Active & Passive Voice
🔒 Log in to trackVoice basics: the three moves
🔒 Log in to trackIn the active voice the subject does the action. In the passive voice the subject receives it. Three moves turn any active sentence into a passive one: the object becomes the subject, the verb becomes be + V3, and the old subject goes behind by. Only verbs that take an object can be made passive.
What voice means
Voice tells you who is in front: the doer or the receiver.
- Active: The chef prepared the meal. The chef (doer) is the subject.
- Passive: The meal was prepared by the chef. The meal (receiver) is the subject.
Both sentences describe the same event. Only the order changes.
The three moves
Use these moves for every conversion. Take The postman rings the bell.
- Object becomes subject. Find the thing the verb acts on. The bell is the new subject.
- Verb becomes be + V3. V3 is the past participle (written, prepared, rung). Keep the tense. Rings is simple present, so use is: is rung.
- Old subject goes behind by. Use the object case: by the postman, by him, by them.
Result: The bell is rung by the postman.
Rule: The tense never changes. Only the helping verb (is, was, has been) carries it. The main verb is always V3.
If the doer is vague (someone, people, they), drop the by-phrase. Someone has stolen my purse becomes My purse has been stolen.
Pronouns change case
A subject pronoun turns into an object pronoun when it moves behind by. An object pronoun turns into a subject pronoun when it moves to the front.
| Subject form | Object form |
|---|---|
| I, we | me, us |
| he, she | him, her |
| they | them |
Example: He helps me. becomes I am helped by him. Now me is the subject, so it becomes I. And he is behind by, so it becomes him.
By he and us were invited are never correct.
Only some verbs have a passive
A passive needs an object to move to the front. Verbs with no object have no passive: sleep, arrive, die, cry, go, laugh. The baby slept peacefully cannot become passive.
- A verb plus a preposition can work as one unit. They laughed at him becomes He was laughed at.
- Stative verbs (have, own, resemble, lack, suit, cost) normally refuse the passive.
Watch: Test the whole phrase, not the bare verb. Laugh alone fails. Laugh at works.
The tense table
Learn this table as one block. Take She writes a letter.
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Simple present | writes | is / are + V3 |
| Present continuous | is writing | is / are being + V3 |
| Present perfect | has written | has / have been + V3 |
| Simple past | wrote | was / were + V3 |
| Past continuous | was writing | was / were being + V3 |
| Past perfect | had written | had been + V3 |
| Simple future | will write | will be + V3 |
| Future perfect | will have written | will have been + V3 |
| Going to | is going to write | is going to be + V3 |
No row has is been, will being, or a bare V1 or V2 after be.
Three checks on the options
- Did the tense change? Is written for wrote is wrong. Compare the option with the table row.
- Is the verb after be a V3? Is wrote and must obeyed are wrong.
- Is the pronoun case right? By he and us were invited are wrong.
In a well-set question, each wrong option breaks exactly one of these checks. The right option breaks none.
Tip: Say the tense row aloud first. Then read the options. Do not choose by what sounds smooth.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Three-move conversion with a pronoun swap
A short active sentence. The options are passive versions that differ in the verb or in by he / by him.
Find the object and make it the subject.
Rebuild the verb as be + V3 in the same tense.
Put the old subject behind by, in the object case.
Match is/are/was/were to the new subject.
Every passive sentence uses these moves, and each wrong option botches one of them.
Select the passive form: The peon rings the bell.
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The object is the bell, so it becomes the subject.
Rings is simple present, so use is rung.
The doer goes behind by: by the peon.
The bell is rung by the peon.
Vague agent drops out
The active subject is someone, people, they or one. The right option has no by-phrase.
Check whether the doer is a named person or thing.
If the doer is vague, drop it.
Keep the tense row unchanged.
English drops doers that add no information.
Select the passive form: Someone has switched off the fans.
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Has switched off is present perfect.
The passive row is have been + V3, and the new subject the fans is plural.
Someone is vague, so drop it.
The fans have been switched off.
Pronoun-case elimination
Pronouns sit on both sides of the verb (he ... me, they ... us). The options mix I/me, he/him, we/us.
Decide each pronoun's new job.
A pronoun moving behind by takes the object case.
A pronoun moving to the front takes the subject case.
Reject any option where either pronoun is wrong.
By he and me was helped are impossible, so case alone can settle the question.
Select the passive form: They invited us to the wedding.
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Us moves to the front and becomes we.
They goes behind by and becomes them.
Invited is simple past: were invited.
We were invited to the wedding by them.
Sentence that cannot be made passive
The question asks which sentence cannot be changed into the passive. The options mix verbs with and without objects.
Underline the verb in each option.
Ask: does the verb act on a thing?
A verb with no object (sleep, arrive, die) has no passive.
Stative verbs like resemble also refuse the passive.
The passive moves the object to the front. With no object, nothing can move.
Which sentence cannot be changed into the passive voice? (a) The baby slept peacefully. (b) The mother woke the baby. (c) The doctor examined the reports. (d) The nurse weighed the newborn.
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Option (a): slept has no object.
Options (b), (c) and (d) have objects: the baby, the reports, the newborn.
So only (a) has no passive.
The baby slept peacefully.
Verb + preposition passive
The verb is followed by a preposition (laugh at, look after, rely on). The options move only the verb or the whole phrase.
Treat verb + preposition as one unit.
The word after the preposition becomes the subject.
Keep the preposition after the passive verb.
Put the old subject behind by.
The preposition stays with its verb, so the passive ends with it.
Select the passive form: The villagers relied on the doctor.
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Relied on works as one unit.
The doctor becomes the subject.
Relied is simple past: was relied on.
The doctor was relied on by the villagers.
Shortcuts that save time
The helping verb must carry the original tense: wrote becomes was, writes becomes is, will write becomes will be, has written becomes has been. A changed tense in an option is a planted error.
Select the passive form: The clerk wrote the report.
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Wrote is simple past.
The helping verb must be was.
The main verb is V3: written.
The report was written by the clerk.
After be, been or being, the main verb is always V3 (written, given, built). Options like is wrote and was build are wrong on sight.
The subject pronoun becomes the object pronoun behind by (he becomes him). The object pronoun becomes the subject pronoun in front (me becomes I).
Select the passive form: She helped me.
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Me moves to the front, so it becomes I.
She goes behind by, so it becomes her.
Helped is simple past: was helped.
I was helped by her.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Changing the tense while converting, for example is written for wrote.
Match the row: wrote becomes was written, writes becomes is written.
Writing by he or by they in the by-phrase.
Use the object case behind by: by him, by them.
Writing is wrote or was build after be.
The main verb after be is always V3: is written, was built.
Trying to make a passive from sleep, arrive, die, cry.
These verbs take no object, so they have no passive.
Forgetting that verb + preposition can be passive: They laughed at him.
Move the whole unit: He was laughed at by them.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Three moves: object becomes subject; verb becomes be + V3 in the same tense; subject goes behind by.
Vague doers (someone, people, they) usually disappear from the passive.
he becomes him, she becomes her, they becomes them behind by. me becomes I in front.
No object means no passive: sleep, arrive, die, cry.
Stative verbs (have, own, resemble, lack, suit, cost) normally refuse the passive.
Options break one rule each: tense, V3, being/been, or pronoun case.
Practice: 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 7 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.