Active and Passive Voice: Rules, Examples and Exercises

Most students learn active and passive voice as a set of tricks to survive an exam question. Swap the subject and object, add a form of “be,” change the verb, drop in “by.” It works often enough to score marks, and then it collapses the moment a sentence does not fit the pattern.

This guide takes the longer route. It explains what voice actually is, gives you the rules for every tense, walks through 50 worked examples, and — the part most grammar charts quietly skip — tells you which sentences cannot be made passive at all, and why.

What Is Voice in English Grammar?

Voice is the grammatical feature that shows the relationship between the subject of a sentence and the action of the verb. According to Cambridge Dictionary’s English Grammar Today, we use the terms active voice and passive voice to describe ways of organising the content of a clause.

English has two voices:

• Active voice — the subject performs the action.
• Passive voice — the subject receives the action.

Notice what voice does not change: the facts. “The dog chased the cat” and “The cat was chased by the dog” describe exactly the same event. What changes is which thing the sentence puts first, and therefore what the sentence is about.

That is the whole point of voice. It is a tool for controlling focus, not a rule about right and wrong.

What Is Active Voice?

In the active voice, the subject does the action. The structure is:

Subject + Verb + Object

• Meera painted the wall.
• The teacher explained the sum.
• Farmers grow rice in Karnataka.

In each sentence, the subject is the doer — what Cambridge calls the agent of the verb. Active voice is the default word order in English. Roughly speaking, if you are not deliberately choosing the passive, you are writing in the active.

Why active voice is usually the better choice

Active sentences are shorter, clearer, and easier to follow because they name the doer immediately. “The committee rejected the proposal” is stronger than “The proposal was rejected by the committee” — same information, three fewer words, and no delay before you learn who acted.

What Is Passive Voice?

In the passive voice, the object of the active sentence moves to the front and becomes the grammatical subject. The doer either moves to the end after “by,” or disappears entirely.

The structure is:

Object + form of “be” + past participle (+ by + doer)

• The wall was painted by Meera.
• The sum was explained by the teacher.
• Rice is grown in Karnataka. (doer dropped completely)

That third example matters. Cambridge Dictionary notes that passive structures without an agent are very common — in fact, leaving out the doer is one of the main reasons the passive exists. If you only ever practise passive sentences that end in “by somebody,” you are practising the less common version.

Active and Passive Voice: The Key Differences

Feature	Active Voice	Passive Voice
Subject	Performs the action	Receives the action
Word order	Subject → Verb → Object	Object → Verb → Subject
Verb form	Main verb only	“Be” + past participle
Doer	Always stated	Optional (after “by”)
Sentence length	Shorter	Longer
Focus falls on	Who did it	What was done
Typical use	Everyday speech and writing	Reports, science, news, formal writing

Active and Passive Voice Rules: The Four-Step Method

Every conversion from active to passive follows the same four steps. Learn the steps and you will not need to memorise separate rules for each tense.

Step 1 — Move the object to the front.
The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.

Step 2 — Change the verb to “be” + past participle.
The form of “be” must match the tense of the original sentence and agree with the new subject.

Step 3 — Move the original subject after “by.”
Or remove it, if it is unknown, obvious, or unimportant.

Step 4 — Change the pronouns.
Subject pronouns become object pronouns: I → me, he → him, she → her, we → us, they → them, who → whom.

Worked example

Active: She is reading the novel.

1. Move the object forward → The novel…
2. Present continuous, singular subject → is being read
3. Add the doer → by her

Passive: The novel is being read by her.

The one rule that overrides everything: only transitive verbs can be made passive. A transitive verb takes an object. If a sentence has no object, there is nothing to move to the front, and no passive is possible. This single rule explains most of the errors in the section further down.

Active and Passive Voice Rules for All Tenses

Here is the full chart. The base sentence is “Ravi writes a letter,” carried through all twelve tenses so you can see exactly what changes.

