Active and Passive Voice: Rules and Examples

In active clauses, the subject commonly performs the action. In passive clauses, the subject is affected by the action; be plus a past participle forms many passives.

Voice in grammar tells us WHO is doing the action. Is the subject DOING something (active) or having something DONE TO IT (passive)? 🎭

What is Active Voice?

In active voice, the subject DOES the action. It's direct, clear, and strong! The structure is: Subject + Verb + Object

The cat chased the mouse.

💡 Subject (cat) does the action (chased)

Mom baked a cake.

💡 Mom is doing the baking

The students completed the project.

💡 Students did the completing

The teacher explains the lesson.

💡 Teacher is doing the explaining

My brother fixed the computer.

💡 Brother did the fixing

Scientists discovered a new planet.

💡 Scientists made the discovery

What is Passive Voice?

In passive voice, the subject RECEIVES the action. The doer becomes less important or unknown. Structure: Object + be + Past Participle + (by Subject)

The mouse was chased by the cat.

💡 Mouse receives the action

A cake was baked by Mom.

💡 Cake receives the action

The project was completed by the students.

💡 Project receives the action

The lesson is explained by the teacher.

💡 Lesson receives the action

The computer was fixed by my brother.

💡 Computer receives the action

A new planet was discovered by scientists.

💡 Planet receives the action

How to Identify Active vs Passive

Ask yourself: Is the subject DOING the action or RECEIVING it?

The window broke.

💡 Active - but who broke it? (Intransitive)

Someone broke the window.

💡 Active - subject does the action

The window was broken.

💡 Passive - window receives the action

The window was broken by the ball.

💡 Passive - we know what broke it

How to Change Active to Passive

Follow these steps to transform active sentences into passive ones:

Step 1: Find the Subject, Verb, and Object in the active sentence.

Step 2: Move the Object to the beginning (it becomes the new subject).

Step 3: Add the correct form of 'be' + past participle.

Step 4: (Optional) Add 'by + original subject' at the end.

Active: Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.

💡 Step 1: Find Subject, Verb, Object

Passive: Hamlet was written by Shakespeare.

💡 Object → Subject, add "was written"

Active: They build houses.

💡 Identify the parts

Passive: Houses are built by them.

💡 "Houses" becomes subject

Active: Someone stole my phone.

💡 Unknown subject

Passive: My phone was stolen.

💡 No need for "by someone"

Passive Voice in Different Tenses

Tense	Active	Passive
Simple Present	She writes a letter	A letter is written by her
Simple Past	She wrote a letter	A letter was written by her
Present Continuous	She is writing a letter	A letter is being written by her
Past Continuous	She was writing a letter	A letter was being written by her
Present Perfect	She has written a letter	A letter has been written by her
Past Perfect	She had written a letter	A letter had been written by her
Future	She will write a letter	A letter will be written by her
Modal	She can write a letter	A letter can be written by her

When to Use Each Voice

Use Active When...	Use Passive When...
You want clarity and directness	The doer is unknown or unimportant
Writing stories or essays	Writing scientific or formal reports
You want stronger impact	You want to be formal or polite
The subject is important	The action/result is more important
You want shorter sentences	You want to avoid blame or responsibility

Real-World Examples: When Passive is Better

Mistakes were made.

💡 Avoiding blame - who made them is hidden

The experiment was conducted three times.

💡 Scientific writing - focus on experiment

English is spoken worldwide.

💡 General fact - doer is everyone

The suspect was arrested last night.

💡 News - focus on the suspect, not police

Your order has been shipped.

💡 Business - focus on the order

The building was constructed in 1920.

💡 Historical - focus on the building

Common Mistakes with Passive Voice

❌ The cake baked by Mom.

💡 Missing "was"

✅ The cake was baked by Mom.

💡 Need "be" verb + past participle

❌ The letter is write by him.

💡 Wrong verb form

✅ The letter is written by him.

💡 Use past participle (written)

❌ The window was broke.

💡 Wrong past participle

✅ The window was broken.

💡 Correct past participle (broken)

Continue learning

Parts of a Sentence: Subject, Verb and Object · Past Simple: Forms, Rules and Examples

Practice in the 30 Days English Challenge: Day 27: Active and Passive Voice: Rules, Examples and Practice