VOICE
– ACTIVE VOICE AND PASSIVE VOICE
Voice: Voice
is that form of a verb which shows whether the subject does something
or something is done to the subject.
E.g.
The cat killed a rat. (a.v.)
A rat was killed by the cat. (p.v.)
Voice
is of two kinds. They are:
- Active Voice
- Passive Voice
Active
Voice:
The Active
voice
is that form of a verb which shows that the person or thing denoted
by the subject does something.
E.g.
India won the cricket match.
Passive
Voice:
The Passive
voice
is that form of a verb which shows that something is done to the
person or thing denoted by the subject.
E.g.
The cricket match was won by India.
Uses
of Passive voice
- The Passive voice is used when the person or thing acted upon[object] is to be made important.
- The Passive voice is also used when the doer is unknown or when for any reason we do not care to name the doer.
General
Rules for changing the Active voice into Passive voice
- Change the object of the verb into the subject of the sentence.
- The form of passive verb is be + Past Participle (V3). So change the verb into Past Participle(V3)
- Change the be – form (Helping verb) according to the tense of the active verb and the number and person of the new subject.
- In general add agent “by”.
- Change the subject of the sentence into Object of “by”.
E.g.
I play
football.
Football
is
played
by me.
Changing Assertive
Active voice into Passive voice
Tense |
Active Voice
[Structure example] |
Passive Voice
[Structure example] |
Simple Present |
Sub
+ V1
/
s + obj
I
play football.
He plays football. |
New.
Sub + am / is / are + V3
+by
+ New.Obj
Football
is played by me.
Football is played
by him. |
Present Continuous |
Sub
+ am / is / are + V1
+
ing + Obj.
He is playing
football. |
N.S.
+ am / is / are + being + V3
+
by + N. O
Football is being
played by him. |
Present Perfect |
Sub
+ have / has + V3
+
Obj.
He has played
football. |
N.S.
+ have / has + been + V3
+
by + N.O.
Football has been
played by him. |
Simple Past |
Sub
+ V2
+
Obj.
I played football. |
N.S.
+ was / were + V3
+
by + N.O.
Football was played
by me. |
Past Continuous |
Sub
+ was / were + V1
+
ing + Obj.
I was playing
football. |
N.S.
+ was / were + being + V3
+
by + N.O.
Football was being
played by me. |
Past Perfect |
Sub
+ had + V3
+
Obj.
He had played
football. |
N.S.
+ had been + V3
by + N.O.
Football had been
played by him. |
Simple Future |
Sub
+ will / shall + V1
+
Obj.
I will play
football. |
N.S.
+ will / shall + be + V3
+
by + N.O.
Football will be
played by me. |
Future Perfect |
Sub
+ will / shall + have + V3
+
Obj.
I will have played
football. |
N.S.
+ will / shall + have + been + V3
+
N.S.
Football will have
been played by me. |
Note
: When the sentence contains Auxiliary Verbs like will, shall,
should, would, could, need , may, might, ought to, have to, used to,
etc. the Be- form used is “Be”.
E.g.
1.
He will
write a
letter tomorrow. (A.V.)
A
letter will
be written
by him tomorrow. (P.V.)
2.
I can do
it.
It
can be
done by
me.
Changing
Questions of Active Voice into Passive Voice
Rules
- Change Interrogative sentence into Assertive sentence.
- Change the Voice of the verb in the Assertive sentence according to the general rules.
- Then change the changed Assertive sentence into Interrogative sentence.
Note
: Questions are mainly of three types. They are:
- Questions introduced by Interrogative Pronouns.
- Questions introduced by Auxiliary Verbs.
- Questions introduced by Interrogative Adverbs.
- Questions introduced by Interrogative Pronouns
E.g.1.]
Interrogative : Who rang
the bell ?
Passive
: The bell was
rung by
whom ?
Interrogative
Passive : By whom was
the bell
rung ?
- In Active : What do you want ?
Assertive
: You want
what
In
Passive : What is wanted by you ?
- In Active : What are you doing ?
Assertive
: You are
doing
what
In
Passive : What is
being done
by you ?
2.
Questions Introduced by Auxiliary Verbs
E.g.
1.
Interrogative Active : Did they do it ?
Assertive
Affirmative : They did it.
Negative
: They did not do it.
Assertive
Passive [ + ] : It was
done by
them.
Assertive
Negative : It was
not done
by them.
