Active & Passive Voice

The active voice is used to, when the agent (doer) is to be made prominent. The verb in such sentences show
that the person denoted by the subject does something. The active voice is so called because the person
denoted by subject acts.
Mother cooks rice.
Mr. Perera teaches maths.
In the above sentences the subject performs an action. The word order remains as,
Subject + Verb + Object
(Mother + cooks + rice)
The passive voice is used when the person or thing acted upon is to be made prominent. When the verb is
arranged in the passive voice, it shows that something is done to the person or thing by the subject.
Rice is cooked by mother.
Mathematics is taught by Mr. Perera.
In the passive voice word order remains as,
Object + Verb + Subject
(Rice + is cooked + by mother
In English we can across two types of passive voices
1.
Agental Passive
2.
Non -Agental Passive
In agental passive we have the agent who performed the action.
Ex:

Gamperaliya was written by Martin Wickramaslnhe.

In non-agental passive we denote that an action has been performed by the person who performed the action
is not known.
Ex:

Chairs are made of wood.

Exercise
01.

Underline the verbs in the following sentences and state whether they are in the active or in the
passive voice.
i
The Cat killed the Mouse.
[
]
ii
The chief was caught.
[
]
iii
The boy was bitter by the dog.
[
]
iv
Sarath made a kite.
[
]
v
The dog chased the cat.
[
]
vi
He drank all the milk.
[
]
vii
The letter has been posted.
[
]
viii
The exhibition will be opened y the Prime Minister.
[
]
ix
I see a dark cloud.
[
]
x
He speaks English fluently.
[
]
xi
He is loved by all.
[
]
xii
The money has lost.
[
]
xiii
Mr. Perera teaches mathematics.
[
]
xiv
The secretary is the typing the letter.
[
]
xv
Some of the cargo had been damaged.
[
]
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The passive voice is formed with the suitable tense of the verb be followed by the past participle.
Simple Present Tense (Passive)

am
1.

Mother cooks rice.

Rice is cooked by mother

2.

The Principal supervises their work.

Their work is supervised by the Principal.

3.

Accountants prepare financial statements.

Finance statements are prepared by accountants.

4.

They manufacture cars in Japan

Cars are manufactured by them in Japan.

5.

Engineers build bridges.

Bridges are built by Engineers.

Present Continuous into Passive

1.

Dr. Perera is treating me.

I am being treated by Dr. Perera.

2.

They are arranging the hall.

The hall is being arranged by them.

3.

The secretary is typing the letter.

The letter is being typed by the secretary.

4.

Mr. Gunaratna is teaching Science.

Science is being taught by Mr. Gunaratna.

5.

The doctor is examining the patient.

The patient is being examined by the doctor.

is
are

am
is
are

Past Participle

being + Past Participle

Present Perfect into Passive

1.

They have swept the room.

The room has been swept by them.

2.

I have closed the doors.

The doors have been closed by me.

3.

Someone has translated this book into English.

This book has been translated into English by someone.

4.

He has sold the land.

The land has been sold by him.

5.

They have completed the repairs.

The repairs have been completed by them.

Special Note:
There is no passive form for the Present Perfect continuous Tense.
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Simple Past into Passive

was
were
1.

The villages repaired the road.

The road was repaired by the villages.

2.

The Police arrested the thief.

The thief was arrested by the police.

3.

The ancient Egyptians built the pyramids.

The pyramids were built by the ancient Egyptians.

4.

Marlin Wickramasinghe wrote Gamperaliya.

Gamperaliya was written by Martin Wickramasinghe.

5.

We elected the President.

The President was elected by us.

Past Participle

Past Continuous into Passive

was
were

being + Past Participle

1.

An old Lady was driving the car.

The car was being driven by an old Lady.

2.

They were feeding the animals.

The animals were being fed by them.

3.

Her aunt was helping her.

She was being helped by her aunt.

4.

The police was watching him.

He was being watched by the police.

5.

He was mending the fence.

The fence was being mended by him.

Past Perfect into Passive

had been +

Past Participle

1.

They had sold the tickets.

The tickets had been sold by them.

2.

The Manager had warned him.

He had been worn by the Manager.

3.

The Policemen has been the accident.

The accident had been seen by the policemen.

4.

You had filled the vacancies.

The vacancies had been filled by you.
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5.

Raja had repaired the car.

The car had been repaired by Raja.

Special Note
There is no passive form for the Past Perfect Continuous Tense.
Simple Future into Passive

Shall

be

Past Participle

Will
1.

The president will give away the awards,

The awards will be given away by the president.

2.

They will open the gates at 6.00 Oclock.

The gates will be opened by them at 6.00 Oclock.

3.

The police will arrest him very soon.

He will be arrested by the police very soon.

4.

