The rules of changing voice

Practice will help you more than understanding the rules. So, Practice more and more.

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What is Voice? Voice is the property of verb which shows whether the subject is performing or experiencing the action

There are two kinds of voice:

When a sentence is written, it can either be written in active voice or passive voice.

What is active voice? Active voice is the voice used to indicate that the subject of the sentence is performing the action or causing the action. The following examples show that the subject is doing the verb's action. The dog jumped onto the boy. The dog (subject) is doing the jumping (verb). Kristy will give a book report to the class. Kristy (subject) is doing the giving (verb). The computer ate my paper. The computer (subject) is doing the eating (verb).

A sentence is written in the active voice if the subject—the main person, place, thing, or idea—performs the action.

A straightforward example is the sentence – "Steve loves Amy." (Steve is the subject, and he is doing the action: he loves Amy, the object of the sentence.) What Is Passive Voice?

Passive voice is the voice used when the subject is the recipient of the action.

These examples show the subject being acted upon by the verb. The boy was jumped on by the dog. Boy (subject) was being jumped on (verb) A book report will be given by Kristy to the class. Report (subject) will be given (verb). My paper was eaten by the computer. Paper (subject) was being eaten (verb). A sentence is written in the passive voice if the subject—the main person, place, thing, or idea—receives the action. Examples: Amy is loved by Steve." The subject of the sentence becomes Amy, but she isn't doing anything. Rather, she is just the recipient of Steve's love. The focus of the sentence has changed from Steve to Amy.

Precondition of changing voice

The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb. Therefore, sentences which do not have an object cannot be changed into the passive. The following sentences, for instance, cannot be changed into the passive because they do not have objects. The old man sat in a corner. The child sleeps. The wind blows. The dog barks. The fire burns. So, the Passive voice can be made only of transitive verb, i.e. if the verb is followed by an object. I help you. I do not write novels. Which newspaper do you read? We love our country. Inform the Police.


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Special attention:

Arrive, happen, go, appear, occur, become, come, rain, cry, sleep, walk, stay, die, belong, comprise, disappear, despair, ensure, result, wonder, perish, refer, issue, indulge, seem, allude, wonder, e.t.c. are called intransitive verb. There is no passive voice of these verbs.

Incorrect Correct It was appeared. It appeared. It is happened. It happened. This book is belonged to me. This book is belongs to me. He was died. He died. It was happened. It happened. I was stayed. I stayed.

Some transitive verbs also cannot be changed into passive because of their meaning. Most of them are stative verbs ( verb that does not perform any action but indicate only condition is called stative verb).

Example: have, fit, suit, lack, resemble.

I have a cow. ( But not- A cow is had by me. )

My shoes don’t fit me. (But not – I’m not fitted by my shoes.)

Sylvia resembles a Greek goddess. (But not - A Greek goddess is resembled by Sylvia.)

Your mother lacks tact. (But not - Tact is lacked………………)

He resembles his father. (But not- His father is resembled by him.)

She was having a bath. (But not – A bath was being had by her.)

Some prepositional verbs are mainly used in the active.

Everybody agreed with me. (But not – I was agreed with by everybody.)

We walked into the room. (But not – The room was walked into)

There are no clear rules about this and students have to learn by experience which verbs cannot be used in the passive.

Things to be remembered

Such expressions as He is gone, He is come , He is arrived are not passive, since go, arrive and come are intransitive, and cannot be used in the passive voice. They are merely alternative forms of He has gone, He has come, He has arrived. But there is a slight difference in meaning between the two forms. In He has gone, emphasis is laid on the time of the action; but in He is gone, emphasis is laid on the state of the agent, i.e., his absence, and not on the time of action.


