Passive Voice

Prepared by Zalgay Samady

 Active and Passive Voice
Voice means sound, but it is a form of a verb in
grammar that shows whether the subject does
something or something is done to the subject.

Kinds of Voice: There are two kinds of Voices.

1. Active Voice
2.Passive Voice
1. Active voice: When a form of a verb shows that the subject is
performing the action, it is called Active Voice.
e.g. Wali kills Ali.

2. Passive voice: When a form of a verb shows that the subject

is receiving the action, it is called Passive Voice.
e.g. Ali is killed by Wali.
 Why We Use Passive?
1. When the doer of the action is not clear.
2. When we want to hide the doer of an action
3. When the doer of the action is known by all
4. When we want to be polite
 Changing Active Voice to Passive Voice
Note: If you want to change active to passive, make sure there
is a transitive verb in the sentence. (Transitive Verb = Verb +
Object)
Rules:
1) Divide the sentence into ( subject + verb + object).
2) Make the object of active subject of passive.
3) Use a form of be with past participle (V3).
4) Make the subject of active part of by phrase in passive.
Using Be + V3
Simple Present Tense am/are/is + V3
Present Continuous Tense being + V3
Simple Past Tense was/were + V3
Present Perfect Tense been + V3
Simple Future Tense be + V3
 Simple Present Tense
Subject + Verb + Object. (Active)
He fixes my car. (Active)
subject v1 object

Object + be + v3 + By Phrase. (Passive)

My car is fixed by him. (Passive)
object be v3 by phrase ( sub of active)
 Examples
 Laila washes the dishes. (Active)
The dishes are washed ( by Laila/her). (Passive)
 The teachers are teaching the classes. (Active)
The classes are being taught. (Passive)
 Ahmad finished the project last night. (Active)
The project was finished last night. (Passive)
 The thieves have stolen my car. (Active)
Exercise: Change the following active sentences to passive voice.
e.g. Shaila makes a cup of tea. A cup of tea is made by Shaila

1. He sells the old cars. ___________________________________________________

2. She doesn't park the blue car here. _________________________________________
3. It eats more grass in winter. ______________________________________________
4. Does she call her parents every Friday? _____________________________________
5. The secretary types the letters. ____________________________________________
6. He doesn't take his medicine every day. _____________________________________
7. Monkeys eat bananas. ___________________________________________________
8. I don't do it. ___________________________________________________________
9. Do you speak Dari well? _________________________________________________
10. They make the test papers. _______________________________________________
 Present continuous passive
structures:
1. Subject + is/am/are + being + verb.3 + by phrase. (positive)
e.g. Ali is studying math.
Math is being studied by Ali.
2. Subject + is/am/are + not + being + verb.3 + by phrase. (negative)
e.g. Azim is not studying science.
Science is not being studied by Azim.

3. Is/am/are + subject + being + verb.3 + by phrase? (interrogative)

e.g. Is Azim studying English?
Exercise: Change the following active sentences to passive voice.
e.g. Nadia is drinking a cup of tea. A cup of tea is being drunk by Nadia.

1. My father is not washing the car. _________________________________________

2. The farmer is milking the cows. __________________________________________
3. Is she taking a picture? _________________________________________________
4. I am not writing a poem. _______________________________________________
5. We are playing football. ________________________________________________
6. Gulnaz is not wearing a gown. ___________________________________________
7. Is Parwin preparing the party? ___________________________________________
8. Are they attending the meeting? __________________________________________
9. You aren't watering the flowers. __________________________________________
10. They are planning a trip. ________________________________________________
 Present perfect tense passive
structures
1. Subject + have/has + been + verb3 + by phrase. (positive)
They have bought a car.
A car has been bought by them.
2. Subject + have/has + not + been + verb3 + by phrase.(negative)
They have not sold a car.
A car has not been sold by them.
3. Have/has + subject + been + verb3 + by phrase? (interrogative)
Have they fixed the car?
Has the car been fixed by them?
Exercise: Change the following active sentences to passive voice.
e.g. Jamshid has bought a carton of milk. A carton of milk has been bought by Jamshid.

1. Has Karim paid the hotel bill? ____________________________________

2. I have not eaten a burger. ________________________________________
3. Have we caught the flight? _______________________________________
4. I have not opened the present. _____________________________________
5. They have read the story book. _____________________________________
6. Have you sent the parcel? _________________________________________
7. We have not solved the issue. ______________________________________
8. You have not sent the parcel. _______________________________________
9. Has the woman stolen the necklace? __________________________________
10. The police have not caught the thieves. ________________________________
 Simple past tense passive
structures:
1. Subject + was/were + verb.3 + by phrase. (positive)
I visited Laila the day before yesterday.
Laila was visited the day before yesterday by me.
2. Subject + was/were + not + verb.3 + by phrase. (negative)
I didn't call Laila yesterday.
Laila was not called yesterday by me
3. Was/were + subject + verb.3 + by phrase? (interrogative)
Have they fixed the car?
Did you break the window? Was the window broken by you?
Exercise: Change the following active sentences to passive voice.
e.g. Ahmad broke the jug. The jug is broken by Ahmad.
1. Aziz wrote the letter. ______________________________________
2. Did you set the table? ______________________________________
3. I didn't feed the cats. _______________________________________
4. Edison invented the bulb. ____________________________________
5. Did Oynx built that building? _________________________________
6. My mom served the dinner. ___________________________________
7. They didn't sell the computers. _________________________________
8. The thieves stopped the van. ___________________________________
9. The maid didn't clean it. _______________________________________
10. Did the kids play football? _____________________________________
 Past continuous tense passive
structures:
1. Subject + was/were + being + verb.3 + by phrase. (positive)
Latif was watching cricket yesterday.
Cricket was being watched by Latif yesterday.