We will repair the building.

The building will be repaired by us.

5.

They will promote him to a higher rank.

He will be promoted to a higher rank by them.

Future Perfect into Passive

Shall have been

Will

Past Participle

have been

1.

They will have completed the project by next year.

The project will have been completed by them next year.

2.

He will have sold all the furniture by next week.

All the furniture will have been sold by him by next week.

3.

The examination Department will have announced the result by next week.
The result will have been announced by the Examination Department by next week.

4.

The farmers will have ploughed the fields with in the next two months.
The fields will have been ploughed by the farmers with in the next two months.

5.

By 8 Oclock tomorrow, they will have hanged the murderer.

The murder will have been hanged by them by 8 Oclock tomorrow.

Exercise (All Tenses)

Change the following sentences from the Active into Passive Voice.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

They will complete the building next year.

People all over the world admire his paintings.
Someone has stolen my pen.
He had posted the letter immediately.
The manager is signing the letter.
They forbid smoking here.
My neighbours dog bit me yesterday.
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8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

The police has arrested the thief.

Someone is ringing the bell.
They passed the bill in the parliament.
We will have finished the work by tomorrow.
We will sell the articles by auditor.
They staged the play last night.
They were decorating the hall yesterday.
Malaysia produces rubber.

The Passive Voice is formed with the suitable tense of the verb be followed by the past participle.
Active

Passive

Simple Present

take
takes

am taken / are taken

is taken

Present Continuous

am taking
is taken
are taking

am being taken
is being taken
are being taken

Present Perfect

has taken
have taken

has been taken

have been taken

Simple Past

took

was taken
were taken

Past Continuous

was taking
were taking

was being taken

were being taken

Past Perfect

had taken

had been taken

Simple Future

will take
should take

will be taken
should be taken

Can/May/Must

can take
must take

can be taken
must be taken

Study the following sentences given in the Passive Voice.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

A lot of rice is eaten in Asia (simple present)

My watch was stolen yesterday. (past simple)
I dont think the thieves will be caught (simple future)
The room has been swept properly (present perfect)
The paper had been thrown away. (past perfect)
The names of famous persons will have been forgotten (future perfect)
We are going to be examined (future continuous tenses)
Lions and Tigers can be seen in the Zoo (present)
This letter must be answered immediately .(present tense)
The report is being typed. (present continuous)
The report was being written by me. (past continuous)

Exercise
Put the words in bracket in the correct Passive Form. Choose the right tense.
The correct passive form choose the right tense.
1.

The bell

(ring) at the beginning of each lesson.

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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Letter to foreign countries

(send) by airmail.
A foreign language cant
(learn) in a few weeks.
The lost child
(find) sleeping under a face.
The news can
(hear) on the radio very soon.
You
(bite) by the dog, if you go near.
It was a terrible fire. The house
(burn) to the ground.
English in
(speak) by many people today.
He works very hard. I am sure he
(give) a salary increase in next year.
I dont like to
(call) a fool.

Write the following sentences in the Passive Voice.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

Columbus discovered America.

Rama was making a kite.
Manners reveal the character.
Every one loves him.
My cousin has drawn this picture.
People will soon forget of
They sell radios here.
He kept me waiting
My father will write a letter
They will have completed the building by next month.
His friends took him to the hospital.
Some one has picked my pocket.
My sister is making a cup of tea.
Accountants make financial statements.
A car knocked down the child.

Exercise
Fill in the blanks in the following sentences using the appropriate passive form.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

The prizes
This book
Please wait a little. You letter
Prices of many articles
Julius Casear
All vehicles entering the city
English
My car
The awards
Sigiriya
Travellers cheques
and travel agencies.
Although the accounts.
The result of the examination .
Oliver Twist
This book is out of stock. It
Space ships
Most of the worlds coffee
Coffee
Several Sinhala plays
The boy
Atomic power
Our English classes
The president
Reports and minutes
A photographic exhibition

(distribute) by the chief quest at a special ceremony held Monday.

(translate) into many languages.
(type) now.
(go) up during the last few weeks.
(murder) by Brutus.
(check) now.
(speak) in many countries all over the world.
(repair) by an expert mechanic last week.
(distribute) by the Minister next week.
(build) by king Kashyapa.
(issued) by private finance companies banks
(check) the manger noticed may errors.
(announce) tomorrow.
(write) by Charles Dickens.
(printed) these days.
(control) by astronauts.
(produce) by Brazil.
(cultivate) on a large scale before tea and rubber took its place.
(produce) by Dr. Sarathchandra.
(dismiss) from school for bad behaviors.
(use) by America for various purpose now.
(conduct) once a week.
(choose) by the votes of the people.
(prepare) by the secretaries.
(hold) at the Art Gallery tomorrow.
6