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An Active sentence in the simple present tense has the following structure:
Subject + first form of the verb + object
A passive sentence in the simple present tense has the following structure:
Object of the active sentence + is/am/are + past participle form of the verb + by + subject of
the active sentence
Structure: Is/are/am + object of the active verb + past participle form of the verb + by + subject
of the passive verb
Notes:
The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb. Therefore, sentences
which do not have an object cannot be changed into the passive. The following sentences, for
instance, cannot be changed into the passive because they do not have objects.
Answer:
Improve
To change a sentence from active to passive voice, do the following:
1. Move the active sentence's direct object into the sentence's subject slot
2. Place the active sentence's subject into a phrase beginning with the preposition by
3. Add a form of the auxiliary verb be to the main verb and change the main verb's form
Because passive voice sentences necessarily add words and change the normal doer-action-
receiver of action direction, they may make the reader work harder to understand the intended
meaning.
Read more:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Describe_the_Basic_rules_for_changing_active_voice_into_passive_
voice#ixzz1rWe8mizs
Every sentence contains, at minimum, a subject and an action. The subject is the person or thing
the sentence is about, and the action is what the subject is doing. When a sentence is in active
voice, the subject doing the action comes before the action. For example:
I swim. I is the subject. Swim is the action. The subject doing the action comes before the action,
so it is immediately clear to the reader who is doing what.
When a sentence is in passive voice, the subject comes after the action. For example:
Swimming is something I do. Here, the action is swimming. The subject is I. The sentence is in
passive voice, since the person doing the action (I) is not mentioned until after the action
Some sentences also contain objects- the thing being acted upon. This can make it more difficult
to determine whether the sentence is in passive voice. For example, here is a sentence in active
voice:
Anna hits the ball. Anna is the subject. Hits is the action. The ball is the object.
The ball is the object- not the subject of the sentence. The ball is not doing an action. Therefore,
it should be after the subject (Anna)
Sometimes a sentence in passive voice does not necessarily sound "wrong" or wordy. However,
it is still best to write in active voice when possible.
In order to recognize that a sentence is in passive voice, watch out for these keywords:
Be
Is
Are
A
Was
Were
Has been
Have been
Will be
Being
Practice Changing Passive to Active Voice
Correct the following five sentences to practice changing passive to active voice. The answers
are below:
There are few verbs which take two objects, a Direct object and an Indirect object.
For such sentences, there will be two forms in Passive Voice sentences.
Examples:
There is special formula for changing the imperative sentence into passive voice.
Here the sentence in active-voice has been changed into a sentence in passive-voice.
Please understand the formula which has been followed to change the active-voice to
passive-voice.
―Let‖ is used to convert the active voice sentence into a passive voice sentence.
Examples:
These sentences have been changed into passive voice sentences by adding "let".
The verbs can, could, may, might, and must are known modal verbs. As per the following
methods these sentences with these verbs are changed into passive voice.
Examples:
4. Phrasal verbs:
Few verbs, with certain meanings are always used with prepositions.
Examples:
5. With IT:
In few sentences, instead of a word or a phrase, a clause may be the object of a verb.
In such cases there are two ways of changing the sentences into the passive voice.
Examples:
Examples:
• The Romans expected that they would conquer Carthage. (Active voice)
• It was expected by the Romans that Carthage would be conquered by them. (Passive
Voice).
• We have learned that you have secured the first rank. (Active voice)
• It has been learned by us that the first rank has been secured by you. (Passive Voice).
Exercises:
• The grandmother was telling her grandchildren an interesting story. (Active voice)
• An interesting story was being told by the grandmother to her grand children. (Passive
Voice).
• Her grand children were being told an interesting story by their grandmother. (Passive
Voice).
Manju submitted a request for information on ―how to write passive sentences & cosutive [sic]
sentences.‖ I‘ll focus here on passive (voice) sentences, and how to distinguish them from
sentences using active voice.
Active Voice
A sentence is written in the active voice if the subject—the main person, place, thing, or idea—
performs the action.
Examples:
1. Jonathan threw the ball across the street. (The subject, “Jonathan,” performed the action,
“threw.”)
2. Because it hadn’t been seen for decades, the obelisk surprised the audience when the lecturer
presented it. (The subject, “obelisk,” performed the action, “surprised.” Note that we’re
focusing on the subject of the independent, or main, clause.)
Passive Voice
A sentence is written in the passive voice if the subject—the main person, place, thing, or idea—
receives the action.
Examples:
1. The orchestra is conducted by Ms. Phelps. (The subject, “orchestra,” is receiving the action here.
“Ms. Phelps” is conducting the orchestra, so she is the sentence’s “agent,” but not its subject.)