Tense	Active	Passive
Present Simple	Ravi writes a letter.	A letter is written by Ravi.
Present Continuous	Ravi is writing a letter.	A letter is being written by Ravi.
Present Perfect	Ravi has written a letter.	A letter has been written by Ravi.
Present Perfect Continuous	Ravi has been writing a letter.	No natural passive form.
Past Simple	Ravi wrote a letter.	A letter was written by Ravi.
Past Continuous	Ravi was writing a letter.	A letter was being written by Ravi.
Past Perfect	Ravi had written a letter.	A letter had been written by Ravi.
Past Perfect Continuous	Ravi had been writing a letter.	No natural passive form.
Future Simple	Ravi will write a letter.	A letter will be written by Ravi.
Future Continuous	Ravi will be writing a letter.	No natural passive form.
Future Perfect	Ravi will have written a letter.	A letter will have been written by Ravi.
Future Perfect Continuous	Ravi will have been writing a letter.	No natural passive form.

The four tenses with no passive — and why

Four of the twelve tenses have no usable passive, and most classroom charts either ignore this or invent forms that no fluent speaker produces. Cambridge Dictionary is direct about it: perfect continuous forms (have/has been being + past participle) are not often used in a passive structure.

Try saying “A letter has been being written by Ravi” out loud. It is grammatically constructible and practically unusable. The same applies to the past perfect continuous, future continuous and future perfect continuous.

If an exam question hands you one of these tenses and asks for the passive, the honest answer is that English avoids it — and a well-set paper will not ask.

Active and Passive Voice with Modals, Imperatives and Questions

Three sentence types follow their own patterns. They come up constantly in exams and get skipped constantly in revision.

Modal verbs

The formula is modal + be + past participle. The modal itself never changes.

• You must submit the form. → The form must be submitted.
• She can solve the problem. → The problem can be solved by her.
• We should plant more trees. → More trees should be planted.
• They might cancel the match. → The match might be cancelled.

Imperative sentences

Commands have no visible subject, so the passive uses “Let” or a modal.

• Close the door. → Let the door be closed.
• Do not waste water. → Let water not be wasted.
• Complete the assignment. → You are requested to complete the assignment.

Questions

The question word stays at the front; the rest converts normally.

• Who wrote this poem? → By whom was this poem written?
• Did she finish the work? → Was the work finished by her?
• What are they building? → What is being built by them?
• When will they announce the results? → When will the results be announced?

The “get” passive

In informal speech, “get” often replaces “be.” Cambridge Dictionary notes it is used especially in informal speaking, and commonly for events that are negative or unwanted.

• My cycle got stolen. (= My cycle was stolen.)
• He got selected for the team.

Useful to recognise. Avoid it in formal writing and exam answers.

50 Sentences of Active and Passive Voice with Answers

Read these as pairs. The pattern will start to feel automatic before you finish the list.

Present simple (1–8)

1. She cooks dinner. → Dinner is cooked by her.
2. The gardener waters the plants. → The plants are watered by the gardener.
3. They speak Kannada at home. → Kannada is spoken at home.
4. He repairs computers. → Computers are repaired by him.
5. The postman delivers letters. → Letters are delivered by the postman.
6. We celebrate Dasara in October. → Dasara is celebrated in October.
7. The company hires freshers every year. → Freshers are hired every year.
8. Bees make honey. → Honey is made by bees.

Present continuous (9–14)

9. The mason is building a wall. → A wall is being built by the mason.
10. She is writing a poem. → A poem is being written by her.
11. They are painting the classroom. → The classroom is being painted.
12. He is driving the bus. → The bus is being driven by him.
13. The chef is preparing lunch. → Lunch is being prepared by the chef.
14. Workers are repairing the road. → The road is being repaired.

Present perfect (15–20)

15. She has completed the project. → The project has been completed by her.
16. They have sold the house. → The house has been sold.
17. He has broken the window. → The window has been broken by him.
18. The principal has announced the results. → The results have been announced.
19. We have invited all the parents. → All the parents have been invited.
20. Someone has taken my pen. → My pen has been taken.

