Active and Passive Voice English Grammar For Class 6

Active and Passive Voice

A Transitive Verb has two Voices: Active Voice and Passive Voice. Voices show whether the subject of the verb acts or is acted upon. 

1. Active Voice: It is called Active because the subject of the sentence is involved in the action. In other words, the subject of the verb is the doer of the action and thus active.
Study the following sentences carefully: 
1. Nandini ate an apple. 
2. The hen laid an egg.
3. The boy carries books.
In the above sentences, Nandini, the hen and the boy are the subjects. They are active. They have done something-ate, laid and carries. Hence these verbs are in Active Voice.
Some more examples: 
1. A dog bit a child. 
2. Someone picked my pocket.
3. The hunter killed a lion.
4. The gardener waters the plants. 
5. We help our friends.
A verb is said to be in Active Voice when the subject of the verb is the doer of an action or acts or is active.

2. Passive Voice: It is called Passive because the person or thing denoted by the subject is not involved in action, but receives it. In other words, it is acted upon.
Now, study the following sentences carefully: 
1. An apple was eaten by Nandini.
2. An egg was laid by the hen. 
3. Books are carried by the boy.
In the above sentences, an apple, an egg and books are the subjects. The verb ‘was eaten’, ‘was laid’ and ‘are carried’ are in Passive Voice. 
When the verb in a sentence indicates that the subject is the doer of the acton, the verb is in Active Voice.
When the verb in a sentence indicates that the subject is not the doer of the action, the verb is in Passive Voice.

Exercise 1
Circle the verbs in the following sentences and put a tick () in the appropriate column to indicate whether the verb is in active or passive voice:
Active Voice Passive Voice
1. English is taught by Mr. Nayar.
2. We repaired the car.
3. Malti was bitten by a dog. 
4. Children like mangoes.
5. They stopped the play.
6. Columbus discovered America. 
7. The books were stolen by him.
8. Everyone loves him.
9. You eat food. 
10. The car was driven by him
11. The race was won by Gita.
12. We hired a rickshaw. 
13. A pen was bought by me.
14. A book is written by you.
15. A good news is expected by us.

CHANGING SENTENCES FROM ACTIVE TO PASSIVE VOICE 
Rules for changing from Active Voice to Passive Voice
1. The Object of the Verb in Active Voice becomes the Subject of the Verb in Passive Voice.
2. The Subject of the Verb in Active Voice becomes the Object of the Verb in Passive Voice and the preposition ‘by’ is put before it. 
3. An appropriate form of the Verb, according to rules, is used. 
Note: In Passive Voice, only the third form of the verb (i.e. Past Participle) is used.
Only Transitive Verbs can be changed to Passive Voice. Intransitive and Link Verbs cannot be used in the Passive Voice because these have no objects that could act as the subjects of verbs. 
Sometimes personal pronouns (I, we, she, her, etc.) are used as subjects or objects in a sentence.
Examples:
1. I shall help her. (Active)
She will be helped by me. (Passive) 
2. She gave me a book. (Active)
A book was given to me by her. (Passive)
or, I was given a book by her.  
The subject pronoun in Active Voice becomes the object pronoun in Passive Voice. Similarly, the object pronoun in Passive Voice becomes the subject pronoun in Active Voice. 
Note the following changes of pronouns very carefully:
From Active to Passive Voice
I is changed into me 
We is changed into us
They is changed into them
You is changed into you 
She is changed into her 
He is changed into him 
It is changed into it 
From Passive to Active Voice 
me is changed into I 
us is changed into We 
them is changed into They 
you is changed into You 
her is changed into She 
him is changed into He 
it is changed into It

Sometimes a Preposition is used in Active Voice. This should be retained in Passive Voice.
Examples:
1. The mother looks after the child. (Active)
The child is looked after by the mother. (Passive)
2. He acted upon my advice. (Active)
My advice was acted upon by him. (Passive)

If a sentence in Active Voice is negative, it will remain negative in Passive Voice as well.
Examples:
1. We do not hate others. (Active)
Others are not hated by us. (Passive)
2. The boys do not shirk work. (Active)
Work is not shirked by the boys. (Passive)
If sentences in Active Voice are interrogative, they will retain their interrogative forms in Passive Voice as well.
Examples:
1. Do you play any game? (Active)
Is any game played by you? (Passive)
2. Why do you insult him? (Active)
Why is he insulted by you? (Passive)