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General changing (active to passive)

Things always to be remembered: While using the object of Active sentence as the subject of the passive sentences ,make sure that the subjective form is used. Object of the Active voice Will be Subject of the Passive Voice Kamal (Noun) will be Kamal (Noun) me will be I us will be We you will be You her will be She him will be He them will be They it will be It whom will be Who

present indefinite use am, is, are present continuous use am being, is being, are being present perfect use have been, has been past indefinite use was, were past continuous use was being, were being past perfect use had been future indefinite use shall be, will be future continuous use shall be being, will be being future perfect use shall have been, will have been conditional use would be perfect conditional use would have been present infinitive use to be perfect infinitive use to have been present participle/gerund use being perfect participle use having been


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Conditional I Active Rita would write a letter.

Passive A letter would be written by Rita.

Conditional II Active Rita would have written a letter.

Passive A letter would have been written by Rita.

The active sentence is in present indefinite tense. So the auxiliary verb will be “ is”-

The verb is “write”. So it will be changed into “written ( participle form of write).”

Activ

e vo

ice:

I

writ

e a

lett

er.


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Things always to be remembered:

While using the subject of Active sentence as the object of the passive sentences ,make sure that the objective form is used.

Subject of Active voice will be Object of Passive Voice Kamal (Noun) will be Kamal (Noun) I will be me We will be us You will be you She will be her He will be him They will be them It will be it Who will be whom

So, the general structure of passive sentence is- Structure: Subject + auxiliary verb+ past participle + by + object (noun or pronoun).

Do not forget. Voice is changed in the same sentence i.e., if the Active voice is in the interrogative sentence. Passive will also be in interrogative sentence.

Assertive sentence (active to passive) We can change every affirmative assertive sentence into the passive by the following rule:

Examples: Tense Active sentence Passive sentence

1 2 3 4 5 . Present Indefinite I love my parents. My parents are loved by me . Present continuous

We are eating cake. Cake is being eaten by us .

Present perfect Nasima has made tea. Tea has been made by Nasima .


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We can change every negative assertive sentence into the passive by the following rule:

Examples:

Tense Active sentence Passive sentence 1 2 not Rest

portion of aux. V.

3 4 5 .

Present Indefinite

I do not love my parents. My parents are not loved by me .

Present continuous

We are not eating cake. Cake is not being eaten by us .

Present perfect

Nasima has not made tea. Tea has not been made by Nasima .

Past Indefinite

I did not saw many birds. Many birds were not seen by me .

Past continuous

I was not revising the lesson.

The lesson was not being revised by me .

Interrogative sentence (active to Passive)

Interrogative sentence can be formed in two ways:

1. Start with auxiliary verb ( Am, is , are, was, were, do, does, did, have, has, had, will, shall)

2. Start with Wh-word (when, where, why, how, what, who, whom, whose, which)


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Examples: Tense Active sentence Passive sentence

2 1 Rest portion of aux. V.

3 4 5 ?

Present Indefinite Do you play football? Is football played by you ? Present continuous Is she doing the sum? Is the sum being done by her ?

Present perfect Has Nasima made tea? Has tea been made by Nasima ?

Past Indefinite Did she break the glass? Was the glass broken by her ?

Examples:

Tense Active sentence

Passive sentence 2 1 not Rest portion

of aux. V. 3 4 5 ?

Present Indefinite Do you not play football?

Is football not played by you ?

Present continuous Is she not doing the sum?

Is the sum not being done by her ?

Present perfect Has not Nasima made tea?

Has tea not been made by Nasima ?

Past Indefinite Did she not break the glass?

Was the glass not broken by her ?


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Examples: Active sentence Passive sentence

Wh-words

2 1 Rest portion of aux. V.

3 4 5 ?

How do you prepare tea? How is tea prepared by you ? When do you see T.V.? When is T.V. seen by you ?

Where had you found him? Where had he been found by you ?

When will you meet him? When will he be met by you ?

How will you do this? How will this be done by you ?

Why have you done it? Why has it been done by you ?

What did you asked him? What was he asked by you ?