Interrogative
: Was it
done by
them ?
Was
it not done
by them?
3.
Questions
introduced by Interrogative Adverbs
E.g.
In Active : Why did they do it?
Assertive
: [ why ] they did it.
Passive
: [ why ] it
was done
by them ?
Interrogative
: Why was
it done
by them ?
Changing
Imperative sentences of Active Voice into Passive Voice
Imperative
sentences can be changed into Passive Voice in the following way :
E.g.
1. Tell him to go. (A.V.)
Let
him be
told to
go. (P.V)
2.
Post the letter. (A.V.)
Let
the letter be
posted.
(P.V.)
3.
Give the order. (A.V.)
Let
the order be
given.
(P.V.)
4.
Please enter by this door. (A.V.)
You
are requested to enter by this door. (P.V.)
Other
ways of changing A.V. into P.V.
1.)
The preposition “by” is generally used in the Passive voice; but
a)
“With” is used with the verbs ‘please”, “satisfy”,
“throng”, “line”.
b)
“At” is used with the verbs “surprise”, “astonish”,
“vex”, “annoy”.
c)
“To” is used with “know”.
d)
“In” is used with “contain”.
E.g.1.
He pleased her.
She
was
pleased
with him.
2.
The news surprised her.
She
was surprised at the news.
3.
I know him.
He
is known to me.
4.
The box contains many pens.
Many
pens are contained in the box.
2.)
Prepositions of the Phrasal verbs will be written in the same way in
the passive voice.
E.g.1.
She sent
for the
doctor.
The
doctor
was sent for by
her.
2.
He laughed
at her.
She
was laughed
at by
him.
3.)
When the sentence contains two objects, passive voice can be formed
with either of the objects.
E.g.1.
He gave me a book. (A.V.)
I
was given a book by him.
A
book was given to me by him. (P.V.)
4.)
Avoiding Object in Passive Voice.
E.g.1.
Someone murdered him.
He
was murdered.
2.
Someone has picked my pocket.
My
pocket has been picked.
3.
One should keep
one’s promises.
Promises
should
be kept.
Sentences
containing Infinitive
E.g.1.
It is time to
close the shop.
It
is time for
the shop to be closed.
2.
Having
crossed the bridge,
they attacked the enemy.
The
bridge having been crossed, they attacked the enemy.
Sentences
containing Gerunds
E.g.1
Now there is no danger of his
betraying you.
Now
there is no danger of your
being betrayed by him.
2.
I went to see the
launching of a rocket.
I
went to see a
rocket being launched.
Sentences
with “That” Clause
E.g.1.
We say that he is a teacher.
It
is said that he is a teacher.
2.
They believe / think / find / consider / know / feel / understand /
report // that the earth is round.
It
is believed / thought / found / considered / known / felt /
understood / reported that the earth is round.
Sentences
with verbs like “taste, smell, feel”
E.g.1
The flower smells sweet.
The
flower is sweet if / when it is smelt.
2.
The curd tastes sour.
The
curd is sour if / when it is tasted.
3.
The cloth feels soft.
The
cloth is soft if / when it is felt.
Compound
Sentences
E.g.1.
God made
man and man made
city.
Man
was made
by God and city was
made by
man.
2.
We can
take a
horse to the pond but we cannot
make it
drink.
A
horse can
be taken
by us to the pond but it cannot
be made
to drink.
Complex
Sentences
E.g.1.
If you win
a medal, the school will
give
you a prize.
If
the medal is
won by
you, you will
be given
a prize by the school.
2.
As you spoke
the truth, I excuse
you.
As
the truth was
spoken
by you, you are
excused
by me.
3.
This is the boy who
stole
my pen.
This
is the boy by
whom my
pen was
stolen.
she will ring the bell. convert to passive voice
ReplyDeleteThe bell will be rung by her
DeleteWas a match being played by him
DeleteThe bell was rung. change to active voice
ReplyDeletelet us play cricket match.change into passive voice
ReplyDeleteThe cloth is soft. Change to passive voice
ReplyDeletesoft is being the cloth
DeleteHe has to play cricket change into passive
ReplyDeleteHe was not playing
DeleteCricket has to be played by him.
DeleteShe does not play cricket
ReplyDeleteCricket is not played by her.
DeleteValuable
ReplyDeleteDo we play football? Convert to passive voice
ReplyDelete