Back to: Active-Passive Voices
Below the basic rules for changing active voice to passive voice is given:
Table of Contents
Rule No. 1
Voice change can only happen when a sentence contains transitive or action verbs. Transitive verbs use direct object to complete the expression.
Examples
Active Voice | Passive Voice |
---|---|
Rabi paints realistic portraits. | Realistic portraits are painted by Rabi. |
Trisha is working on the project. | The project is being worked on by Trisha. |
Rule No. 2
The subject and the object of the sentence change places. Subject is replaced by object in passive voice. And subject is placed on the place of object.
Examples
Active Voice | Passive Voice |
---|---|
Rupa teaches Maths to children. | Maths is taught to children by Rupa. |
Mother scolded him. | He was scolded by mother. |
Rule No. 3
Personal pronouns change while converting a sentence form active to passive voice.
Examples
Active Voice | Passive Voice |
---|---|
I gave him the book. | The book was given to him by me. |
He was organizing the programme. | The programme was being organized by him. |
The teacher praised her for her excellent performance. | She was praised for her excellent performance by the teacher. |
Rule No. 4
Each tense have their specific rules for changing active voice to passive voice. The main verb of a sentence of all tenses has to be in past participle form in passive voice.
Examples
Active Voice | Passive Voice |
---|---|
Mohan sang a song for us. | A song was sung for us by Mohan. |
Priti brought flowers for her. | Flowers were brought for her by Priti. |
Rule No. 5
In passive voice a preposition [by/to/with] is placed before the subject. The preposition ‘by’ is most commonly used.
Examples
Active Voice | Passive Voice |
---|---|
Water flooded the city. | The city was flooded with water. |
Moumita baked delicious cake. | Delicious cake was baked by Moumita. |
He knows the rules of the game. | The rules of the game is known to him. |