Change of Voice

The forms of verbs that show the "subject doing an action" or " an action done on the subject" are called voice. Change of voice means converting a sentence from the Active to the Passive Voice or vice versa, without changing the original meaning.

Types of Voice

There are two voices in the English language, and they are as follows:

1. Active Voice: In active voice, the verb expresses the subject's action upon the object.

General Formula: subject + verb + object

Example: The chef cooks the meal.

2. Passive Voice: In passive voice, the verb expresses the object being acted upon.

General Formula: object + helping verb(according to tense) + V3 + by + subject

Example: The meal is cooked by the chef.

Change of voice means changing an active sentence into passive, or a passive sentence into active. Let's discuss them in detail below:

1. Changing Active Voice to Passive Voice

Step 1: Identify the object of the active sentence; it becomes the subject in the passive sentence.

Step 2: Use the appropriate form of the verb “to be” (is, am, are, was, were, will be, etc.), according to the tense of the active verb.

Step 3: Use the past participle of the main verb.

Step 4: Optionally add the original subject preceded by “by.”

Step 5: Adjust the sentence for proper grammar and meaning.

Example:

• Active: The boy kicks the ball.
• Passive: The ball is kicked by the boy.

2. Changing Passive Voice to Active Voice

Step 1: Identify the doer (agent) in the passive sentence, usually after “by.” It becomes the subject in the active sentence.

Step 2: Use the correct verb tense in active form.

Step 3: Remove the form of “to be” used in passive voice.

Step 4: Rearrange the sentence for clarity.

Example:

• Passive: The cake was baked by her.
• Active: She baked the cake.

Converting Rules

Given below are a few basic rules to follow while converting from active to passive voice and vice versa:

Active to Passive Voice

Below are some conversions from active to passive voice:

• Active Voice: She reads a book.
• Passive Voice: A book is read by her.

• Active Voice: They built the house.
• Passive Voice: The house was built by them.

• Active Voice: He will complete the report.
• Passive Voice: The report will be completed by him.

• Active Voice: The chef is cooking the meal.
• Passive Voice: The meal is being cooked by the chef.

• Active Voice: The students have finished the assignment.
• Passive Voice: The assignment has been finished by the students.

Passive to Active Voice

Below are some conversions from passive to passive voice:

• Passive Voice: The proposal is approved by the manager.
• Active Voice: The manager approves the proposal.

• Passive Voice: The plants are watered by the gardener.
• Active Voice: The gardener waters the plants.

• Passive Voice: A new product will be launched by the company.
• Active Voice: The company will launch a new product.

• Passive Voice: A beautiful poem was written by her.
• Active Voice: She wrote a beautiful poem.

• Passive Voice: The road is being repaired by them.
• Active Voice: They are repairing the road.

Tips and Tricks

• Find the object first — it becomes the new subject in passive.
• Use the correct “to be” form past participle in passive.
• Include “by” + doer only if necessary.
• Intransitive verbs (no object) can’t be passive.
• Keep the tense same when changing voice.
• The passive form of perfect continuous tenses always uses “being” before the past participle.
• These passive forms are rarely used in everyday English because they sound complicated.

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