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Detailed Notes: Active & Passive Voice | English Grammar Advanced - Class 10 PDF Download

Voice

Voice is that form of the transitive verb that shows whether the subject of the sentence is the doer of the action or has the action done to it.
For example: ‘Mohan played football.’
This sentence is said to be in the active voice. Here, Mohan is the subject and he is the doer of the action, i.e. ‘played football’. The action of the subject is transferred to the object ‘football because Mohan has done something to the ‘football’.
The passive voice of this sentence is:
Football was played by Mohan.

Here, the subject is ‘football’, which was ‘object’ in the active sentence. So here something is done to the subject ‘football’, i.e. it suffers the action done by something or someone.

Rules for Changing Voice

  • In passive voice, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject, with the preposition  "by"  added before the doer.
  • The main verb of the active sentence is changed to its  past participle  form in passive voice.
  • An appropriate form of the verb  "to be"  (am, is, are, was, were, being, been) is placed before the main verb, depending on the tense of the sentence.
  • The auxiliary verb is modified according to the number and person of the new subject.

Changes in Pronouns

Active Voice (Subjective case)

Passive Voice (Objective case)
 I
 by me
 We
 →
 by us
 You
 by you
 He
 by him
 She
 by her
 It
 by it
 They
 by them

Change in Tenses from Active Voice to Passive Voice

Tense/Aspect
Active voice
Passive Voice
 Simple Present He kills a snake. A snake is killed by him.
 Simple Past  He killed a snake. A snake was killed by him
 Simple Future She will write a letter. A letter will be written by her.
 Present Progressive She is singing a song. A song is being sung by her.
 Past Progressive She was singing a song. A song was being sung by her.
 Present Perfect They have watered the plants. The plants have been watered by them.
 Past Perfect We had helped him.He had been helped by us.
 Future Perfect I will have beaten him. He will have been beaten by me.

Change of Voice in the Simple Present

Active voice
Passive voice
 1. He reads a novel. A novel is read by him.
 2. He does not obey his teachers. His teachers do not obey him. 
 3. Why do you waste time? Why is time wasted by you?
 4. Who teaches you Physics? By whom are you taught Physics? 
 5. Which book do you read these days? Which book have you read these days?

Past Simple Tense

Active voice
Passive voice
 1. He did not help me. I was not helped by him.
2. I told her a story. A story was told to her by me. 
 3. What did she buy? What was bought by her? 
 4. Whom did you meet? Who was met by you?
 5. Did you read this novel? Was this novel read by you?

Simple Future

Active voice 
Passive voice 
 1. I shall help him. He will be helped by me.
 2. Will you sell this house? Will this house be sold by you?
 3. Who will pay the bill? By whom will the bill be paid?
 4. You will not disturb me. I shall not be disturbed by you.
 5. When will you visit us? When shall we be visited by you?

Present Progressive

Active voice
Passive voice
 1. She is waiting for us. We are being waited by her.
 2. Is he doing his work? Is his work being done by him?
 3. Who is knocking at the door? By whom is the door being knocked at?
 4. Are the children flying kites? Are the kites being flown by the children?
 5. Why is he not watering the plants? Why are plants not being watered by him?

Past Progressive

Active voice
 Passive voice
 1. He was writing a letter. A letter was being written by him.
 2. What was she doing? What was being done by her?
 3. I was not doing my work. My work was not being done by me. 
 4. Wasn’t she singing a song? Wasn’t a song being sung by her?
 5. Were the children playing hockey? Was hockey being played by the children?

Present Perfect Tense

Active voice
 Passive voice
 1. Has he done his work?  Has his work been done by him?
 2. She has read this book. This book has been read by her.
 3. Who has stolen my watch? By whom has my watch been stolen?
 4. Have you not solved this sum? Has this sum not been solved by you? 
 5. He has not helped me. I have not been helped by him.

Past Perfect Tense

Active voice
Passive voice
 1. She had already cooked the food. The food had already been cooked by him 
 2. Had he not read this letter? Had this letter not been read by him?
 3. Whose team had won the match? By whose team had the match been won?
 4. Hadn’t he done his homework? Hadn’t his homework been done by him?
 5. She had received the parcel. The parcel had been received by her.

Future Perfect Tense

Active voice
Passive voice
 1. He will have received the letter before you reach there. The letter will have been received by him before you reach there.
 2. She will not have washed the clothes   by this time. The clothes will not have been washed by her by this time.
 3. Will the gardener have watered   plants before 5 p.m.? Will the plants have been watered by the gardener before 5 p.m.?
 4. The peon will have locked the gate by 10 p.m.  The main gate will have been locked by the main peon by 10 p.m.

Imperative Sentence

Imperative sentences express command/order, request, suggestion, etc. While changing imperative sentences into the passive voice, we use verbs like advise, request, order, etc.

Active voice
Passive voice
 1. Please post this letter. You are requested to post this letter. 
 2. Shut the door. You are ordered to shut the door.
 3. Work hard. You are advised to work hard.
 4. Light the lamp Let the lamp be lighted.
 5. Never give up hope. Let hope never be given up.
 6. Never tell a lie. Let a lie never be told.
 or
 A lie should never be told.