Past simple (21–30)

21. Tipu Sultan built this fort. → This fort was built by Tipu Sultan.
22. She sang a song. → A song was sung by her.
23. The boy broke the glass. → The glass was broken by the boy.
24. They arrested the thief. → The thief was arrested.
25. He wrote three novels. → Three novels were written by him.
26. The dog bit the child. → The child was bitten by the dog.
27. Mother made sweets. → Sweets were made by mother.
28. The team won the match. → The match was won by the team.
29. Rain destroyed the crops. → The crops were destroyed by rain.
30. He gave me a book. → I was given a book by him.

Note on 22: the past participle of “sing” is sung, not sang. Writing “A song was sang” is the most common single error in passive conversion — always reach for the third form of the verb, never the second.

Past continuous and past perfect (31–38)

31. She was cleaning the room. → The room was being cleaned by her.
32. They were digging a well. → A well was being dug.
33. He was playing the flute. → The flute was being played by him.
34. The crowd was blocking the road. → The road was being blocked by the crowd.
35. She had finished the work. → The work had been finished by her.
36. They had built the bridge. → The bridge had been built.
37. He had lost the keys. → The keys had been lost by him.
38. We had booked the tickets. → The tickets had been booked.

Future forms (39–44)

39. She will bake a cake. → A cake will be baked by her.
40. They will announce the winner. → The winner will be announced.
41. He will finish the report. → The report will be finished by him.
42. The school will hold sports day in December. → Sports day will be held in December.
43. She will have submitted the form. → The form will have been submitted by her.
44. They will have completed the building. → The building will have been completed.

Modals, imperatives and questions (45–50)

45. You must follow the rules. → The rules must be followed.
46. She can answer this question. → This question can be answered by her.
47. Switch off the fan. → Let the fan be switched off.
48. Help the poor. → Let the poor be helped.
49. Who broke this chair? → By whom was this chair broken?
50. Are they watching the film? → Is the film being watched by them?

When Should You Use the Passive Voice?

Passive voice is not a mistake. It is a choice, and there are four situations where it is the better one.

1. The doer is unknown.
“My bag was stolen from the bus.” You do not know who took it. The active version would force you to invent a subject.

2. The doer is obvious or irrelevant.
“The letters are delivered every morning.” Of course by the postman. Naming him adds nothing.

3. The action matters more than the actor.
This is why scientific writing leans passive: “The solution was heated to 80°C and the reading was recorded.” What was done is reproducible; who did it is not the point.

4. You want to soften or deflect.
“A mistake was made in the calculation” avoids naming a person. Useful in diplomacy, and worth noticing when you read a news report or an official statement — the passive is often doing quiet work there.

Outside those four cases, prefer the active. If a passive sentence has a “by” phrase and none of the reasons above apply, the active version is almost always better.

Common Mistakes in Active and Passive Voice

1. Making intransitive verbs passive

Cambridge Dictionary lists this as a typical error: we do not form passive structures with intransitive verbs.

• ✗ She was died. → ✓ She died.
• ✗ The sun was risen at six. → ✓ The sun rose at six.
• ✗ He was arrived late. → ✓ He arrived late.

Verbs like die, arrive, sleep, go, come, happen, rise, sit take no object, so they have no passive.

2. Making state verbs passive

Verbs describing states rather than actions resist the passive, even when they look transitive.

• ✗ The dress isn’t suited by those shoes. → ✓ Those shoes don’t suit the dress.
• ✗ A car is had by him. → ✓ He has a car.
• ✗ Sweet is tasted by sugar. → ✓ Sugar tastes sweet.

Watch for have, resemble, suit, lack, fit, cost, taste, seem.

3. Using the wrong past participle

The passive needs the third form of the verb, not the second.

• ✗ The window was broke. → ✓ The window was broken.
• ✗ The letter was wrote. → ✓ The letter was written.
• ✗ The song was sang. → ✓ The song was sung.

4. Getting subject–verb agreement wrong

The form of “be” must agree with the new subject, not the old one.

• ✗ The books is read by him. → ✓ The books are read by him.
• ✗ Three letters was written. → ✓ Three letters were written.

5. “Was born” versus “is born”

A specific case worth memorising. Use the past form of “be” for someone’s birth: She was born in Mysore, not She is born in Mysore.