Examples: Active sentence Passive sentence

1 2 3 4 5 ? What do you like? What is liked by you ? What was Rehman doing? What was being done by Rehman ? Whom do you love? Who is loved by you ? Whom are they calling? Who are called by them ? Which newspaper do you read? Which newspaper is read by you ? Which people did she like? Which people were liked by her ? Whose pen has Karim borrowed? Whose pen has been borrowed by Karim ?

Examples:

Active sentence Passive sentence

4 5 2 1 Rest portion of aux. V. 3 ? Who beats you? By whom are you beaten ? Who is helping her? By whom is she being helped ? Who will repair the window? By whom will the window be repaired ?


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Modal auxiliary (active to Passive)

Imperative sentence (active to passive)

There are special rules for changing the imperative sentence into passive voice.

“Let” is used at the beginning to convert the active voice sentence into a passive voice sentence.

Passive Voice with MODAL AUXIARIES (modal + be + past participle)

Passive: WILL / WON'T BE Tom will be invited to the party by Sharon. Jeff won't be invited to the party by Sharon.

Active: WILL / WON'T Sharon will invite Tom to the party. Sharon won't invite Jeff to the party.

Passive: CAN / CAN'T (CAN NOT) BE The cake can be made by Mai. The future can't be foretold by Terry.

Active: CAN / CAN'T (CAN NOT) Mai can make the cake. Terry can't foretell the future.

Passive: MAY / MAY NOT BE Katya may be given a new office by her company. The homework may not be done by the lazy students.

Active: MAY / MAY NOT Her company may give Katya a new office. The lazy students may not do the homework.

MIGHT / MIGHT NOT BE Katya might be given a new office by her company. The homework might not be done by the lazy students.

MIGHT / MIGHT NOT Her company might give Katya a new office. The lazy students might not do the homework.

Passive: SHOULD / SHOULDN'T BE English verbs should be memorized by students. Cigarettes shouldn't be smoked by children.

Active: SHOULD / SHOULDN'T Students should memorize English verbs. Children shouldn't smoke cigarettes.

Passive: OUGHT TO BE English verbs ought to be memorized by students.

Active: OUGHT TO Students ought to learn English verbs.


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Let / Let not/Let never 1 be 3 .

Do not ignore my suggestions. Let not my suggestions be ignored .

Do not mistake me. Let not I be mistaken .

Cut your nails. Let your nails be cut .

Inform the Police. Let the police be informed .

Open the box. Let the box be opened .

Never tell a lie. Let never a lie be told .


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There are few verbs which take two objects, a Direct object and an Indirect object. For such sentences, there will be two forms in Passive Voice sentences and both are correct. But using the indirect object as the subject of passive voice is better.


1 2 3 Direct object 4 5 .

She has told me the truth. I have been told the truth by her .

They lent me a car. I was lent a car by them .

He had told me a lie. I was told a lie by him .

Who taught you Sanskrit? You were taught Sanskrit by whom .

The office has sent her a message. She has been sent a message by the office .

The postman brought you a parcel. You was brought a parcel by the postman .


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Some intransitive verbs that are used causatively can be made into passive.

Example: Active: They have stood the chair against the wall. Passive: The chair has been stood against the wall by them. Active: The trainer walked the horse after the race. Passive: The horse was walked after the race by the trainer.

Quasi-passive ( active to passive)

Quasi means half. So, Quasi- passive means half active and half passive. The verb which is active in form but passive in meaning is called Quasi-Passive verb.

Example: The bed feels soft. The cows are milking.


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Quasi-passive verb - ¸wj †gvUvgywUfv‡e `yÕiK‡gi :

1. Verbs with a complement (Compliment- wewkó) Example : The book reads well. The rose smell sweet.

2. Verbs without complement (Complement – wenxb) Example : The book is printing. The house is building. The drums are beating.

Bare infinitive

One + should (active to passive)


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Infinitive verb (active to passive)

The passive of below mentioned sentences is correct.

Active Passive Reason There is no time to lose. There is not time to be lost. They did not follow the

structure : Adjective + to + verb. Or, There is no adjective before infinitive.