2. The door was shut tight. (The subject, “door,” received the action, “was shut.” We don’t know,
from this sentence at least, who performed the action.)
How to Identify Active and Passive Voice
To find out if a sentence is written in the active or passive voice, ask yourself these two
questions:
If the answer to question 2 is ―Yes,‖ the sentence is active; if the answer is ―No,‖ the sentence is
passive.
Voice is the property of verb which shows whether the subject is performing or
Active voice: If the subject does the work himself or herself, it is in active voice.
General Rules:
Following are the rules for changing active voice into passive voice:
1. Subject of the active voice shall become the object of the passive voice.
I : (by) me We : (by) us
2. Use the form of verb ‘to be’ (is, are, etc.) between subject and object in the passive voice.
Me : I us : we
Her : She it : it
Note:
1. Passive voice can be made only of transitive verb, i.e. if the verb is followed by an object.
2. Voice is changed in the same sentence i.e., if the Active voice is in the interrogative
sentence. Passive will also be in interrogative sentence.
Active Passive
Negative Sentence:
Active Passive
[Subject+is/am/are+not+3rd
form+by+object]
She does not listen to you. You are not listened to by her.
Interrogative Sentence:
Active Passive
Active Passive
If the sentence begins with ‘who’ or ‘whom’, change ‘who’ into ‘by whom’ and
‘whom’ into ‘who’ in the passive voice.
Active Passive
Active Passive
Were you reading the book? Was the book being read by you?
Active Passive
[Subject+will/shall+be+3rd
form+by+object]
Active Passive
[Subject+will/shall+have+been+3rd
form +by + object]
This man will have done my My work will have been done by
work. this man.
He will not have abused me. I shall not have been abused by
him.
The farmer will have watered the The field will have been watered by
field. the farmer.
Modal Verbs:
Can, may, must, shall, will, should, would, could and might are called modal verbs.
Active Passive
Rizwan can win the prize. The prize can be won by Rizwan.
Who will shut the door? By whom will the door be shut.
Imperative Sentence
Active Passive
Active Passive
Active Passive
With the following verbs, ‘by’ is not used in the passive voice:
Active Passive
Written by Tim Corson and Rebecca Smollett, University College Writing Centre
In an active sentence, the person or thing responsible for the action in the sentence comes first. In
a passive sentence, the person or thing acted on comes first, and the actor is added at the end,
introduced with the preposition "by." The passive form of the verb is signaled by a form of "to
be": in the sentence above, "was formulated" is in passive voice while "formulated" is in active.
In some sentences, passive voice can be perfectly acceptable. You might use it in the following
cases:
The cave paintings of Lascaux were made in the Upper Old Stone Age. [We don't know
who made them.]
An experimental solar power plant will be built in the Australian desert. [We are not
interested in who is building it.]
5. You want to emphasize the person or thing acted on. For example, it may be your main
topic:
Insulin was first discovered in 1921 by researchers at the University of Toronto. It is still
the only treatment available for diabetes.
6. You are writing in a scientific genre that traditionally relies on passive voice. Passive
voice is often preferred in lab reports and scientific research papers, most notably in the
Materials and Methods section:
The sodium hydroxide was dissolved in water. This solution was then titrated with
hydrochloric acid.
In these sentences you can count on your reader to know that you are the one who did the
dissolving and the titrating. The passive voice places the emphasis on your experiment
rather than on you.
Note: Over the past several years, there has been a movement within many science
disciplines away from passive voice. Scientists often now prefer active voice in most
parts of their published reports, even occasionally using the subject "we" in the Materials
and Methods section. Check with your instructor or TA whether you can use the first
person "I" or "we" in your lab reports to help avoid the passive.
To learn more about the use of passive voice in the sciences, visit our handout on writing
in the sciences.
Passive sentences can get you into trouble in academic writing because they can be vague about
who is responsible for the action:
Both Othello and Iago desire Desdemona. She is courted. [Who courts Desdemona? Othello?
Iago? Both of them?]
Academic writing often focuses on differences between the ideas of different researchers, or
between your own ideas and those of the researchers you are discussing. Too many passive
sentences can create confusion:
Research has been done to discredit this theory. [Who did the research? You? Your professor?
Another author?]
The telephone was invented in the nineteenth century. [I couldn't find out who invented the
telephone!]
Finally, passive sentences often sound wordy and indirect. They can make the reader work
unnecessarily hard. And since they are usually longer than active sentences, passive sentences
take up precious room in your paper:
Since the car was being driven by Michael at the time of the accident, the damages should be
paid for by him.
