Verbs are also said to be either active
(The executive committee approved the new policy) or passive (The
new policy was approved by the executive committee) in voice. In
the active voice, the subject and verb relationship is straightforward: the
subject is a be-er or a do-er and the verb moves the sentence along. In the passive
voice, the subject of the sentence is neither a do-er or a be-er, but is
acted upon by some other agent
or by something unnamed (The new policy was approved). Computerized grammar
checkers can pick out a passive voice construction from miles away and ask you
to revise it to a more active construction. There is nothing inherently wrong
with the passive voice, but if you can say the same thing in the active mode,
do so (see exceptions below). Your text will have more pizzazz as a result,
since passive verb constructions tend to lie about in their pajamas and avoid
actual work.
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Present Simple Tense (passive
Voice)
Auxiliary verb in passive voice: am/is/are |
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Active voice:
He sings a song. He does not sing a song.Does he sing a song? |
Passive voice:
A song is sung by him. A song is not sung by him. Is a song sung by him? |
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Present Continuous Tense (passive
Voice)
Auxiliary verb in passive voice: am being/is being/are being |
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Active voice:
I am writing a letter I am not writing a letter. Am I writing a letter? |
Passive voice:
A letter is being written by me. A letter is not being written by me. Is a letter being written by me? |
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Present Perfect Tense (passive
Voice)
Auxiliary verb in passive voice: has been/have been |
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Active voice:
She has finished his work She has not finished her work. Has she finished her work? |
Passive voice:
Her work has been finished by her. Her work has not been finished by her. Has her work been finished by her? |
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Past Simple Tense (passive Voice)
Auxiliary verb in passive voice: was/were |
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Active voice:
I killed a snake I did not kill a snake. Did I kill a snake? |
Passive voice:
A snake was killed by me. A snake was not killed by me. Was a snake killed by me? |
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Past Continuous Tense (Passive
Voice)
Auxiliary verb in passive voice: was being/were being |
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Active voice:
He was driving a car. He was not driving a car. Was he driving a car? |
Passive voice:
A car was being driven by him. A car was not being driven by him. Was a car being driven by him? |
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Past Perfect Tense (Passive Voice)
Auxiliary verb in passive voice: had been |
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Active voice:
They had completed the assignment. They had not completed the assignment. Had they completed the assignment? |
Passive voice:
The assignment had been completed by them. The assignment had not been complete by them. Had the assignment been completed by them? |
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Future Simple Tense (Passive
Voice)
Auxiliary verb in passive voice: will be |
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Active voice:
She will buy a car. She will not buy a car. Will she buy a car? |
Passive voice:
A car will be bought by her. A car will not be bought by her. Will a car be bought by her? |
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Future Perfect Tense (passive
Voice)
Auxiliary verb in passive voice: will have been |
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Active voice:
You will have started the job. You will have not started the job. Will you have started the job? |
Passive voice:
The job will have been started by you. The job will not have been started by you. Will the job have been started by you? |
Note: The following tenses cannot be changed into passive voice.
- Present perfect continuous tense
- Past perfect continuous tense
- Future continuous tense
- Future perfect continuous tense
- Sentence having Intransitive verbs