Omission of the Object in Passive Voice
If the subject in Active Voice is not important, it should be omitted in Passive Voice.
Examples:
1. Someone built this house in 1980. (Active)
This house was built in 1980. (Passive)
2. Somebody caught the pick-pockets. (Active)
Pick-pockets were caught. (Passive)

Simple Present Tense or Present Indefinite 
1. You sing a song. (Active Voice)
A song is sung by you.  (Passive Voice)
2. She does not cook food. (Active Voice)
Food is not cooked by her. (Passive Voice)
3. The children do not fly kites.  (Active Voice)
Kites are not flown by the children. (Passive Voice)
4. Do you write a letter?  (Active Voice)
Is a letter written by you? (Passive Voice)
5. Who looks after these plants?  (Active Voice)
By whom are these plants looked after? (Passive Voice)
6. The teacher teaches us. (Active Voice) 
We are taught by the teacher. (Passive Voice)
7. Does Ram help him? (Active Voice)
Is he helped by Ram? (Passive Voice)
8. Do you need money? (Active Voice)
Is money needed by you? (Passive Voice)
9. Why do you tell a lie? (Active Voice)
Why is a lie told by you? (Passive Voice)
10. What do you do? (Active Voice)
What is done by you? (Passive Voice)

Active Voice: First form of the verb (sometimes with ‘s’ or ‘es’)-writes, loves, etc. 
Passive Voice: is/am/are + third form of verb-are written, am loved, etc.

Simple Past Tense or Past Indefinite Tense 
1. He told us a story. (Active Voice)
We were told a story by him. (Passive Voice)
2. Who broke the window? (Active Voice)
By whom was the window broken? (Passive Voice)
3. Did Mohan win the race? (Active Voice)
Was the race won by Mohan? (Passive Voice)
4. India defeated Sri Lanka. (Active Voice)
Sri Lanka was defeated by India. (Passive Voice)
5. He gave me a pen. (Active Voice)
I was given a pen by him. (Passive Voice)
6. Why did he spoil his clothes? (Active Voice)
Why were his clothes spoilt by him? (Passive Voice)
7. Did I lose my book? (Active Voice)
Was my book lost by me? (Passive Voice)
8. They did not see the match. (Active Voice)
The match was not seen by them. (Passive Voice)
9. What did he do? (Active Voice)
What was done by him? (Passive Voice)
10. How did the police catch the thief? (Active Voice)
How was the thief caught by the police? (Passive Voice)

Active Voice: Second form of the verb-told, broke, etc. Passive Voice: was/were + third form of verb-was told, was broken, etc. Simple Future Tense or Future Indefinite Tense
1. I shall help you. (Active Voice)
You will be helped by me. (Passive Voice)
2. You will not attend the meeting. (Active Voice)
The meeting will not be attended by you. (Passive Voice)
3. Will he sell his house? (Active Voice)
Will his house be sold by him? (Passive Voice)
4. Who will win the race? (Active Voice)
By whom will the race be won? (Passive Voice)
5. They will not help him? (Active Voice)
He will not be helped by them? (Passive Voice)
6. Who will do it? (Active Voice)
By whom will it be done? (Passive Voice)
Active Voice: shall/will + First form of the verb-shall help, will attend, etc.
Passive Voice: shall be/will be + Third form of the verb-will be helped, will be attended, etc.

Present Continuous Tense 
1. You are waiting for your friend. (Active Voice)
Your friend is being waited for by you. (Passive Voice)
2. I am not doing the work. (Active Voice)
The work is not being done by me. (Passive Voice)
3. Who is knocking at the door? (Active Voice)
By whom is the door being knocked at? (Passive Voice)
4. Why are you tearing your books? (Active Voice)
Why are your books being torn by you? (Passive Voice)
5. Are you not watching TV? (Active Voice)
Is TV not being watched by you? (Passive Voice)
Active Voice: is/are/am + ing form of the verb- are waiting for, am not doing, etc.
Passive Voice: is/are/am+being+ third form of the verb-is being waited for, is not being done, etc.

Past Continuous Tense 
1. Your sister was serving tea. (Active Voice)
Tea was being served by your sister. (Passive Voice)
2. They were reciting a poem. (Active Voice)
A poem was being recited by them. (Passive Voice)
3. Was she learning the lesson? (Active Voice)
Was the lesson being learnt by her? (Passive Voice)
4. The boys were not playing cricket. (Active Voice)
Cricket was not being played by the boys. (Passive Voice)
5. Who was breaking the chair? (Active Voice)
By whom was the chair being broken? (Passive Voice)
6. Why were you drawing a map of India? (Active Voice)
Why was a map of India being drawn by you? (Passive Voice)
7. Was your mother preparing food? (Active Voice)
Was food being prepared by your mother? (Passive Voice)
8. What were they doing? (Active Voice)
What was being done by them? (Passive Voice) 
Active Voice: was/were + -ing form of the verb-was serving, were reciting, etc.
Passive Voice: was/were + being + third form of the verb-was being served, was being recited, etc.