He is a man to admire. He is a man to be admired. I am to do this work. This work is to be done by me. They are to sell the car. The car is to be sold by them. Aklema was to do this work. This work was to be done by Aklema. I have to buy a book A book has to be bought by me. Aklema had to do this work. This work had to be done by Aklema. He ordered to punish the thief. He ordered the thief to be punished.

Double passive


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Infinitive verb ( active to passive)


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Complex sentence ( active to passive)

In changing the voice of complex sentences the voice of both the principal and subordinate clauses should be changed if possible. But if there is no object in the subordinate clause , there is no need to change the voice of that subordinate clause.

For complex, there are two ways of changing the sentences into the passive voice.

A. By using the introductory “It”. But it must be kept in mind that such sentences are considered as the bad English.

Active Passive The Romans expected that they would conquer Carthage. It was expected by the Romans that Carthage would be

conquered by them. We have learned that you have secured the first rank. It has been learned by us that the first rank has been

secured by you.

But if the active sentences begin with “People say”, it is better to start the passive sentences with “It is said”

Example: Active: People say that the lion is the king of beast. Passive: It is said that lion is the king of beast.

B. By making the clause itself as the subject in the passive voice.

Active Passive I hope that he will realize his mistake. That his mistake will be realized is hoped by us. I expected that they would take up the matter. That the matter would be taken up by them was expected by me. We must endure what we cannot cure. What cannot be cured must be endured. I can not depend on what he says. What is said by him cannot be depended on by me. He showed me what he had made. What he had made was shown me by him. He said what he knew. What he knew was said by him. What he has done will save his family. His family will be saved by what he has done.

Compound sentence ( active to passive)

Example: Active: He ate rice and went to school. Passive: Rice was eaten by him and (he) went to school. Active: He ate rice and gave me a pen. Passive: Rice was eaten and I was given a pen by him.

Use of other Preposition in active to passive


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With the following verbs, ‘by’ is not used in the passive voice: Verb Verb with

preposition Verb Verb with preposition

alarmed Alarmed at Gratify Gratified with Annoyed Annoyed at Bless Blessed with Contained Contained in Glad Glad at Disgusted Disgusted with Fill Filled with Displeased Displeased with Know Known to, known by

AvZœ cwiPq w`‡Z n‡j ev †Kvb Kv‡Ri gva¨‡g cwiPq w`‡Z n‡j Known - Gi

c‡i by e‡m| G‡K A‡b¨i mv‡_ cwiPq A‡_© Known- Gi c‡i to e‡m Lined Lined with pleased Pleased with Married Married to Interested Interested in Satisfied Satisfied with surprised surprised at

Omision of “By+ Agent”

We omit “By+ Agent” when The Agent is: Unknown / Not important / Obvious Besides, you need not to use By + Agent when you find the pronoun i.e Someone, somebody, people, no one, they, we etc as subject.

Example: Someone cleans this room every day. = This room is cleaned every day. People made the road. = The road was made.

Active Passive The result surprised me. I am surprised at the result. The news pleased him. He was pleased with the news. The news alarmed him. He was alarmed at the news. The bottle contains ink. Ink is contained in the bottle. I knew the man. The man was known to me. The boy pleased me much. I was much pleased with the boy. Your proposal shocked me much. I was much shocked at your proposal. Your work satisfied me. I was satisfied with your work. His conduct annoyed me. I was annoyed at his conduct.

His rudeness surprised me. I was surprised at his rudeness.

The book contains useful information. Useful information is contained in the book. The parcel contains important materials. Important materials are contained in the parcel. The boy know the answer. The answer is known to the boy. A tree is known by its fruits. Light filled the room. The room was filled with light. The novels of Tolstory interested me. I am interested in the novels of Tolstory.


