentence longer and more convoluted;
this is why the passive voice is a better fit.

Changing From Passive to Active Voice (and Vice Versa)

There are many times you might want to change a sentence from passive to active,
or even from active to passive. To do this, you’ll need to understand exactly how the
two types of voices work.

First, recall that the primary difference between active and passive voice lies in
the roles of the subject and object: whereas in active voice the subject is the doer
and the object is the recipient of the action, in passive voice the subject is the
recipient of the action and the object is the doer.

Here’s an example of a sentence in the active voice vs passive voice:

Active: She created a travel blog.

Passive: A travel blog was created by her.

Below is another way of looking at the difference between active and passive voice:

Subject Verb Object

Active Voice She created a travel blog

Passive Voice A travel blog was created by her

As you can see here, in the active voice, "she" is the subject and doer, whereas "a
travel blog" is the object and recipient of the verb "created."
But in the passive voice, these designations swap: as the original subject, "she"
becomes the object (but is still the doer of the action), whereas "a travel blog," which
was originally the object, becomes the subject (but is still the recipient of the action).

In addition, the verb, which began in the simple past, has been converted into its
past participle "to be" form.

To sum up, to convert from active to passive voice, here’s what you must do:

1. Switch the positions of the subject and object so the original object is now
the subject and the original subject is now the object
2. Add the word "by" before the new object
3. Convert the verb into its "to be" past participle form based on the original
tense used

Most likely, though, you'll need to convert from passive to active. The process for this
is essentially the same—just backwards:

1. Switch the positions of the subject and object so the original subject is
now the object and the original object is now the subject
2. Delete the word "by" used before the original object (now subject)
3. Convert the "to be" past participle form of the verb into the appropriate tense
as indicated by the verb and overall sentence

The verb is arguably the trickiest part of converting from passive to active. You
want to make sure you’re keeping the same tense as indicated by the original verb
and sentence.

As an example, here's how you'd change various tenses of the word "do" from
passive to active:

 is done → do/does
 is/are being done → is/are doing
 was/were done → did
 was/were being done → was/were doing
 will be done → will do

Finally, know that you cannot convert from active to passive or passive to
active if you do not have an object. You can see why this doesn’t work in these
active vs passive voice examples:

Active (Without Object): I drank.

Passive: ??? was drunk by me.

Without an object, we have no idea what "I" actually "drank."

 Passive (Without Object): The project will be completed by tomorrow.
Active: ??? will complete the project by tomorrow.Without an object, we cannot
explain who "will complete the project."

Active vs Passive Voice Quiz

It’s time to test out what you learned in an active vs passive voice quiz.

Before you start, make sure you know what the three types of questions expect you
to do:

 Questions 1-3: Identify whether the sentence is active or passive

 Questions 4-5: Fill in the blanks to create a grammatically correct sentence
 Questions 6-8: Convert the sentence from active to passive, or vice versa

Answers and explanations will be provided at the end of the quiz. Good luck!

#1: Active or Passive?

This novel was not written by Charlotte Brontë but rather her sister Emily.

#2: Active or Passive?

The mail arrived on time yesterday.

#3: Active or Passive?

A study on the gender wage gap was conducted in 2018.

#4: Fill in the Blank

This gift was given to me _____ my sister.

#5: Fill in the Blank

The toy will soon be _____ by him. (past participle of "fix")

#6: Convert to Passive

Jessica is teaching me how to speak Italian.

 #7: Convert to Active
He was advised by his dentist to floss more.

#8: Convert to Active

The valuable painting is finally going to be sold this year.

Active vs Passive Voice Quiz: Answers + Explanations

#1: Active or Passive?

This novel was not written by Charlotte Brontë but rather her sister Emily.

In this sample sentence, the subject is "the novel," the action is "was not written,"
and the object is "Charlotte Brontë"—we can leave out that last part since it’s not
really important to understanding the voice here.

Because the object ("Charlotte Brontë") is the doer of the action—that is, she’s the
one who did not write "the novel"—you should be able to tell right away that this
sentence is in the passive voice. (You might also be able to tell it’s passive due to
the use of the word "by" before the object.)

#2: Active or Passive?

The mail arrived on time yesterday.

