Active Passive Voice

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FOR PRACTICE :
Now complete the following sentences using the Future Perfect Tense of the verbs
given in brackets :
I) They ___________________________ (lay) the foundation by September.
ii) We _________________________ (raise) the walls by December.
iii) They ______________________ (paint) the house before Pongal.
iv) The builder _______________________ (finish) RCC roofing by the end of
February.
Activity: Use the appropriate tense of the verb given in brackets to complete the
sentence.
i) My friend _________________________ (write) many novels so far.

ii) The committee ______________ (solve) the problem by next January.
iii) By the time mother entered the kitchen, the cat ______________ (drink) the milk.
iv) Sachin_____________ (occupy) the first place in the cricket world by now.
v) By August, my brother _________________ (join) college.
ENGLISH
VOICE – ACTIVE AND PASSIVE
(Recall the two forms of verbs – the transitive and the intransitive)
Observe the following sentences :
1. The boy flew a kite.
2. Ramesh cooked tasty dishes.
3. The plane flew high.
4. Mother cooks well.
In sentences 1 and 2, the verbs 'flew' and 'cooked' are transitive verbs. They take an
object.
The boy flew – (what)
Ans : a kite (object)
Ramesh cooked – (what)
Ans : tasty dishes (object)
Consider the verbs 'flew' and 'cooks' in sentences 3 and 4.
They do not take an object. They are intransitive verbs.
The plane flew – (how) - high.
Mother cooks – (how) - well.
Note : The same verb can be used transitively or intransitively.
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Transformation of sentences :
Look at the following sentence :
My uncle writes poems.
S V O
The subject does the action. Hence this sentence is of the Active Voice.
Poems are written by my uncle.
S V O
Here, the subject 'poems' does not do any action. It is passive. This sentence is of the
Passive Voice.
Note :
1. The subject of the sentence in the Active voice becomes the object in the
sentence of the Passive Voice.
2 The object of the sentence in the Active Voice becomes the subject of the
sentence in the Passive Voice.
3 The verb undergoes a change. It is of the form 'be' + past participle of the verb.
ENGLISH
Let us consider transformation from the Active into the Passive, with changes
in the verb according to various tense forms :
I. Simple Present :
1. The child recites a poem every morning. (Active)
A poem is recited by the child every morning (Passive)
2. We play games every evening. (Active)
Games are played every evening. (Passive)
3. Does he appreciate you often? (Active)
Are you appreciated often by him? (Passive)
(structure in the passive – is / are / am + past participle (p.p) of the verb)
II. Simple Past :

1. Meena solved the problem quicly. (A)
The problem was solved quickly by Meena. (P)
2. Dinesh answered all the questions. (A)
All the questions were answered by Dinesh. (P)
3. Did he punish you? (A)
Were you punished by him? (P)
(structure of the verb in the passive – was / were + p.p of the verb)
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III. Simple Future :

1. They will conduct a meeting tomorrow. (A)
A meeting will be conducted tomorrow. (P)
2. We shall clear your doubts at the next meeting.(A)
Your doubts shall be cleared at the next meeting. (P)
3. Will he invite you to the wedding? (A)
Will you be invited to the wedding? (P)
(structure of the verb in the passive - will / shall + p.p. of the verb)
IV. Present Continuous :

1. We are writing a test now. (A)
A test is being written by us now. (P)
2. They are performing experiments in the lab. (A)
Experiments are being performed by them in the lab. (P)
3. Are they conducting a quiz next week? (A)
Is a quiz being conducted next week? (P)
ENGLISH
(structure in the passive - is / are / am + being + p.p.)
V. Past Continuous :
1. The students were conducting a survey in the village. (A)
A survey was being conducted in the village, by the students. (P)
2. Our teacher was correcting the test papers yesterday. (A)
The test papers were being corrected by our teacher yesterday. (P)
3. Were you delivering a lecture last week? (A)
Was a lecture being delivered by you last week? (P)
(structure in the passive - was / were + being + p.p.)
VI. Present Perfect :

1. The students have completed the project. (A)
The project has been completed by the students. (P)
2. Ram has distributed all the invitations. (A)
All the invitations have been distributed by Ram. (P)
3. Have they given you the necessary instructions? (A)
Have the necessary instructions been given to you? (P)
(structure in the passive - has / have + p.p. of the verb)
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VII. Past Perfect :

1. The teacher had completed the portions. (A)
The portions had been completed by the teacher. (P)
2. The court had declared him innocent. (A)
He had been declared innocent by the court. (P)
3. Had they convened a meeting? (A)
Had a meeting been convened? (P)
(structure in the passive - had + been + p.p. of the verb)
VIII. Future Perfect :

1. We will have completed the course by next year. (A)
The course will have been completed, by next year. (P)
2. Will they have closed the shops by now? (A)
Will the shops have been closed by now? (P)
(structure in the passive - will / shall + have + been + p.p. of the verb)
ENGLISH
IX. Commands / Requests :

1. Submit your notebooks. (A)
Let your notebooks be submitted. (P)
2. You are to obey the orders. (A)
The orders are to be obeyed. (P)
X. General Statements :
1. People say that the price of gold will never come down. (A)
It is said that the price of gold will never come down.(P)
2. They say that Prem is an honest man. (A)
i) It is said that Prem is an honest man. (P)
ii) Prem is said to be an honest man. (P)
Note :
 The Present Perfect Continuous and the Future Perfect Continuous Tenses do
not have the Passive form.
 The agent is omitted in the passive, when the agent of the active voice is either
unknown, unimportant or well known.
 In scientific experiments and in newspaper reports (sometimes in formal letters
too), the passive voice is used.
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 When there are two objects in a sentence (IO and DO), there are two answers in
the passive.
Look at the following sentence :
1. My sister showed me the report. (A)
verb + whom – me - IO
verb + what – the report - DO
i) I was shown the report by my sister. (P)
ii) The report was shown to me by my sister. (P)
Exercise :
Rewrite the sentences in the other voice :
1. He collects a moderate fee from the customers.
2. The bills have been settled without any dues.
3. Let the work be completed on time.
4. Did they give you a concession?
5. Naveen will submit his leave application tomorrow.
6. The exhibition is being visited by many young children.
ENGLISH
7. Have they given you an appointment order?
8. The workers are constructing a bridge.
9. Did someone guide you to the office?
10. The plants are being watered by the gardener.
LET US EXPAND :
Here is a small story outline for you to develop, using the right tense form of the
verbs given in brackets:
20 years ago in Erode-Ashok saw a young girl- looked tired and hungry- on her
way back from school-(search) his pockets-(find) a biscuit-(give) it to her-(walk) a
little distance-(stand) watching- a skinny dog (come) by- the girl (break) the biscuit
into two- (give) one half to the dog- He (move) by the generosity of the girl.
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i) My friend _________________________ (write) many novels so far.

II. Simple Past :

III. Simple Future :

IV. Present Continuous :

VI. Present Perfect :

VII. Past Perfect :

VIII. Future Perfect :

IX. Commands / Requests :

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