Why bother with active and passive voice?
Ever wonder why a sentence sometimes sounds like it’s talking about the action instead of the doer? That switch can earn you marks in the ICSE English exam.
💡 In Simple Words: Active voice shows who does the action. Passive voice flips the sentence so the action comes first and the doer may appear later or not at all. Both are useful, and you can change one into the other by following a few easy steps.
What is Active Voice?
In an active sentence, the subject (the person or thing doing something) comes first, followed by the verb (the action) and then the object (who or what receives the action). Think of it like a soccer match: the player (subject) kicks (verb) the ball (object).
What is Passive Voice?
Passive voice flips the order. The object of the active sentence becomes the new subject, the verb changes to a form of "to be" plus the past participle (the verb’s "done" form), and the original subject can be added after the word "by" – or left out if it’s not needed. It’s like watching a replay where the ball (now the subject) is shown moving on its own, and the player might be mentioned later.
How to Change Active to Passive (ICSE Class 9)
Follow these five steps, and you’ll never get stuck:
- Step 1 – Spot the object. The object is the thing that receives the action.
- Step 2 – Bring the object to the front. It becomes the new subject of the passive sentence.
- Step 3 – Choose the right form of "to be". Match it with the tense of the original verb (present, past, future, etc.).
- Step 4 – Add the past participle. This is the verb’s "done" form (e.g., "write" → "written").
- Step 5 – Insert "by" + original subject (optional). If the doer matters, add it; otherwise you can skip it.
Worked Example 1: Simple present
Active: The chef cooks the meal.
Step 1: Object = "the meal".
Step 2: New subject = "The meal".
Step 3: Present tense of "to be" = "is".
Step 4: Past participle of "cook" = "cooked".
Step 5: Add "by the chef" (optional).
Passive: The meal is cooked (by the chef).
Worked Example 2: Past perfect
Active: The students had completed the project.
Passive: The project had been completed (by the students).
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Wrong verb form. Remember the "to be" part must match the original tense. "She sings" → "She is sung" is wrong; correct is "She is sung" only if the verb is "sing" in passive: "A song is sung by her."
- Leaving out the past participle. "The book is read" needs "read" as past participle, not the base form "read" (pronounced /red/).
- Using "by" when it isn’t needed. If the doer is obvious or irrelevant, you can drop it: "The window was broken" (no need to say "by the boy").
- Changing the meaning. Passive should keep the same meaning as the active sentence. "He gave her a gift" becomes "She was given a gift (by him)" – not "A gift was given her".
Quick Reference Table
| Active Tense | Passive "to be" Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | am/is/are + past participle | She writes a letter → A letter is written (by her) |
| Simple Past | was/were + past participle | They built a house → A house was built (by them) |
| Present Continuous | am/is/are being + past participle | He is cleaning the room → The room is being cleaned (by him) |
| Past Perfect | had been + past participle | She had finished the work → The work had been finished (by her) |
| Future Simple | will be + past participle | They will launch the product → The product will be launched (by them) |
📝 Likely Exam Questions
- Convert to passive: "The gardener waters the plants every morning."
Answer: The plants are watered (by the gardener) every morning. - Change the following sentence into active voice: "The report was submitted by the committee yesterday."
Answer: The committee submitted the report yesterday. - Identify the error in the passive sentence: "A new bridge is being built by the engineers last year."
Answer: The time phrase "last year" clashes with the present continuous tense; correct passive: "A new bridge was built by the engineers last year." - Write a passive sentence for: "Scientists discovered a new element in 2023."
Answer: A new element was discovered in 2023 (by scientists). - Explain why the sentence "The cake was eaten by quickly" is incorrect and rewrite it correctly.
Answer: "Quickly" is an adverb that should modify the verb, not the "by" phrase. Correct: "The cake was quickly eaten (by him/her)."