Active and Passive Voice
Active and Passive Voice
Voice gives 2 questions and is examined through transformation rather than definition. At Part-III level the paper moves past simple statements into imperatives, questions and the tenses that have no passive form, which is where most candidates lose the mark.
The Transformation Rule
Object → Subject | Verb → correct form of be + past participle | Subject → by + object
Only a transitive verb can be turned into the passive, because only it has an object to promote. He laughed has no passive form at all — a fact worth knowing when a question offers one.
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Simple present | He writes a letter | A letter is written by him |
| Present continuous | He is writing a letter | A letter is being written by him |
| Present perfect | He has written a letter | A letter has been written by him |
| Simple past | He wrote a letter | A letter was written by him |
| Past continuous | He was writing a letter | A letter was being written by him |
| Past perfect | He had written a letter | A letter had been written by him |
| Simple future | He will write a letter | A letter will be written by him |
| Future perfect | He will have written a letter | A letter will have been written by him |
Four tenses have no passive form: present perfect continuous, past perfect continuous, future continuous and future perfect continuous. A question offering a passive for any of these is testing whether you know that.
Imperatives, Questions and Infinitives
- Imperative → Let + object + be + past participle. Open the door becomes Let the door be opened.
- Negative imperative → Let not the door be opened, or Do not let...
- A request or order → You are requested to... / You are ordered to...
- Question with a helping verb keeps the question form: Did he write it? → Was it written by him?
- Wh-question → Who wrote it? becomes By whom was it written?
✗ Who broke the glass? → Who was the glass broken by? | ✓ By whom was the glass broken? is the form the paper expects
When the Passive Is Preferred
The passive is not merely a transformation exercise; a graduate paper may ask why it is used.
- When the doer is unknown — My purse has been stolen.
- When the doer is obvious or unimportant — The road was repaired last week.
- In scientific, official and impersonal writing — The solution was heated to 80 degrees.
- When the emphasis belongs on the receiver of the action rather than the doer.
The by phrase is often dropped when the doer adds nothing. English is spoken here is complete without by people, and adding it would be wrong rather than merely unnecessary.
Verbs with Two Objects
A verb such as give, offer, teach, tell, send takes two objects, so it yields two passives. He gave me a book becomes either I was given a book or A book was given to me. Both are correct, and a question may ask which is preferred — the version foregrounding the person is the more natural one.
केवल सकर्मक क्रिया का ही कर्मवाच्य बनता है।
TRE pointer: Two items separate a prepared candidate. The first is knowing that four continuous tenses have no passive, which turns an apparently hard question into an elimination. The second is the imperative transformation with Let, which is the form most often got wrong. Since this is a teaching post, a question on why the passive is used in scientific writing is entirely plausible. With −1/3 negative marking, verify the tense before transforming.
60-Second Recap
- Only transitive verbs have a passive; intransitive verbs cannot be transformed.
- Object becomes subject, verb becomes be plus past participle, subject follows by.
- Present perfect continuous, past perfect continuous, future continuous and future perfect continuous have no passive.
- Imperative becomes Let + object + be + past participle.
- Who wrote it? becomes By whom was it written?
- Drop the by phrase when the doer is unknown, obvious or unimportant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which tenses have no passive form?
The present perfect continuous, past perfect continuous, future continuous and future perfect continuous. Any option offering a passive for one of these is wrong by construction, which makes this knowledge a fast route to elimination in a five-option paper.
How is an imperative sentence changed into the passive?
Using Let. Open the door becomes Let the door be opened, and Do not open the door becomes Let not the door be opened. A request or command addressed to a person becomes You are requested to, or You are ordered to, followed by the verb.
Can every verb be made passive?
No. Only transitive verbs, which take an object, can be made passive, because the object becomes the new subject. Intransitive verbs such as laugh, sleep and arrive have no object to promote, so they have no passive form at all.
Why is the passive used in scientific writing?
Because the focus belongs on the process and the result rather than on who performed it, and it keeps the tone impersonal. The solution was heated is preferred to I heated the solution. The same reasoning applies to official and administrative writing.