ACTIVE VOICE &PASSIVE

VOICE
What is active voice?
Active Voice
1.We use active voice more frequently in
speaking than in writing ,unlike passive
voice.
3.If you want to focus on the agent then the
active voice is preferable to the passive.
Ex:They grow coffee in Brazil.
Passive Voice
1.Used only with transitive verbs(verbs that
can be followed by an object)
2.Some passive voice verbs have no active
equivalent.
Ex:Wrright was born in 1869.
3.Use the passive voice when it is not
important to mention the human doer of the
action/agent.So,sometimes the agent is not
even stated in the sentence.ex:Coffee is
grown in Brazil.
4.This is often used in scientific writing.
Ex:The experiment has been performed
several times with similar results.
5.Use the passive when the stated agent is a
thing and not a person.ex:The cock is set by
the computer’s mechanism.
Past Participle form of the Verb
Usage of “being” & “been”

•1.Both are used in passive voice sentences.

•2.Both have the same pronunciation.
•3.However,
•BEING is used after form of “be”for passive voice verbs only.
•BEEN is used after forms of “have”for verbs in both active and
passive voice.
Learn these patterns.
• 1.Be+being+past particilple(PASSIVE)
• EX:He is/was being questioned.

• 2.Have+been+past participle(PASSIVE)
• EX:He has been taken to the hospital.

• 3.Have+been+ing(active)
• Ex:He has been working hard all day.
Exercise 1

• 1)Write “yes” when the sentences can be written in passive voice

and “no”when it cannot be written in passive voice.
• 1.An interesting event occurred last week.
• 2.The lecturer tried to explain the theorem.
• 3.She has worn that hat only twice.
• 4.Several difficult problems have arisen this year.
• 5.Some young researchers conducted an innovative study of heart
disease.
Exercise 2
Read the following passages and underline the complete forms of the
passive verbs.
Exercise 3

• 1)Complete each sentences with a form of the verb in brackets

that includes either the auxiliary “being”/ “been”.
• 1.The old computers …………….(replace).The technicians just
finished the job an hour ago.
• 2.My computer……..(fix)even as we speak.
• 3.The polls have just closed.The election ……..(win)by a very small
margin.
• 4.All last year,my data……..(steal)by a computer hacker working
on a riva project.
Exercise 4
Turn the foowing sentences into passive voice.

• 1.They have made a lot of changes in the curriculum.

• 2.They have canceled some popular courses.
• 3.They grow a lot of rice in Japan.
• 4.They are questioning the suspect right now.
• 5.Someone has changed the settings on this computer to make it
more efficient.
Exercise 5
Rewrite the following paragraph changing the verbs from active to the passive
voice wherever you think is appropriate.More than one answer may be possible.
Exercise 6
Answer the following questions.Use the passive voice in your
response.

• Ex:When were the X-rays discovered?Who were they discovered

by?
• X-rays were discovered in 1895 by W.C.Roentgen.
• 1.When was radium discovered?Who was it discovered by?
• 2.When was the steam engine invented?Who was it invented by?\
• 3.When was the telephone invented?Who was it invented ?
• 4.When was the Eiffel tower built?Who was it designed by?
• 5.When was the Great Wall of China begun?Why was it built?
Write a past tense description of an observed activity ,such as a video game,a household chore or a task such as changing a bicyce tire.
Emphasize what is done rather than who is doing it.Use the pa ssive voice wherever appropriate.
THANK YOU!!!