ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICES

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

ACTIVE VOICE                                            PASSIVE VOICE

1. The boy digs a hole.                  *  a hole is dug by the boy

2. Children drink milk.       *milk is drunk by the children

                   PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE

ACTIVE VOICE.                                       PASSIVE VOICE

1.  Siyad is reading a book__ a book is being read by Siyad

2. I am helping them__ they are being helped by me

                            PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

ACTIVE VOICE                       PASSIVE VOICE

1. He has broken a glass__a glass has been broken by him

2. We have informedthem__ they've been infoemedby us

 

           SIMPLE PAST

    ACTIVE VOICE                       PASSIVE VOICE      

   

1. The cat killed a rat __a rat was killed by the cat    

 

2. The lady bought books__books were bought by the lady

 

                                      PAST CONTINUOUS 

1. She was preparing food__ food was being prepared by her.

2. Sundus was answering the questions__ questions were being answered by Sundus.

                                      FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE 

ACTIVE VOICE                       PASSIVE VOICE

1. He will read the Holy Quran_ the Holy Quran will be read by him.

2. We shall help you__ you will be helped by us.

                     

      FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS 

1. We shall have delivered the goods within a week__the goods will have been delivered by us within a week.

2. Before the end of the next week, he will have completed the exam__ before the end of the next week the exam will have completed by him.

THE PASSIVE VOICE

Look at the following sentence

The police                     arrested             the thief        (active)
(Subject)                        (verb)                   (object)

The verb arrested here is a transitive verb and has both a subject the police and an object the thief.
The verb tells us what the subject has done. And the sentence gives a prominent place to the doer or the agent of the action and the object is given a less prominent place.
The verb is active. There is another way in which this sentence can be written.

The thief has been arrested   (passive)
                                 Verb

Here the verb has been arrested tells us not what the thief did but what some one else (the police) did to him.
The sentence gives a prominent place to the object of the action.
What is more, it does not mention the doer or the agent at all. The verb here is passive. Here are some more examples of passive voice sentences.

1. The shop was burnt down.

2. A new library will be opened here.

3. English is spoken all over the world.

4. Fancy goods are sold here.

5.This bridge was built last year.

 All these sentences above tell us about the object of the action. And the 'doer' or the agent is dropped altogether either because we do not know who he is, or because it is understood, or because it is not very important.

Would it make any difference if we wrote these sentences in active voice? Yes, it would.
Look at the following example.

English is spoken all over the world.(Passive)

People speak English all over the world. (Active)

The active voice sentence gives more prominence to the doer of the action(people), which is unnecessary. And it pushes the really important object of the action i.e. English to a second place.
Let's now look at the following sentences.

1. I want money very badly.

2. You should catch the morning bus.

The verbs in these sentences tell us what the subject i.e.l.You do or should do.
Here it is the doer who occupies the more prominent place in the sentences. The sentences are in active voice.
Note the effect when we write them in passive voice.

I want money very badly.(Active)
Money is wanted by me very badly.(Passive)

The passive voice sentence looks awkward.
You will notice that it loses much of its force also.
Can you guess the reason? The reason is that here we are more interested in the 'doer' I which should therefore occupy the subject position.
Use of passive voice here is clearly out of place.

To sum up, we use active voice when we are more interested in the 'doer or the agent. And we use passive voice when we are more interested in the object of the action.
Most passive voice sentences don't need the mention of the agent. In some sentences however the agent is specified and has to be mentioned.
Romeo and Juliet was written by Shakespeare.

The prizes were distributed by the Chief guest.
Here are some more examples of passive constructions.

1. My brother has been transferred to Lusaka.

2. Five enemy tanks were captured in the battle.

3. All fees must be paid by the 10th of every month.

4. The budget will be presented today.

5. The admission list has been put on the notice board.

Note that the name of the 'doer' has been omitted in each case.
Can you guess the reason?

All these sentences make use of impersonal language necessary in official dealings. In each of these sentences it is hardly necessary for us to know the name of the 'doer'. In fact, the active construction would make these sentences look awkward.
The Government has transferred my brother to Lusaka.
Everyone must pay all fees by the 10th of every month.

We hope you remember that only the transitive verbs can be used in passive constructions. Intransitive verbs cannot have passive constructions because they do not take objects after them.

Changes necessary in passive voice.
(a) Changes in the form of the verb.
Ethiopians eat rice. Active
Rice is eaten by Ethiopians. Passive
The verb in passive voice has the form be+ Past Participle.

The verb in the active voice is eat in simple present tense. But when we change it, we have to use be + past participle of the verb. The form of be depends upon the tense of the sentences and also on the person and number of the new subject.

Here the tense is simple present, and its past participle is eaten.
The new subject Rice is third person singular. So the correct form of be here would be is. The passive form of the verb would be

be + Past Participle of the verb
is eaten

(b) change in the form of the pronouns used as subjects and objects.

Active                         He taught her for ten years.
Passive                        She was taught by him for ten years.

When the subject He becomes the object of the passive sentence it changes into him. Similarly her used as an object in the active sentence becomes She. when used as a subject in the passive construction. Other pronouns change forms similarly.

Remember that by + noun/pronoun is to be used only where it is absolutely necessary.

(i) Modal auxiliaries:

17. They can ask you about your experience> You can be 

                                             asked about your experience.                     

18. They couldn't stop him from going out > he couldn't be. stopped from going out. 

 19. The committee should recommend his name to the government> His name should be recommended by the committee to the gov- ernment.

20. You must obey the traffic rules> The traffic rules must be obeyed.

21.Our team might win the hockey cup this year> The hockey cup might be won by our team this year.

22. They ought to follow the instructions carefully> The instructions ought to be followed carefully. 

 23. Someone could have stopped him from going out> He could have been stopped from going out.

24. The committee should have recommended his name> His name should have been recommended by the committee.

25.The shopkeeper must have sold all the copies by now> 

All the copies must have been sold by now

 

26.Rains may have delayed the plane's arrival> The plane's arrival may have been delayed due to rains.