What is Active and Passive voice? Explain.
Difficulty: Easy
Voice is that form of a verb which shows whether the subject does something or has something done to it. There are two voices in the English language: Active voice and Passive voice.
Active voice
A verb is in the active voice when its subject does something.
- Khurshid (subject) helps Naushaba (object)
- The driver (subject) opened the door of the car (object)
- The boy (subject) makes the picture (object)
Passive voice
A verb is in the passive voice when something is done to its subject
- Naushaba is helped by Khurshid
- The door of the car was opened by the driver
- The picture is made by the boy
We see that the following changes take place when a sentence is changed from the active to passive voice
- The subject becomes the object and the object becomes the subject
- The principal verb is changed into the past participle (if it is not already in that form) and is preceded by some form of the verb be
- The preposition by is placed before the object
Following is a list of sentences – (in various tenses) changed from the active into the passive voice
- The mother loves the children
The children are loved by the mother (present indefinite tense)
- they are buying this house
This house is being bought by them (present continuous)
- she has not beaten the dog
The dog has not been beaten by her (present perfect)
- she bought five video films
Five video films were bought by her (present perfect)
- She gave me five films
I was given five films by her
- She was teaching the students
The students were being taught by her (past continuous)
- They had gained nothing
Nothing had been gained by them (past perfect)
- he will write a letter
A letter will be written by him (future indefinite)
- We shall have killed the snake
The snake will have been killed by us (future perfect)
Note: sentences in the present perfect continuous, past perfect continuous, and future perfect continuous are not changed into the passive voice.
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