PASSIVE VOICE

It is the reverse of the Active Voice. In the Passive Voice the

OBJECT of the sentence takes up the position of the SUBJECT.
subject verb object
E.g.
He drives the car. (active voice)
The car is driven by him. (passive voice)

The subject which ‘to be’ form

was earlier the
(am/is/are/was, The object which was
etc.) that agrees earlier the subject. The
object with the
subject & the prefix ‘by’ precedes
tense the object.
The verb is
in the
participle
form now
 PASSIVE VOICE (contd.)
Look at the following examples: Note how the passive voice
keeps the tense (present/past/continuous, etc.) of the active voice.

E.g. The teacher teaches the lesson. (active voice)

The lesson is taught by the teacher. (passive voice)
She cleaned the tables. (active voice)
The tables were cleaned by her. (passive voice)
They played a game. (active voice)
A game was played by them. (passive voice)
The company hired many workers. (active voice)
Many workers were hired by the company. (passive voice)
You have stolen rice. (active voice)
Rice has been stolen by you. (passive voice)
I am writing this letter. (active voice)
The letter is being written by me. (passive voice)
from Active Voice to Passive Voice: the 12 tenses
Tense Active voice Passive voice
Present simple He eats cake. Cake is eaten by him.
Present continuous He is eating cake. Cake is being eaten by him.
Present perfect He has eaten cake. Cake has been eaten by him.
Present perfect He has been eating cake. Cake has been being eaten by
continuous him.
Past simple He ate cake. Cake was eaten by him.
Past continuous He was eating cake. Cake was being eaten by him.
Past perfect He had eaten cake. Cake had been eaten by him.
Past perfect continuous He had been eating cake. Cake had been being eaten by
him.
Future simple He will eat cake. Cake will be eaten by him.
Future continuous He will be eating cake. Cake will be being eaten by
him.
Future perfect He will have eaten cake. Cake will have been eaten by
him.
Future perfect continuous He will have been eating Cake will have been being eaten
cake. by him.
Passive Voice – can-can’t / able to-unable to / must-mustn’t /
should-shouldn’t / will-won’t + be + participle
Can I can drink this water. (active)
This water can be drunk by me. (passive)
Can’t I can’t drink this water. (active)
This water can’t be drunk by me. (passive)
Must I must drink this water. (active)
This water must be drunk by me. (passive)
Mustn’t I mustn’t drink this water. (active)
This water mustn’t be drunk by me. (passive)
Should I should drink this water. (active)
This water should be drunk by me. (passive)
Shouldn’t I shouldn’t drink this water. (active)
This water shouldn’t be drunk by me. (passive)
Will I will drink this water. (active)
This water will be drunk my me. (passive)
Will not/Won’t I will not/won’t drink this water. (active)
This water will not/won’t be drunk by me. (passive)
Able to I am able to drink this water. (active)
This water is able to be drunk by me. (passive) or
This water is drinkable by me. (passive)
Unable I am unable to drink this water. (active)
This water is unable to be drunk by me. (passive)

In Passive Voice, we need not say always who did something.

E.g. - A lot of money was stolen in the robbery. (not
necessary to say by the robbers.)
- This room is cleaned everyday? (not necessary to say
by someone)

Passive Voice - ‘to be’

E.g. - This room needs to be cleaned.
- He likes to be heard.
- The new situation is to be looked into soon.
- The singer likes to be appreciated.
How to ask questions in Passive Voice? (passive interrogative)
Look at the following examples:
E.g.1 - He washed the car. (active voice)
- Was the car washed by him? (passive interrogative )

E.g.2 - They dirty the hall all the time. (active voice)
- Is the hall dirtied by them all the time? (passive
interrogative )

E.g.3 - My mother has been cooking this food. (active voice)

- Has this food been being cooked by your mother?
(passive interrogative )
from Active Voice to Passive Voice Interrogative: the 12 tenses
Tense Active voice Passive voice interr.
Present simple He eats cake. Is cake eaten by him?
Present continuous He is eating cake. Is cake being eaten by him?
Present perfect He has eaten cake. Has cake been eaten by him?
Present perfect He has been eating cake. Has cake been being eaten by
continuous him?
Past simple He ate cake. Was cake eaten by him?
Past continuous He was eating cake. Was cake being eaten by him?
Past perfect He had eaten cake. Had cake been eaten by him?
Past perfect continuous He had been eating cake. Had cake been being eaten by
him?
Future simple He will eat cake. Will cake be eaten by him?
Future continuous He will be eating cake. Will cake be being eaten by
him?
Future perfect He will have eaten cake. Will cake have been eaten by
him?
Future perfect continuous He will have been eating Will cake have been being eaten
cake. by him.