Future Continuous Tense 
Verbs in the Future Continuous Tense cannot be changed in the Passive Voice.
 There is no Passive Voice of this tense.

Present Perfect Tense
1. You have bought a book. (Active Voice)
A book has been bought by you. (Passive Voice)
2. The children have broken the window pane. (Active Voice)
The window pane has been broken by the children. (Passive Voice)
3. Why have you beaten him? (Active Voice)
Why has he been beaten by you? (Passive Voice)
4. Who has done this mischief? (Active Voice)
By whom has this mischief been done? (Passive Voice)
5. Has she sent a message? (Active Voice)
Has a message been sent by her? (Passive Voice)
6. What have you made? (Active Voice)
What has been made by you? (Passive Voice)
7. Have the boys taken the test? (Active Voice)
Has the test been taken by the boys? (Passive Voice)
8. Radhika has not lost her necklace. (Active Voice)
Her necklace has not been lost by Radhika. (Passive Voice)
Active Voice: Has/have + third form of the verb-have bought, have broken, etc. 
Passive Voice: Has/have + been + third form of the verb-have been brought, has been broken, etc.

Past Perfect Tense 
1. I had already seen that picture. (Active Voice)
That picture had already been seen by me. (Passive Voice)
2. You had not taken the dinner. (Active Voice)
The dinner had not been taken by you. (Passive Voice)
3. Had the thieves stolen anything? (Active Voice)
Had anything been stolen by the thieves? (Passive Voice)
4. Who had stolen your purse? (Active Voice)
By whom had your purse been stolen? (Passive Voice)
5. Why had she spoilt her clothes? (Active Voice)
Why had her clothes been spoilt by her? (Passive Voice)
6. What had you done? (Active Voice)
What had been done by you? (Passive Voice)
Active Voice: Had + third form of the verb-had seen, had not taken, etc. 
Passive Voice: Had + been + third form of the verb-had been seen, had not been taken, etc.

Future Perfect Tense 
1. He will have stolen my pen. (Active Voice)
My pen will have been stolen by him. (Passive Voice)
2. I shall have sold my car. (Active Voice)
My car will have been sold by me. (Passive Voice)
3. Will she have done her homework? (Active Voice)
Will her homework have been done by her? (Passive Voice)

Active Voice: shall/will have + third form of the verb-will have stolen, shall have sold, etc.
Passive Voice: shall/will have been + third form of the verb-will have been stolen, will have been sold, etc.

Present Perfect Continuous Tense
No Passive Voice.

Past Perfect Continuous Tense
No Passive Voice.

Future Perfect Continuous Tense 
No Passive Voice.

Exercise 2
Change the following sentences from Active to Passive Voice: 
1. The Principal gave away the prizes.
2. Everyone loves him.
3. Her mother scolded her.
4. She drove the car.
5. The peon rang the bell.
6. The doctor examined the patient.
7. The teacher does not like Neha.
8. The teacher likes her.
9. The hunter shot the lion.
10. Sonu sells vegetables.
11. Sneha opened the door.
12. Meena did not break the slate.
13. Our team lost the match.
14. The teacher praised him.
15. My mother told me a story.

Exercise 3
Change the following sentences from Passive to Active Voice:
1. The fruit trees were planted by the gardener.
2. I was given a pen by the principal.
3. It was not done by her.
4. By whom has the book been stolen? 
5. Will you be helped by your friend?
6. The child will be looked after by your mother. 
7. The sums were being solved by the students.
8. Why has he been beaten by Mohan?
9. I have been cheated by her?
10. An old song was sung by her.
11. He was robbed by a masked person.
12. Good marks had been expected by me.
13. Are the sports competitions watched by him?
14. The money-order will have been received by me.
15. Was Ram beaten by Shyam?

Exercise 4
Change the following sentences into Passive Voice. Omit the object where it is not necessary:
1. The police stopped us. 
2. Someone robbed him.
3. Is the gardener watering the plants?
4. Maharshi Ved Vyas wrote the Mahabharata.
5. Someone cleans this room every day. 
6. People wear woollens in winter.
7. Who has stolen my bag?
8. They cancelled all flights.
9. They closed the school for the winter vacation.
10. Someone has picked my pocket.

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