2. Subject + was/were + not + being + verb.3 + by phrase. (negative)

Laila was not washing clothes yesterday.
Clothes were not being washed by Laila yesterday.

3. Was/were + subject + being + verb.3 + by phrase? (interrogative)

Was Laila watching TV last night?
Was TV being watched last night by Laila?
Exercise: Change the following active sentences to passive voice.
e.g. I was taking the notes. The notes were being taken by me.

1. The boys were firing the crackers. _____________________________________

2. He wasn't carrying a bag. ____________________________________________
3. The cat was feeding the kitten. ________________________________________
4. Was the boss calling the manager? _____________________________________
5. The guests weren't visiting my house. ___________________________________
6. He was cutting the tree. ______________________________________________
7. Were you playing the music? __________________________________________
8. The snake was biting mongoose. _______________________________________
9. Amin wasn't catching the birds. ________________________________________
10. Was she plucking the flowers? _________________________________________
 Past perfect tense positive
structures:
1. Subject + had + been + verb3 + by phrase. (positive)
Laila had broken the glass.
The glass had been broken by her.

2. Subject + had + not + been + verb3 + by phrase. (negative)

Laila had not eaten the pizza.
The pizza had not been eaten by Laila.

3. Had + subject + been + verb3 + by phrase? (interrogative)

Had Laila spoken to her boss?
Exercise: Change the following active sentences to passive voice.
e.g. I had worn the blue shoes. The blue shoes had been worn by me.
1. I hadn't sold our old house. ______________________________________
2. Jonny had cleaned the vases. _____________________________________
3. Had Jawad lost the keys? ________________________________________
4. They hadn't started the new chapter. ________________________________
5. I had been reading the paper. ______________________________________
6. Had I closed the doors and windows? ________________________________
7. They had not bought the newspaper. _________________________________
8. She had not noticed me. ___________________________________________
9. Had she solved the problem? _______________________________________
10. He had recorded lots of songs? _____________________________________
 Simple future tense positive
structures:
1. Subject + will/shall + be + verb.3 + by phrase (positive)
We will paint the house tomorrow.
The house will be painted by us tomorrow.

2. Subject + will + not + be + verb.3 + by phrase (negative)

She will not nail the photo tomorrow.
The photo will not be nailed by her tomorrow.

3. Will + subject + be + verb.3 + by phrase (interrogative)

Will he post the letter tomorrow?
Exercise: Change the following active sentences to passive voice.
e.g. Jane will fix that old computer. That old computer will be fixed by Jane.

1. Will Jan buy a new apartment? ______________________________________

2. Her friend will not install the TV. ____________________________________
3. Millions of Muslim will visit Mecca. __________________________________
4. Will our boss sign the contract? ______________________________________
5. You will not do it. _________________________________________________
6. They will not show that film. ________________________________________
7. He won't see his wife this week. ______________________________________
8. Will the students ask a lot of questions? ________________________________
9. The company will employ 5 employees. ________________________________
10. Will the plumber repair the shower? ___________________________________
 Future perfect tense passive
structures:
1.Subject + will/shall + have + been + verb.3 + by phrase. (positive)
e.g. She will have cooked dinner before you clean the house.
Dinner will have been cooked by her before the house is cleaned by you.
2. Subject + will + not + have + been + verb.3 + by phrase. (negative)
e.g. She will not have washed the dishes before you clean the house.
The dishes will not have been washed by her before the house is cleaned
by you.
3.Will + subject + have + been + verb.3 + by phrase? (interrogative)
e.g. Will he have checked the papers before you write the thesis?
Will the papers have been checked by him before the thesis is written by you?
Exercise: Change the following active sentences to passive voice.
e.g. Will the professors have marked the papers? Will the papers have been marked by professors?
1. Farzad will have ordered the drinks. _________________________________________
2. You will not have spent all money. __________________________________________
3. Will she have spent all the money? __________________________________________
4. I will have taken the dog out. ______________________________________________
5. Will she have sold her ring? _______________________________________________
6. They will have solved the problem. _________________________________________
7. She will not have read the news. ___________________________________________
8. They will not have trusted the ugly lady. _____________________________________
9. He won't have rung Roya Jan. ______________________________________________
10. Will you have washed your socks? __________________________________________
Thanks