Understanding Active and Passive Voice
Active voice emphasizes the subject performing an action, while passive voice highlights the action being performed on the subject. To convert a question from active to passive voice, follow these steps:
Steps to Change from Active to Passive Voice
- Identify the Subject, Verb, and Object:
- In the active voice, the subject is the doer of the action, the verb is the action itself, and the object is the receiver of the action.
- Rearrange the Sentence:
- Move the object of the active sentence to the front to become the new subject of the passive sentence.
- Change the Verb:
- Use the appropriate form of "to be" followed by the past participle of the main verb.
- Add the Original Subject (if necessary):
- You can include the original subject at the end of the sentence, preceded by "by," though it's often omitted if the doer is unknown or irrelevant.
Example Transformation
- Active Voice: "Who wrote the book?"
- Passive Voice: "By whom was the book written?"
Key Points to Remember
- Tense Consistency: Ensure the tense remains consistent when changing from active to passive.
- Clarity: The passive voice can sometimes make sentences less clear, so use it judiciously.
- Context Matters: Choose passive voice for emphasis on the action or when the doer is not important.
By following these guidelines, you can easily convert questions from active to passive voice, enhancing your linguistic versatility for examinations like the UPSC.