If you now use a lot of passive sentences, you may not be able to catch all of the problematic
cases in your first draft. But you can still go back through your essay hunting specifically for
passive sentences. At first, you may want to ask for help from a writing instructor. The grammar
checker in your word processor can help spot passive sentences, though grammar checkers
should always be used with extreme caution since they can easily mislead you. To spot passive
sentences, look for a form of the verb to be in your sentence, with the actor either missing or
introduced after the verb using the word "by":
Poland was invaded in 1939, thus initiating the Second World War.
The possibility of cold fusion has been examined for many years.
Try turning each passive sentence you find into an active one. Start your new sentence with the
actor. Sometimes you may find that need to do some extra research or thinking to figure out who
the actor should be! You will likely find that your new sentence is stronger, shorter, and more
precise:
Germany invaded Poland in 1939, thus initiating the Second World War.
DNA encodes genetic information.
Physicists have examined the possibility of cold fusion for many years.
My wallet was stolen last night. (we don‘t know who stole the wallet)
The new students‘ centre was completed last week. (the people who built the centre are
unnecessary information for the meaning of the sentence)
I was born in March of '55. (Everyone knows that it was my mother bore me then)
a. Only Jane was injured in the accident; the remainder of the passengers were unhurt.(we want
Jane to be the subject of the sentence and at the beginning to emphasize her importance)
b. Erina was chosen as best student, and of course this made her happy. (the teacher who chose
Erina is not what we want to emphasize)
a. Pharmacologists would like to study the natural ‗pharmacy‘ known as the rainforest, if this
can be done before clear-cutting destroys it. (in this sentence, keeping THIS near the first clause
makes the sentence‘s meaning clearer)
b. The music was being played too loud by the students, who were finally asked to turn it down.
c. It's said that it's going to rain tonight.(Often, people will say, 'They say that it's going to rain
tonight', the they being the weatherman.)
Here's a question from Brian in Iowa. He writes, “It drives me crazy when people write in
passive voice. How can I teach people how to tell the difference between passive and active
voice and to stay away from passive voice?”
Well, Brian is right, the first step is to help people understand the difference between active
and passive voice, because many people believe they should avoid the passive voice, but
fewer people can define it or recognize it.
Another example is the title of the Marvin Gaye song “I Heard It through the Grapevine.” "I" is
the subject, the one who is doing the action. "I" is hearing "it," the object of the sentence.
If you wanted to make the title of the Marvin Gaye song passive, you would say “It was heard
by me through the grapevine,” not such a catchy title anymore.
Notice that the subject, the pen, isn't doing anything in that sentence. It's not taking an
action; it's passive. One clue that your sentence is passive is that the subject isn't taking a
direct action.
When you put sentences in passive voice, it's easy to leave out the person or thing doing the
action. For example, "Amy is loved," is passive. The problem with that sentence is that you
don't know who loves Amy.
Politicians often use passive voice to intentionally obscure the idea of who is taking the
action. Ronald Reagan famously said, “Mistakes were made,” when referring to the Iran-
Contra scandal. Other examples of passive voice for political reasons could include “Bombs
were dropped,” and “Shots were fired.” Pay attention to the news and listen for examples of
passive voice.
Also, a reader named Matthew commented that businesses sometimes use passive voice. He
notes that it sounds better to write, "Your electricity will be shut off," than "We, the electric
company, will be shutting off your power."
The difference is subtle, but in the passive sentence “The cookies were stolen,” the focus is
on the cookies. In “Somebody stole the cookies,” the focus would be on the unknown
somebody.
Passive voice can be helpful if you want to create a sense of mystery in your sentence, which
is also a reason that it's not usually a good choice when you're writing nonfiction and you
want your writing to be clear.
An exception is that scientists are often encouraged to write in passive voice to lend their
writing a sense of objectivity--to take themselves and their actions and opinions out of the
experimental results. I used to be a scientist and I always found that odd. It felt as if we were
trying to hide that real people did the experiments.
Some scientific style guides do allow for a limited use of active voice (1). For example, it may
be OK to write, "We sequenced the DNA," instead of "The DNA was sequenced," but it's still
considered bad for scientists to insert themselves into conclusions. For example, it would be
bad scientific form to write "We believe the mutation causes cancer." But you still don't need
passive voice to achieve your goals. For example, the active sentence "We believe the
mutation causes cancer," could be changed to "The data suggests that the mutation causes
cancer." That's still active, but it eliminates the sense of subjectivity.