Here, "the mail" is the subject and "arrived" is the verb—there is no object. Because
"the mail" is the one doing the action of "arriving," this sentence uses the active
voice.

#3: Active or Passive?

A study on the gender wage gap was conducted in 2018.

In this example, "a study" is the subject and "was conducted" is the verb; there’s no
object. Since "a study" is receiving the action instead of performing it, this sentence
is in the passive voice.

(Just in case you’re wondering, the reason we don’t see "by" is that the object, or
doer, of the action is either unknown or irrelevant.)

#4: Fill in the Blank

This gift was given to me _____ my sister.

Right away you should recognize this as the passive voice. "This gift" is the subject,
"was given" is the verb, and "my sister" is the object who is performing the action of
giving.

As you know, the word "by" must come before the object in a passive sentence,
so this is the missing word. The sentence should therefore read, "This gift was given
to me by my sister."

Does the gift of grammar knowledge count?

#5: Fill in the Blank

The toy will soon be _____ by him. (past participle of "fix")

Again, you should recognize this example as a passive sentence since it calls for the
past participle of the verb and has the word "by" before the object. The past
participle of the verb "fix" is the same as its simple past: "fixed"; therefore, the
sentence should read, "The toy will soon be fixed by him."

#6: Convert to Passive

Jessica is teaching me how to speak Italian.

To convert this sentence from active to passive, you must switch the positions of the
subject and object and then convert the verb (in present progressive) to its past
participle "to be" form. Don't forget that "me" must transform into its subject form ("I")
when going from an object to a subject. ("Jessica" is a name and proper noun and
therefore does not change form.)

Finally, place the word "by" before the new object ("Jessica"). This should give you
the following passive sentence: "I am being taught how to speak Italian by
Jessica."

#7: Convert to Active

He was advised by his dentist to floss more.

To convert this example from passive to active, you’ll need to switch the subject and
object, change the verb form from "to be" past participle to simple past, and eliminate
the "by." Note that "he" will turn into "him" when converted from a subject into an
object.

Doing all this correctly should give you this: "His dentist advised him to floss
more."

#8: Convert to Active

 The valuable painting is finally going to be sold this year.

If you didn’t know it already, this question is actually a trick! But how? Because there
is no object in this passive sentence, there’s no way to convert it into the active
voice. In other words, we have no idea who is going to sell the painting.

If we tried to convert it, we’d get this nonsensical statement: "??? is finally going to
sell the valuable painting this year." As such, we cannot create a sentence in the
active voice without a subject.

You can check Active Voice and Passive Voice Rules chart for future simple
tense.
...

Active Voice Passive Voice (Auxiliary Verb- was/were)

Subject + V2+ object Object+ was/were V3+ by + subject

Subject +did+ not+v1+ object Object + was/were+ not +V3+ by Subject

Did+ subject+V1+ object+? Was/were + Object+ V3+ by subject +?

Active and Passive Voice Rules, Example, Exercise for
Competitive Exam
To get triumph in Competitive Exams candidates need to score well in every section
of the exam paper. There are certain topics which are common in every Competitive
Exam. A candidate must be having a good command on such topics to get a good
rank.

English has now been an essential part of every competitive exam and grammar is its
core. In this blog, we will talk about Active and Passive Voice.

In Active Voice, a sentence emphasizes subject performing an action while in Passive

Voice sentence emphasizes the action or the object of the sentence.

To know how a sentence is converted in Passive voice from Active voice, we need to
go through certain rules with examples based on it.

Active and Passive Voice Rules for All Tenses

Here, we are listing out the Active and Passive Voice Rules for all tenses. You will
come to know how an auxiliary verb is used to change a sentence from Active to
Passive voice.

Active and Passive Voice Rules for Present Simple Tense

 Here in this table, we are elaborating Rules of Active and Passive Voice with examples
for Present Simple.

Passive Voice
Active Voice
(Auxiliary Verb – is/am/are)

Subject + V1+s/es+ object Object+ is/am/are+ V3+ by + subject

Subject + Do/does+ not + V1 + Object Object + is/am/are+ not + V3+ by Subject

Does+ Subject+ V1+Object+? Is/am/are + Object+ V3+ by subject +?

