Active and Passive Voice:
Basic English Grammar for Competitive Exams
Passive voice is used in daily life regularly to emphasize the action or object rather than the subject performing it. For competitive exam aspirants, mastering passive voice is essential as it repeatedly appears in grammar sections. It assists in restructuring sentences and improves clarity and writing
skills. Further, in contexts where the doer is unknown or irrelevant, passive voice provides clarity, making it a crucial device in both communication and examination.
What you'll learn in this article
- Voice: Active vs Passive Voice
- Transitive & Intransitive Verbs
- Difference between Direct and Indirect object
- Active and Passive Voice Rules for All Tenses
- Active and Passive Voice for
- Competitive Exam MCQ's
Active vs Passive Voice
subject action object
He drinks tea.
Passive:
object action subject
⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️
Tea is drunk by him.
Here, in passive voice, we have changed ' Subject - He ' into ' him'. In the same manner, let's know how pronouns change from subject to object.
If the subject is noun (instead of pronoun): In the following example 'chef' is a noun. It is a common noun, "The" is a determiner that specifies which chef we are talking about. The verb ' cooked ' is transitive. It is transitive because the action passes from the subject (the chef) to a direct object ('a delicious meal'), which completes the meaning of the sentence.
Verb: Cooked
Direct Object: A delicious meal (what was cooked)
Transitive: It is transitive because it has a direct object.
If the sentence were ' The chef cooked in the morning.' then
cooked would be intransitive, as there would be no direct object.
" in the morning" is prepositional phrase acting as an adverb of
time (when), not a direct object (telling what was cooked).
In case, if the sentence was" The chef cooked dinner," then
"dinner" would be transitive verb because "dinner" is the direct
object.
Sometimes transitive verb has two objects - Direct Object
Then either of the objects can become the subject. Such type of verb with two objects are known as ditransitive verb.
Difference between direct object and indirect object:
Direct Object
It is the noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb directly.
It answers the question: "what"? or "whom"?
For example,
He kicked the football.
If anybody asks, " What did he kick?
The answer will be ➡️ football (direct object)
Indirect Object
An indirect object is the noun or pronoun that receives the direct object - it conveys us to whom or for whom the action is done. In another words, it answers the question: " to whom? " or " for whom"?
For example,
Raman gave me a birthday gift🎁.
In this sentence, there are two objects:
Indirect object: ➡️ me
To whom did Raman give it, the answer is me.
Direct object ➡️ a birthday gift
What did Raman give? ➡️ a birthday gift🎁
💡Pro Tip for the Aspirants
Try to rewrite the sentence using "to" or "for", you can identify the indirect object easily.
Raman gave me a gift.
➡️ Raman gave a gift to me.
Let's understand these two, direct object and indirect object through the following table:
Direct object Indirect object
Yes (directly) No (receives the direct object)
What? / Whom? To whom? For whom?
Often required Optional
Points to remember:
Always remember the voice of intransitive verb cannot be changed.
The children played in the evening.
It is an example of intransitive verb because it does not have an direct
object (a noun receiving the action). The phrase ' in the evening', is an
adverbial phrase of time, not an object.
Here, Subject: The children
Verb: played (intransitive)
Modifier: in the evening (indicates when, not what was played)
If the object is a book/holy book /proper noun, it can be changed into passive.
For example:
My grandmother reads Ramayana every day.
Let's identify the parts
- Subject: My grandmother
- Verb: reads (simple present tense)
- Object: Ramayana
- Adverb: every day
👉Only one object, that is why only one passive form.
Ramayana is read by my grandmother. (Passive Voice)
Observe step - by - step change
Ramayana (object) ➡️ subject
reads (simple present) ➡️ is read
My grandmother ➡️ by my grandmother
every day ➡️ remains the same
⭐Exam tip
👉Simple present passive = is/am/are + V3
👉 Adverbs of time (every day, always, often remain unchanged).
Golden Rule for Competitive Exams:
Thing taught/given/sent = Direct Object
- Person taught/given to = Indirect Object
While changing active voice to passive voice, always keep in mind:
- You change the word order
- Change the verb
The delivery boy sends an OTP.
(Active Voice)
An OTP is sent by the delivery boy. (Passive Voice)
Here, (Object becomes Subject) while changing active voice to
passive voice.
Verb Adjustment: Sends becomes
"is sent" (be + past participle).
Subject becomes Agent: "The delivery boy" moves to an end,
introduced by "by".
Learn grammar through visuals - ideal for competitive exams.
Look at the following image and understand the difference, because visual
learning stays longer in our memory.
Learn Fast, Remember Forever!
Active vs Passive Voice Explained with Image! Easy Grammar for Exams
See the image and learn the difference - images stay in our mind for a long time.
Master Active and Passive Voice in simple chart:
Here, in the below image, you can check Active and Passive Voice Rules of all tenses.
This blog post provides a comprehensive guide to Active and Passive Voice, specifically tailored for competitive exams like the SSC CGL. It breaks down the rules for transforming sentences across different tenses and special cases.
Here is a structured summary of the key concepts covered in the article, organized for easy review:
1. The Core Transformation Rule
To change a sentence from Active to Passive, the object and subject swap places, and the verb changes its form:
Active: Subject + Verb + Object
Passive: Object + Help Verb + V3
(Past Participle) + by + Subject
The post highlights how the auxiliary verbs shift depending on the tense:
Tense ➡️ Active Voice ➡️ Passive Voice
Simple Present : Write ➡️ Writes ➡️
is / am / are + written
Present Continuous : is / am / are + writing
is / am / are + being + written
Present Perfect : has /have +written
has / have + been + written
Simple Past : Wrote
was / were + written
Past Continuous:
was / were + writing
was / were + being + written
Simple Future : will / shall + write
will / shall + be + written
3. Special Cases & Advanced Rules
The article also covers trickier structures often found in advanced English linguistics:
(Orders/Requests):
Active:* Shut the door.