Announcements
A quick congratulations to two Quick and Dirty Tips podcasts who are reaching a
milestone. The Nutrition Diva and The Public Speaker are each releasing their 100th podcast
episode this week. If you aren’t already subscribed to their shows, check them out. You can
learn one hundred ways to eat better and one hundred ways to communicate more
persuasively.
You can also always find more great Grammar Girl articles in the archives.
We wish to suggest a structure for the salt of deoxyribose nucleic acid (D.N.A.). (active)
We have made the usual chemical assumptions, namely, that each chain consists of
phosphate diester groups joining beta-D-deoxyribofuranose residues with 3',5' linkages.
(active)
If it is assumed that the bases only occur in the structure in the most plausible tautomeric
forms (that is, with the keto rather than the enol configurations) it is found that only specific
pairs of bases can bond together. (passive)
It has been found experimentally that the ratio of the amounts of adenine to thymine, and
the ratio of guanine to cytosine, are always very close to unity for deoxyribose nucleic acid.
(passive)
I began class with a simple question: would you rather watch Lebron James play basketball or
some fat slob in row C eat popcorn? Other than the two unintelligent Kobe Bryant fans, the class
shouted, "Lebron James! He's the best! Who wants to watch some fat guy eat popcorn?"
My eyes enlarged and I shot fire out of them: one flame for each student. The classroom burned
as I unleashed my demoniacal revenge for being peppered with essays full of passive sentences,
the writing equivalent of the popcorn eater in the third row, when I could have been reading
essays with active voice, the writing equivalent of Lebron James.
If I ever teach again, I'm going to explain the difference between active and passive voice before
my students write their essays and I turn them into ashes with fiery darts.
Just in case you're interested in hiring a writing teacher, here's what I came up with:
Active voice is the voice used to indicate that the subject of the sentence is performing the action
or causing the action. Passive voice is the voice used when the subject is the recipient of the
action. Strong writing uses active voice. Passive voice should only be used in the following
instances:
www.Facebook.com
Job Dubai
jobrapido.com/job+dubai
www.islandtefl.com
Ads by Google
When intentionally hiding the subject of the sentence. For example, a politician might say,
"Mistakes were made."
When intentionally truing to minimize the guilt of the subject. For example, a cheating husband
might respond, "Adultery was committed by me."
When passive voice better emphasizes the main point of the passage. For example, Children
were harmed by unlicensed bus drivers.
Knowing when to use active and passive voice does not mean students will use it correctly.
Show them. Instruct them to copy the following in their notebooks. If they still don't improve
their use of passive and active voice, have them make phylacteries.
If the subject receives the action or is not doing the action, the voice is passive.
Passive voice is usually wordier.
If the subject performs the action, the voice is active.
Active voice is preferred because it is direct and concise.
Active voice is the equivalent of watching Lebron James.
Passive voice is the equivalent of watching corn grow.
Active voice creates interest.
Passive voice creates boredom, world hunger, and depletes the ozone layer (OK, I made the last
two up).
Passive voice contains a lot of to be verbs.
For additional suggestions on writing in the active voice, follow the link. For additional
suggestions on personal voice in writing, follow this link.
Procedures
Instruct students to copy in their notebooks the differences between passive and active voice.
Provide examples.
If revising an essay, pair students.
Instruct them to read their rough drafts and circle passive voice constructions.
Instruct each pair to exchange rough drafts and identify passive voice constructions in their
partner's writing.
Rewrite paragraphs in active voice.
Share revisions with the class.
Motivate students with a paragraph challenge.
Click on the Using Strong Verbs lesson or Eliminate To Be Verbs lesson at the bottom of this
article for suggestions.
If these suggestions don't work, try my shooting flames from your eyes trick explained above
and imagine LeBron James in the NBA Finals.
This lesson was inspired by Lebron James and Mini Lessons for Revision by Susan Geye, 1997,
Absey & Co. Spring, TX.
For a complete semester standards based curriculum guide, follow the link.
ransformation is changing the form of a sentence without changing its meaning. In the exams
transformation should be done according to the direction given in the question paper. In doing
transformation a student should have a fairly well knowledge about the kinds of sentence and
their formation. A brief direction about doing transformation is given below.
According to the meaning:
Affirmative to negative:
Rule 1: Only/ alone/ merely → Replaced by → None but(person)/ nothing but(things)/ not
more than or not less than(number)
Ex: Aff: Only Allah can help us. Neg: None but Allah can help us.
Aff: He has only a ball. Neg: He has nothing but a ball.
Aff: He has only ten taka. Neg: He has not more than ten taka.
Rule 4: and ( if join two words) → Replaced by → Not only ----- but also.