Active and Passive Voice Example with Answers of Present Simple Tense

Active: He reads a novel.

Passive: A novel is read.

Active: He does not cook food.

Passive: Food is not cooked by him.

Active: Does he purchase books?

Passive: Are books purchased by him?

Active: They grow plants.

Passive: Plants are grown by them.

Active: She teaches me.

Passive: I am taught by her.

Active and Passive Voice Rules for Present Continuous Tense

Below we will explain the Rules of Active and Passive Voice with examples for
Present Continuous tense.
 Passive Voice
Active Voice
(Auxiliary Verb- is/am/are + being)

Subject + is/am/are+ v1+ ing + object Object+ is/am/are+ being+ V3+ by + subject

Subject + is/am/are+ not+ v1+ ing+ object Object + is/am/are+ not + being+V3+ by Subject

Is/am/are+ subject+v1+ing + object+? Is/am/are + Object+ V3+ by subject +?

Active and Passive Voice Exercises of Present Continuous Tense

Active: Esha is singing a song.

Passive: A song is being sung by Esha.

Active: Kritika is not chopping vegetables.

Passive: Vegetables are not being chopped by Kritika.

Active: Is Ritika buying a table?

Passive: Is a table being bought by Ritika?

Active: They are serving poor people.

Passive: Poor people are being served by them.

Active: She is disturbing Dinesh.

Passive: Dinesh is being disturbed by her.

Active and Passive Voice Rules for Present Perfect Tense

You can understand passive voice for present perfect tense from the list which are
given below.

Passive Voice
Active Voice
(Auxiliary Verb- has/have +been)

Subject + has/have+ v3+ object Object+ has/have+ been+ V3+ by + subject

 Subject + has/have+ not+ v3+ object Object + has/have+ not + been+V3+ by Subject

Has/have+ subject+ v3 + object+? Has/Have + Object+ been+V3+ by subject +?

Active and Passive Voice Example with Answers of Present Perfect Tense

Active: Nitesh has challenged her.

Passive: She has been challenged by Nitesh.

Active: Radhika has not written an article.

Passive: An article has not been written by Radhika.

Active: Have they left the apartment?

Passive: Has apartment been left by them?

Active: She has created this masterpiece.

Passive: This masterpiece has been created by her.

Active: I have read the newspaper.

Passive: The newspaper has been read by me.

Active and Passive Voice Rules for Past Simple Tense

Here in the below table, you can check Active and Passive Voice Rules for past
simple tense.

Passive Voice
Active Voice
(Auxiliary Verb- was/were)

Subject + V2+ object Object+ was/were V3+ by + subject

Subject +did+ not+v1+ object Object + was/were+ not +V3+ by Subject

Did+ subject+V1+ object+? Was/were + Object+ V3+ by subject +?

 Active and Passive Voice Exercises of Past Simple Tense

Active: Reema cleaned the floor.

Passive: The floor was cleaned by Reema.

Active: Aisha bought a bicycle.

Passive: A bicycle was bought by Aisha.

Active: Naman called my friends.

Passive: My friends were called by Naman.

Active: I saved him.

Passive: He was saved by me.

Active: Miraya paid the bills.

Passive: The bills were paid by Miraya.

Active and Passive Voice Rules for Past Continuous Tense

We can easily convert sentences from Active to Passive Voice according to given
rules below.

Passive Voice
Active Voice
(Auxiliary Verb- was/were + being)

Subject + was/were + v1+ing+ object. Object+ was/were +being+V3+ by + subject

Subject +was/were+ not+v1+ing + object Object + was/were+ not +being+V3+ by Subject

Was/were+ Subject + V1+ing + object+? Was/were + Object+ being+v3+ by+ subject+?

Active and Passive Voice Examples with Answers of Past Continuous Tense

Active: Nitika was painting the wall.

Passive: The wall was being painted by Nitika.

Active: Manish was repairing the car.

Passive: The car was being repaired by Manish.

Active: Were you reciting the poem?

Passive: Was the poem being recited?

Active: She was baking the cake.

Passive: The cake was being baked by her.

Active: She was watching me.

Passive: I was being watched by her.

Active and Passive Voice Rules for Past Perfect Tense

There are certain Active and Passive Voice Rules for Past perfect tense, with these
only you can convert any sentence in Passive Voice.

