Question

List the rules of changing active voice to passive voice and vice-versa.

Answer 1

$\mathcal{ANSWER}$

•In active voice, the subject performs the action.

For example: She eats an apple.

•In passive voice, the object performs the action.

For example: An apple is eaten by her.

•Conversion of active voice to passive voice:

•Firstly, make the subject of the active voice the object in passive voice.

•Use the proper "be" verb. (am,is,are,was,were,etc.)

•Change the verb into past participle of the given verb.

•Change the object into subject.

•For example,

•Active voice:

I wrote a letter.

Here, "I" is the subject, "wrote" is the verb and "a letter" is the object.

•In passive voice:

A letter is written by me.

•Here, we made the object of active voice, the subject. The verb is converted into its past participle form and the subject is made the object.

•The rules for conversion of passive voice to active voice is vice-versa.

•The object and subject are interchanged and the past participle form of the verb is converted into the simple verb.

•For imperative sentences, the rule is:

Let+object+be+Past participle.

•For example,
•In active voice:

Help me.

Open the door.

Sing a song.

•In passive voice:

Let me be helped.

Let the door be opened.

Let a song be sung.

•The widely regarded formula of a sentence in active voice is: Subject+Verb+Object

And for a sentence in passive voice it is: Object+Verb+Subject.

Answer 2

$\underline{\underline{\huge{\textbf{Active\: Voice\: and\: Passive\: Voice}}}}$

$\blacksquare$ In $\textit{Active Voice}$, the subject is usually the $\textsf{'doer'}$ and in the $\textit{Passive Voice}$ the subject is not $\textsf{'the doer'}$.

$\blacksquare$ In Passive Voice, the $\textsf{affected}$, which is supposed to be found as object in Active Voice, is in the subject position.

$\underline{\textit{Example:}}$ Before $\textbf{the\: telephone}$ was invented, communication was very difficult.

Here,
$\textbf{the\: telephone}$ is the $\textsf{affected}$ and there is no doer expressed in the sentence.


The following Points are to be remembered while changing from Active to Passive and vice versa are listed below:

$\large{\underline{\mathbf{1.\: }}}$ The Passive Voice is mainly expressed by using the $\textbf{be\: form}$ of the verb along with a $\textit{past particle}$ of the main verb.
The following tables provide structure of $\textbf{passive\: forms}$ of a Verb.

$\begin{tabular}{|c|l|l|} \cline{1-3} Present Tense & Active Voice & Passive voice \\\cline{1-3} Present Simple &S+V_{1}+s/es+O & O+ is/are+V_{3}+by+S \\Present continuous & S+is/are + V_{4}+O & O+ is/are +being+V_{3}+by+S\\Present perfect & S+ has/have +V_{3}+O & S+ has/have+been+V_{3}+by+O \\\cline{1-3}\end{tabular}$

$\begin{tabular}{|c|l|l|} \cline{1-3} Past Tense & Active Voice & Passive voice \\ \cline{1-3} Past Simple &S+V_{2}+O & O+ was/were+V_{3}+by+S \\Past continuous & S+was/were V_{4}+O & O+ was/were+being+V_{3}+by+S\\Past perfect & S+ had + V_{3}+O & S+ had+ been+V_{3}+by+O \\\cline{1-3}\end{tabular}$

$\begin{tabular}{|c|l|l|} \cline{1-3} Tense & Active Voice & Passive voice \\ \cline{1-3} Future simple &S+ will/shall+ V_{1}+O & O+ will/shall+ be +V_{3}+S \\+infinitive&may+V_{1} & may+be+V_{3} \\ &can+V_{1} & can+be+V_{3} \\ & could+V_{1} & could+be+V_{3} \\\cline{1-3} \end{tabular}$

$\underline{\textbf{Notations\: Used\: in\: Table}}$

$S$ indicates the Subject(or agent).

$O$ indicates the Object

$V_{1}$ indicates the Present form of the Verb

$V_{2}$ indicates the Past form of the Verb

$V_{3}$ indicates the Past participle form of the Verb

$V_{4}$ indicates the Present participle form of the Verb


$\large{\underline{\mathbf{2.\: }}}$ Usually only a $\textsf{transitive verb}$(the verb with the object after it) has active and passive forms. $\textsf{Intransitive verbs do not have passive forms.}$ So we cannot change a sentence with an Intransitive verb into passive voice.

When a sentence is changed from active voice to passive voice, the $\textit{object}$ of the transitive verb $\textsf{moves}$ to the $\textit{subject}$ position.

$\underline{\textit{Active:}}$ We took $\underline{some\: water}$ in a glass.

$\underline{\textit{Passive:}}$ $\underline{Some\: water}$ was taken in a Glass.

$\large{\underline{\mathbf{3.\: }}}$ The $\textit{subject(agent)}$ of the verb is made a $\textit{by-object}$ in the Passive sentence.

However, it should be remembered that the $\textit{by-object}$ is not mentioned unless it is either important or necessary for the discussion.

$\underline{\textit{Active:}}$ Louis Pasteur discovered Anthrax vaccine

$\underline{\textit{Passive:}}$ Anthrax vaccine was discovered by Louis Pasteur.

$\large{\underline{\mathbf{4.\: }}}$ Ditransitive verbs have two objects (direct and indirect objects) after them. In that case, both objects can be moved to the subject position. So we can form two passive sentences with a ditransitive verb

$\underline{\textit{Active:}}$ She gave $\underline{him\: a\: present.}$

$\underline{\textit{Passive:}}$
(1) $\underline{A\: present}$ was given to $\underline{him}$

(2) $\underline{He}$ was given $\underline{a\: present}$

$\large{\underline{\mathbf{5.\: }}}$
A clausal object in an active sentence is not usually made in the passive. Instead, a dummy $\textbf{it}$ is used in the subject position of the passive sentence.

$\underline{\textit{Active:}}$ People believe that Earth is round.

$\underline{\textit{Passive:}}$ It is believed that the Earth is round.