Passive: Let the door be shut.
Modals:
Active:* Can/May/Must do.
Passive: Can/May/Must + be + done.
Interrogative Sentences:
Questions starting with "Who" change to "By whom" in the passive voice.
Active: Who wrote this?
Passive: By whom was this written?
4. Key Takeaways for Exam Preparation
The "V_3 Rule": In Passive Voice, the main verb is always in the third form (V_3).
Pronoun Changes: Subject pronouns change to object
pronouns (e.g., ' I ' becomes me, He becomes him, They becomes them).
Eliminating the Agent: If the subject is obvious or unknown (e.g., "Someone stole my bag"), "by someone" is often omitted in the passive form ("My bag was stolen").
This resource is an excellent tool for mastering grammar transformations through clear, logical patterns.
Don't just read grammar - see it,
understand it and remember it forever.
Here are the active - passive voice rules to follow for changing an active sentence into a passive voice.
Conversion of Active & Passive Voice
Examples
Active Voice:
He writes a message immediately.
Passive Voice:
A message is written immediately by him.
Here, you see that object becomes subject," A message "moves to the front.
Verb Tense: "Writes":(Simple Present Tense) becomes " is written"(be+past participle).
Subject becomes Agent: "he" changes to " by him ".
Adverb Placement: "immediately" will not change and will be placed
at the end or near the verb.
Learn grammar through visuals -
Are they singing a melodious song? (Active Voice)
Is a melodious song being sung by them? (Passive Voice)
" are singing" changes to " is being sung" to show the action is in progress. Sentence remains interrogative by starting with " is ".
He threw the trash into the garbage bin. (Active Voice)
The trash was thrown into the garbage bin by him. (Passive Voice)
Let's identify the tense used in active voice:
" Threw" simple past tense becomes " was thrown" (be+past participle).
"He" subject becomes agent and changes to " by him" at the end.
Will you organize the events? (Active Voice).
Will the events be organized by you? (Passive Voice)
Has he bought your new branded wristwatch? (Active Voice)
Has your new branded wristwatch been bought by him? (Passive Voice)
Who wrote, "The Hawk's Quest"? (Active Voice)
By whom was "The Hawk's Quest" written? (Passive Voice)
May I use your mobile? (Active Voice)
May your mobile be used by me?
(Passive Voice)
She did not appoint anyone. (Active Voice)
Anyone was not appointed by her. (Passive Voice)
The cobbler mends the shoes. (Active Voice)
The shoes are mended by the cobbler. (Passive Voice)
Do they play indoor games during summer vacation? (Active Voice)
Are indoor games played by them during summer vacation? (Passive Voice)
Exercise to beat the competition
Choose the correct answer:
An email ...... by the typist.
a) types b) is typed c) was typed d) type
Answer: c) was typed
Explanation: This sentence is a passive voice. The subject (An email) receives the
action, and "was typed" is the correct past passive form.
The pizza ....... by my friend yesterday.
a) bake b) bakes c) is baked d) was baked
Answer: d) was baked
Explanation: The subject (The Pizza) receives the action. "Was baked" correctly uses the past passive form.
Why are flowers ...... by her?
a) been overwatered b) being overwatered c) been overwater d) being overwater
Answer: Why are the flowers being overwatered by her?
Explanation: Originally, this sentence is in the present continuous tense (is overwatering)
and in the passive voice, "being" followed by the past participle ("overwatered")
When will your project ...... by you?
a) accomplish b) be accomplished c) accomplished d) is accomplish
Answer: When will your project be accomplished by you?
Explanation: Here, the focus has shifted from the subject of the action itself (the project being accomplished).
By whom ........ the poem composed?
a) was b) is c) were d) has
Answer: By whom was the poem composed?
Explanation: Here, the word "were" is used because it refers to a singular noun"poem" and implies that the action of composing occurred in the past. "were"
would be used for the plural subject, and would suggest the action is occurring in the present, which does not align in the past tense implied by "composed".
Was the story .... by her?
a) narrate b) narrated c) was narrated
Answer: Was the story narrated by her?
Explanation: Here, the verb needs to be in the past participle form for passive
voice construction. "Narrated" is the past participle of ' narrate '. The structure "was narrated by her"? follows the passive voice format, where the subject (the
story) receives the action performed by the agent (her).
The important papers ....... after the meeting starts.
a) will check b) checked c) will be checked
Answer; The important papers will be checked after the meeting starts.
Explanation: Here, the sentence is in the future passive voice. The phrase ' after the meeting' points out that the action of checking the papers will occur in the future. Since the papers are the ones being checked, the passive construction ' will be checked ' is correct answer. In contrast, 'will check' suggests the papers themselves are doing the checking, which doesn't make
sense, and 'checked' implies the action already been completed, which is inconsistent with the timing indicated by 'after the meeting'.
A patriotic song ....... by her.
a) sung b) was sung c) is being sung
Answer: A patriotic song is being sung by her.
Explanation: The phrase is written in the passive voice, where the focus is on the action being performed rather than the subject performing the action. "was sung' indicates that the action took place in the past. Therefore, if you are referring to a song that she performed in the past, ' was sung' is the correct
answer.