Passive Voice
Active Voice
(Auxiliary Verb- had +been)

Subject + had + v3+ object. Object+ had+been +V3+ by + subject

Subject +had+ not+v3+ object Object + had+ not +been+V3+ by Subject

Had+ Subject + V3+ object+? Had + Object+ been+v3+ by+ subject+?

Active and Passive Voice Exercises of Past Perfect Tense

Active: Misha had cleaned the floor.

Passive: The floor had been cleaned by Misha.

Active: Vidhi had not received the parcel.

Passive: The parcel had not been received by Vidhi.

Active: Vishal had solved the doubt.

Passive: The doubt had been solved.

Active: Had they caught the thief?

Passive: Had the thief been caught by them?

Active: I had paid fifty thousand.

Passive: Fifty thousand had been paid by me.

Active and Passive Voice Rules for Future Simple Tense

You can check Active Voice and Passive Voice Rules chart for future simple tense.

Passive Voice
Active Voice
(Auxiliary Verb- will+ be)

Subject + will+ v1+ object. Object+ will+ be +V3+ by + subject

Subject +will + not+ V1+object Object + will+ not +be+V3+ by Subject

Will+ Subject + V1+ object+? Will + Object+ be +v3+ by+ subject+?

We can better understand Rules of Active and Passive Voice with examples for future
simple tense.

Active and Passive Voice Examples with Answers of Future Simple Tense

Active: Kriya will sew the bag.

Passive: The bag will be sewed by Kriya.

Active: Disha will not arrange the things.

Passive: The things will not be arranged by Disha.

Active: Will you mop the floor?

Passive: Will the floor be mopped by you?

Active: They will post the letter.

Passive: The letter will be posted.

 Active: Reena will save money.

Passive: Money will be saved by Reena.

Active and Passive Voice Rules for Future Perfect Tense

Here, we are sharing the Active Voice and Passive Voice Rules chart for future
perfect tense.

Active Voice Passive Voice

Subject + will+ have +v3+ object. Object+ will+ have+ been +V3+ by + subject

Subject + will+ have +not+v3+ object. Object + will+ have +not+been+v3+ subject

Will+ Subject+have+v3+ object+? Will + object+have+been+v3+by +subject+?

Active and Passive Voice Exercises of Future Perfect Tense

Active: They will have brought the toy.

Passive: The toy will have been brought by them.

Active: Nimesh will not have changed the table cover.

Passive: The table cover will not have been changed by Nimesh.

Active: Will she have written the notes.

Passive: Will the notes have been written by her?

Active: They will have won the match.

Passive: The match will have been won by them.

Active: Vijay will have washed a shirt.

Passive: A shirt will have been washed by Vijay.

There is no Passive Voice formation for these tenses-

1.) Present Perfect Continuous Tense

2.) Past Perfect Continuous Tense

3.) Future Perfect Continuous Tense

4.) Future Continuous Tense

Changing an imperative sentence in the active voice to passive

An imperative sentence in the passive voice has the following form: Let + object +
be + past participle.

 Active: Carry it home.

 Passive: Let it be carried home.
 Active: Do it at once.
 Passive: Let it be done at once.
 Active: Open the door.
 Passive: Let the door be opened.
 Active: Throw the ball.
 Passive: Let the ball be thrown.

When the active voice is in the negative, the passive voice takes the form: Let +
object + not + be + past participle.

 Active: Do not beat the dog.

 Passive: Let the dog not be beaten.

Note that do is not used in the passive form.

We can begin the passive sentence with you if we want to put emphasis on the
person addressed to.

Compare:

 Active: Help me.

 Passive: Let me be helped.
 Passive: You are requested to help me.

 Active: Learn the poem.

 Passive: Let the poem be learned.
 Passive: You are asked to learn the poem.

 Active: Don’t touch it.

 Passive: Let it not be touched.
 Passive: You are warned not to touch it.

Note that the passive form has to begin with you when the object of the active verb
is not mentioned.
  Active: Work hard.

Here the active verb does not have an object. Therefore the passive form should
begin with you.

 Passive: You are advised to work hard.

 Active: Get out.

 Passive: You are ordered to get out.