Interrogative Sentences

Active voice
Passive voice
 1. Do you love him? Is he loved by you?
 2. Did he break window? Was the window broken by him?
 3. Have you taught the boy? Has the boy been taught by you?
 4. What do you want? What is wanted by you?
 5. Why did she beat the servant? Why was the servant beaten by her?
 6. When did you write the letter? When was the letter written by you?
 7. Where will you spend your holidays? Where will your holidays be spent by   you?
 8. How will you cross the river? How will the river be crossed by you?
 9. Have you helped him? Has he been helped by you?
 10. Will you teach me? Will I be taught by you?

Modal Auxiliaries

The form of the passive sentences will be: modal + be + past participle:

Active voice
Passive voice
 1. You can do this work. This work can be done by you.
 2. He may help you. You may be helped by him.
 3. She might win the match. The match might be won by her.
 4. Could you lend me fifty rupees? Could fifty rupees be lent to me by you?
 5. He should respect his elders. His elders should be respected by him.

Prepositional Verbs

Active voice
Passive voice
 1. She objected to my proposal. My proposal was objected to by her.
 2. Has he given up smoking? Has smoking been given up by him?
 3. The'children laughed at the beggar. The beggar was laughed at by the   children.
 4. She accused him of theft. He was accused of theft by her.
 5. We acceded to his request. His request was acceded to by us.

Quasi – Passive

 Active voice
 Passive voice
 1. This mango tastes sweet. This mango is sweet when tasted.
 2. The shop is building. The shop is being built.
 3. The rose smells sweet. The rose is sweet when smelt.
 4. Your shirt needs washing. Your shirt needs to be washed.
 5. This medicine tastes bitter. This medicine is bitter when tasted.

Miscellaneous Examples

Active voice
Passive voice
 1. Grass grows over the fields. The fields are overgrown with grass. 
 2. Someone has stolen my pen. My pen has been stolen.
 3. People say that he is a rich man. It is said that he is a rich man.
 4. It is time to ring the bell. It is time for the bell to be rung.
 5. Your behaviour surprises me. I am surprised at your behaviour.
 6. I know him. He is known to me.
 7. Music interests me. I am interested in music.
 8. This bottle contains milk. Milk is contained in this bottle.
 9. Twelve months make a year. A year is made of twelve months.
 10. One must do one’s duty. Duty must be done.

Active and Passive Voice Examples with Answers

Change the following sentences into Passive Voice.

(i) He has missed the train.
Answer: The train has been missed by him.

(ii) Do they speak French?
Answer: Is French spoken by them?

(iii) Was he reading a book?
Answer: Was a book being read by him?

(iv) Compose this letter.
Answer: Let this letter be composed.

(v) Where did you buy this pen from?
Answer: From where was this pen bought by you?

(vi) Who wrote this speech?
Answer: By whom was this speech written?

(vii) One should respect one’s elders.
Answer: Elders should be respected.

(viii) I did not praise anybody.
Answer: Nobody was praised by me.

(ix) He hurt his leg in an accident.
Answer: His leg was hurt in an accident.

(x) Someone was knocking at the door.
Answer: The door was being knocked by someone.

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FAQs on Detailed Notes: Active & Passive Voice - English Grammar Advanced - Class 10

1. What is the difference between active and passive voice?
Ans.Active voice occurs when the subject of the sentence performs the action, while passive voice is used when the subject receives the action. For example, in the active voice "The dog chased the cat," the dog (subject) performs the action. In passive voice, it would be "The cat was chased by the dog," where the cat receives the action.
2. How can I identify if a sentence is in active or passive voice?
Ans.To identify the voice of a sentence, look for the subject and the verb. In active voice, the subject is doing the action (e.g., "The teacher explained the lesson"). In passive voice, the subject is being acted upon, often indicated by a form of "to be" followed by the past participle (e.g., "The lesson was explained by the teacher").
3. Can you provide examples of sentences in both active and passive voice?
Ans.Certainly! An example of an active voice sentence is "The chef cooked a delicious meal." In passive voice, it would be "A delicious meal was cooked by the chef." Another example: Active - "The committee made a decision." Passive - "A decision was made by the committee."
4. When should I use passive voice instead of active voice?
Ans.Passive voice is often used when the doer of the action is unknown, unimportant, or obvious, or when the focus is on the action itself rather than the subject. For instance, in scientific writing, one might say "The solution was heated to 100 degrees," where the focus is on the process rather than who performed it.
5. How can I convert a sentence from active to passive voice?
Ans.To convert a sentence from active to passive voice, identify the object of the active sentence and make it the subject of the passive sentence. Then, use the appropriate form of "to be" and the past participle of the main verb, followed by the original subject (now the agent) in a prepositional phrase. For example, "The artist painted the mural" (active) becomes "The mural was painted by the artist" (passive).
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