11.1 What is Voice in Grammar?

Voice in grammar refers to the way a sentence is structured to show whether the subject is performing or receiving an action.

• When the subject performs the action, it is in active voice.
• When the subject receives the action, it is in passive voice.

✅ Example:

• Active: The chef cooked a delicious meal.
• Passive: A delicious meal was cooked by the chef.

🚨 Key Difference:

• In active voice, the subject comes first and does the action.
• In passive voice, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject, and the focus shifts to the action being done.

11.2 Structure of Active and Passive Voice

1. Active Voice Structure

🔹 Subject + Verb + Object

• Example: The teacher explains the lesson.
  • Subject: The teacher
  • Verb: explains
  • Object: the lesson

2. Passive Voice Structure

🔹 Object + Be Verb + Past Participle + By Subject (optional)

• Example: The lesson is explained by the teacher.
  • Object (new subject): The lesson
  • Be Verb: is
  • Past Participle: explained
  • By Subject: by the teacher

🚨 Note: In passive sentences, we often omit the “by + subject” when the performer of the action is unknown or unimportant.
✅ Example:

• Active: Someone stole my phone.
• Passive: My phone was stolen. (No need to mention “by someone”)

11.3 Changing Active to Passive Voice (All Tenses)

1. Present Tense

2. Past Tense

3. Future Tense

🚨 Note:

• Future Continuous Tense does not have a passive form.

11.4 When to Use Active or Passive Voice?

11.5 Passive Voice in Questions

✅ Examples:

🚨 Note: In interrogative sentences, the helping verb (is/was/has, etc.) is placed before the subject in passive voice.

11.6 Passive Voice with Modals

✅ Examples:

🚨 Tip: The modal verbs (can, must, should, may, might, will, shall) stay the same, but we add “be” before the past participle.

Exercises

A. Change the following active sentences into passive voice:

1. The manager signed the contract.
2. They are watching a movie.
3. She will write an article.
4. He had completed the assignment.
5. Someone stole my wallet.

B. Change the following passive sentences into active voice:

1. The cake was baked by her.
2. The report has been submitted by them.
3. A song was being sung by the choir.
4. The room will be cleaned by the staff.
5. A mistake was made.

C. Fill in the blanks with the correct passive form:

1. A new policy _______ (introduce) by the government last week.
2. The bridge _______ (construct) next year.
3. The assignments _______ (check) by the teacher right now.
4. The secret files _______ (steal) from the office yesterday.
5. The project _______ (finish) by the team before the deadline.

Answers

A. Active to Passive:

1. The contract was signed by the manager.
2. A movie is being watched by them.
3. An article will be written by her.
4. The assignment had been completed by him.
5. My wallet was stolen.

B. Passive to Active:

1. She baked the cake.
2. They have submitted the report.
3. The choir was singing a song.
4. The staff will clean the room.
5. Someone made a mistake.

C. Fill in the blanks:

1. A new policy was introduced by the government last week.
2. The bridge will be constructed next year.
3. The assignments are being checked by the teacher right now.
4. The secret files were stolen from the office yesterday.
5. The project had been finished by the team before the deadline.