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!!!!Attention !!!! (Any => No) Active: I don’t eat anything in the mornings. Passive: Nothing is eaten by me in the mornings. Active: I don’t love anybody. Passive: Nobody is loved by me. Active: She doesn’t drink any alcohol. Passive: No alcohol was drunk by her.

Changing Passive to Active Voice

Passive voice Active voice A promise should be kept. One should keep one’s promise. My pen has been stolen. Some one has stolen my pen. I was obliged to go. Circumstances obliged me to go. Nothing can be gained without labour. We can gain nothing without labour. Why was he refused admittance? Why did they rufuse him admittance? Indiscipline should not be encouraged. We should not encourage indicipline. French is spoken in Quebeck. People in Queveck speak french. He is not known here. None/nobody knows him here. He is called a lair. People/They/call him a lair. They were defeated. People/We/Somebody defeated them. He was carried to the hospital. People/We/they carried him to the hospital. The thief was caught red-handed. People/We/ They caught the thief red-handed. It is said. Someone says it. He is expected soon. We expect him soon. The house was blown to ashes. The storm blew down the house. The shed was burnt to ashes. Fire burnt the shed to ashes. To whom are the ways of nature known? Who knows the ways of nature?


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Exercise:

Put the following sentences into the Passive Form :--

1) The Governor opened the Exhibition. 2) They fixed the time at ten o'clock. 3) He made a remarkable speech. 4) Manners make character. 5) He kept us waiting. 6) Our team scored three goals. 7) Who killed the tiger? 8) The mason is building the house. 9) He will finish the work in about a week. 10) Why did your brother give such a rude reply? 11) A stone struck him on the head. 12) The king gave her a reward. 13) This play surprised the visitors. 14) We refused them admission. 15) All the boys laughed at him. 16) They saw the clouds thundering. 17) John gave him a book. 18) The teacher told us a story. 19) In winter people burn a great deal of coal. 20) Enter by the left door. 21) Keep to the left. 22) Give the order. 23) Do not insult the poor. 24) Who did this? 25) Let me do this. 26) One should obey one's parents. 27) Who has broken the chair? 28) I cannot agree to your proposal. 29) Never deceive a friend. 30) I forgive him all his faults. 31) Did they sign the contract? 32) Did the tall boxer beat the short one? 33) Where did they send the furniture? 34) Nobody solved the problem.

Put the following sentences into the Passive Form :--

1) She bought the baby a doll. 2) They were refused admission. 3) Without effort nothing can be gained. 4) He was found guilty of murder. 5) Why should we be surprised by you? 6) She will be greatly surprised if She is selected. 7) They painted the house white. 8) She told me to leave the room. 9) He promised her a present. 10) A thunderstorm often turns milk sour. 11) The whole town was destroyed by the earthquake. 12) The leader was welcomed by the people. 13) The first railway was built by George Stephenson. 14) We expect good news. 15) The telegram has just been received. 16) The thief was caught red-handed. 17) She was loved and honoured by all. 18) My watch has been stolen. 19) Please keep off the grass. 20) We elected Sami captain. 21) The building was damaged by fire. 22) She was taken to hospital by her husband. 24) The lift is operated by electricity. 25) We shall be blamed by everyone. 26) Shall we ever forget those happy days? 27) Who discovered America? 28) Will your brother pay your fees today? 29) She had not confessed her guilt. 30) They had done their duty. 31) Many have been ruined by gambling. 32) Sweets were distributed to the children. 33) What did they repair? 34) When did they build that house? 35) Why did they change the name of the street?

The End


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Voice Change Exercise

They thought her TO be a spy

They told us not TO come back

I saw him come out of the office

They made him tell them everything

Queen Victoria considered him a genius.

Most people saw him as a sort of clown.

She was thought TO be a spy

We were told not TO come back

He was seen to come out of the office

He was made to tell them everything.

He was considered a genius by Queen Victoria.

He was seen as a sort of clown.

The rules of changing voice

Education

passive verb

active voice

active verb

dog subject

kristy subject

report subject

computer subject

paper subject