Ex: aff: He was obedient and gentle. Neg: He was not only obedient but also gentle.
Rule8: Sometimes affirmative sentences are changed into negative by using opposite words.
Before the word, off course ‗not‘ is used.
Ex: Aff: I shall remember you. Neg: I shall not forget you.
Rule 10: Too ---- to → Replaced by → so ---that+ can not/could not(in past).
Ex: Aff: He is too weak to walk. Neg: He is so weak that he cannot walk.
Rule 12: Universal truth are change by making them negative interrogative.
Ex: Aff: The Sun sets in the west. Neg: Doesn‘t the Sun set in the west.
ASSERTIVE TO INTERROGATIVE
Rule 1: If the sentence is in the affirmative you have to change it into negative interrogative. If
it is in negative then you have to change it into bare interrogative.
Ex: Ass: He was very gentle.
Int: was n‘t he very gentle?
Aff: He is not a good person.
Int: Is he a good person?
Rule1: Subject and Verb of exclamatory sentence are to be used as the subject and verb of
assertive sentence at the outset of the sentence.
How/what → Replace by → Very(before adjective)/ Great(before noun)
Ex: How fortunate you are!
Ass: You are very fortunate.
Exc: What a fool you are!
Ass: You are a great fool.
Rule 3: Hurrah/ Bravo → Replace by → I/we rejoice that/ It is a matter of joy that.
Ex: Hurrah! We have own the game.
Ass: It is a matter of joy that we have won the game.
Rule 4: Alas → Replace by → I/we Mourn that/ It is a matter of sorrow or grief that.
Ex: Alas! He has failed.
Ass: We mourn that he has failed.
Rule 5: Had/were/If /Would that(at the out set) → Replaced by → I wish + subject again +
were/ had+ rest part.
Ex: Had I the wings of a bird!
Ass: I wish I had the wings of a bird.
Ex: Were I a bird!
Ass: I wish I were a bird.
Ex: If I were young again!
Ass: I wish I were young again.
Ex: would that I could be a child!
Ass: I wish I could be a child.
Imperative to assertive
Change of degree
Rule1: If the superlative degree says about the best thing then the rule is:-
For comparative,use –
subject +verb + adjective/adverb(comp. form) + Than any other + rest part
For positive, use-
No other + rest part after supr. Degree + verb + so/as + positive form of adj/adv + as + sub.
Ex: Su: Suman is the tallest boy in the class.
Com: Suman is taller than any other boy in the class.
Pos: No other boy in the class is as tall as Suman.
Ex: Sup: Mr. khan is the oldest of all men in the village.
Com: Mr. Khan is older than all other men in the village.
Pos: No other man is as old as Mr. Khan.
Rule 4: No/not less --- than is transformed into positive by using as +adj/adv+ as
Ex: com: Karim is not less meritorious than Suman.
Pos: Karim is so meritorious as Suman.
Rule 6: Simple: Though‘ is replaced by In spite of+ Possessive form of the subject+ (verb+ing)
Ex: Com: Though he tried heart and soul, he could not succeed in life.
Sim: In spite of his trying heart and soul he could not succeed in life.
Rule 10: Simple: If the clause says a bout a continuous fact then use-
At the time of instead of ‗When‘
Ex: When I was eating the phone rang.
Sim: At the time of my eating, the phone rang.
Compound: Use ‗And‘.
Ex: I was eating and the phone rang.
Rule 12: Simple: If Complex sentence is made with relative pronoun(who, what, which, that),
omit it and make (verb+ing).
Com: The Doctor who is working in the hospital is known to all.
Sim: The doctor working in the hospital is known to all.
Note: If the verb is in the past participle it remains unchanged.
Ex: The picture which was drawn by Liza is very fine.
Sim: The picture drawn by Liza is very fine.
Rule 13: Simple: Adjective Clause is changed into - Adjective, Past participle Phrase, Noun in
apposition, infinitive.
Adjective:
ex: A man who is drowning catches at a straw.
Sim: A drowning man catches at a straw.
Compound: A man is drowning and so catches at a straw.
Past participle phrase:
Ex: The answer that he wrote was not correct.
Sim: The answer written by him was not correct.
Compound: He wrote the answer and it was not correct.
Gerundial Infinitive:
Ex: I have no money that I can lend you.
Sim: I have no money to lend you.
Compound: I have no money and I cannot lend you.
Rule 14: In the compound ― not only---- But also‖ is Changed by ―Besides + (Verb +ing)‖
In the simple.
Ex: Mr.Khan not only teaches us English but also writes novels.
Sim: Besides teaching us English, Mr. Khan Writes novels.