6. Overusing the passive in essays

Chains of passive sentences make writing vague and heavy. If an examiner cannot tell who did what in your answer, you have used one passive too many.

Active and Passive Voice Exercises

Cover the answers, work through the set, then check.

Part A — Change to passive voice

1. The chef prepares delicious food.
2. She is watering the plants.
3. They have painted the gate.
4. The storm uprooted several trees.
5. He will deliver the parcel tomorrow.
6. You must complete this form.
7. Shut the window.
8. Who taught you English?

Part B — Change to active voice

9. The classroom is cleaned every morning by the staff.
10. A new library is being constructed by the school.
11. The letter had been posted by my brother.
12. The results will be declared by the board next week.

Part C — Identify active or passive

13. The children were playing in the garden.
14. The cake was eaten by the guests.
15. He has been selected for the quiz team.
16. The train arrived on time.

Answers

1. Delicious food is prepared by the chef.
2. The plants are being watered by her.
3. The gate has been painted by them.
4. Several trees were uprooted by the storm.
5. The parcel will be delivered by him tomorrow.
6. This form must be completed by you.
7. Let the window be shut.
8. By whom were you taught English?
9. The staff clean the classroom every morning.
10. The school is constructing a new library.
11. My brother had posted the letter.
12. The board will declare the results next week.
13. Active.
14. Passive.
15. Passive.
16. Active — “arrive” is intransitive and has no passive form.

Question 13 catches most students. “Were playing” contains a form of “be,” which looks passive, but the children are doing the action. A form of “be” alone does not make a sentence passive — you need “be” plus a past participle.

How This Fits Into Wider Grammar Study

Voice is one piece of sentence construction. It sits alongside tense, which decides when, and sentence structure, which decides how many ideas a sentence carries. Students who are comfortable with compound sentences and how clauses join usually find passive conversion much easier, because they can already see where the subject and object sit in a clause.

At Trinity International School Mysore, grammar is taught through use rather than through isolated drills — students meet the passive in a science write-up or a news report before they meet it as a conversion exercise, which is how the Cambridge curriculum approaches primary and early years English.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is active and passive voice in simple words?

Active voice means the subject does the action: “Ravi writes a letter.” Passive voice means the subject receives the action: “A letter is written by Ravi.” Both sentences describe the same event — they differ only in what the sentence puts first and focuses on.

What are the rules for changing active to passive voice?

Move the object to the front, change the verb to the correct form of “be” plus the past participle, place the original subject after “by” (or drop it), and convert subject pronouns to object pronouns. Only transitive verbs — verbs that take an object — can be made passive.

Can every sentence be changed into passive voice?

No. Sentences with intransitive verbs such as die, arrive, sleep and happen have no object to move forward, so no passive is possible. State verbs like have, suit, resemble and cost also resist the passive.

What is the formula for active and passive voice?

Active is Subject + Verb + Object. Passive is Object + form of “be” + past participle + (by + Subject). The form of “be” changes with the tense: is/are for present simple, was/were for past simple, has/have been for present perfect, and will be for future simple.

Which tenses cannot be used in the passive voice?

The four perfect continuous and continuous-future tenses have no natural passive: present perfect continuous, past perfect continuous, future continuous and future perfect continuous. Constructions like “has been being written” are technically formable but are not used in real English.

Is passive voice wrong in English writing?

No. Passive voice is the correct choice when the doer is unknown, obvious, or less important than the action — which is why it is standard in scientific reports and news writing. It becomes a problem only when overused, because chains of passive sentences hide who did what.

The Short Version

Active and passive voice is not a memory test. It is one decision, made sentence by sentence: do you want the reader looking at the person acting, or at the thing being acted on?

Get the four conversion steps automatic, learn which verbs cannot go passive, and check your past participles. Everything else follows.

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Written by the academic team at Trinity International School Mysore (TISM), a Cambridge curriculum school on Adichunchanagiri Road, Mysore, offering Early Years and Primary programmes. Grammar references in this article follow Cambridge Dictionary’s English Grammar Today and the British Council’s LearnEnglish grammar reference.