Voice in English Grammar: Active and Passive Voice Explained with Easy Rules and Examples
Lesson 1 of 2 (50%)
Voice is an important grammar item in English. It shows whether the subject of a sentence does the action or receives the action. In simple words, voice helps us understand the relationship between the subject, Verb, and object in a sentence.
Many English learners feel confused when they study active voice and passive voice. They often ask: “When should I use passive voice?” “How do I change active into passive?” “Why does the verb form change?” The good news is that voice becomes easy when you understand the basic structure.
In this lesson, you will learn what voice is, the difference between active and passive voice, important rules, examples, common mistakes, and practical usage in daily English.
Learning Objectives
- Understand what voice means in English grammar.
- Learn the difference between active voice and passive voice.
- Identify active and passive sentences easily.
- Change active voice into passive voice correctly.
- Avoid common mistakes in using passive voice.
What Is Voice in English Grammar?
In English grammar, voice shows whether the subject performs the action or receives the action.
There are two main types of voice:
- Active Voice
- Passive Voice
Voice is closely connected with verbs. If you want to understand verbs better, read our lesson on What Is a Verb? The Engine of a Sentence.
What Is Active Voice?
In active voice, the subject does the action.
Structure:
Subject + Verb + Object
Example:
Rahim writes a letter.
Here, Rahim is the subject. He does the action. The action is writes. The object is a letter.
Active voice is direct, clear, and commonly used in everyday communication. It makes sentences strong and easy to understand.
What Is Passive Voice?
In passive voice, the subject receives the action.
Structure:
Object + be verb + past participle + by + subject
Example:
A letter is written by Rahim.
Here, a letter receives the action. The doer of the action is Rahim. The verb changes into a passive form: is written.
To understand sentence structure clearly, you should also read Basic English Sentence Structure.
Active Voice vs Passive Voice
| Active Voice | Passive Voice |
|---|---|
| She cooks rice. | Rice is cooked by her. |
| They play football. | Football is played by them. |
| The teacher explains the lesson. | The lesson is explained by the teacher. |
| He opened the door. | The door was opened by him. |
In active voice, the doer comes first. In passive voice, the receiver comes first.
Why Is Voice Important?
Voice helps us decide what we want to emphasize in a sentence.
Use active voice when the doer is important.
Example:
The doctor treated the patient.
Use passive voice when the action or result is more important than the doer.
Example:
The patient was treated successfully.
Passive voice is common in news reports, academic writing, official documents, and scientific writing. For more grammar learning, you may visit British Council Grammar and BBC Learning English.
Basic Rule for Changing Active Voice into Passive Voice
To change active voice into passive voice, follow these steps:
- Take the object of the active sentence and make it the subject of the passive sentence.
- Use the correct form of the verb “be”.
- Use the past participle form of the main verb.
- Add “by” before the doer if necessary.
Active: The boy eats mangoes.
Passive: Mangoes are eaten by the boy.
Passive Voice in Different Tenses
Passive voice changes according to tense. That is why tense is very important for learning voice. Read our lesson on Tense: ইংরেজি ভাষার প্রাণ for better understanding.
1. Present Simple Tense
Active: He writes a poem.
Passive: A poem is written by him.
Formula: Object + am/is/are + past participle + by + subject
For more detail, read Present Simple Tense.
2. Past Simple Tense
Active: She cleaned the room.
Passive: The room was cleaned by her.
Formula: Object + was/were + past participle + by + subject
3. Future Simple Tense
Active: They will complete the work.
Passive: The work will be completed by them.
Formula: Object + will be + past participle + by + subject
4. Present Continuous Tense
Active: The teacher is teaching English.
Passive: English is being taught by the teacher.
Formula: Object + am/is/are being + past participle + by + subject
5. present perfect tense
Active: He has finished the task.
Passive: The task has been finished by him.
Formula: Object + has/have been + past participle + by + subject
When Should You Use Passive Voice?
Passive voice is useful in several situations.
1. When the Doer Is Unknown
Example:
My bicycle was stolen.
Here, we do not know who stole the bicycle.
2. When the Doer Is Not Important
Example:
The road was repaired last week.
The important point is that the road was repaired. The doer is not necessary.
3. In Formal or Academic Writing
Example:
The experiment was conducted carefully.
Passive voice is often used in academic and scientific writing because the focus is on the action or result.
4. In News Reports
Example:
Several people were injured in the accident.
News reports often use passive voice when the action is more important than the doer.
When Should You Use Active Voice?
Active voice is usually better when you want your writing to be clear, direct, and strong.
Example:
The students completed the project.
This sentence is clearer and stronger than:
The project was completed by the students.
For spoken English, active voice is usually more natural. You can improve speaking through Speak with Confidence: Mastering Basic English Conversation.
Common Mistakes in Voice
1. Forgetting the Past Participle
Wrong: The letter is write by him.
Correct: The letter is written by him.
2. Using the Wrong Be Verb
Wrong: Rice are cooked by her.
Correct: Rice is cooked by her.
3. Using Passive Voice Without Object
Not every active sentence can become passive. A sentence needs an object to be changed into passive voice.
Example:
He sleeps.
This sentence has no object, so it cannot normally be changed into passive voice.
4. Overusing Passive Voice
Too much passive voice can make writing weak and unclear. Use passive voice only when it is necessary.
Practical Examples
| Active Voice | Passive Voice |
|---|---|
| Mother prepares breakfast. | Breakfast is prepared by mother. |
| The police arrested the thief. | The thief was arrested by the police. |
| People speak English worldwide. | English is spoken worldwide. |
| Someone broke the window. | The window was broken. |
Notice that sometimes we do not need to mention “by someone” because it is unnecessary.
Voice and Spoken English
In daily conversation, active voice is more common than passive voice. For example, people usually say:
I lost my phone.
They do not usually say:
My phone was lost by me.
However, passive voice is still useful when you want to focus on what happened rather than who did it.
To avoid common speaking mistakes, read Common Spoken English Mistakes.
Voice in IELTS and Academic English
Passive voice is especially useful in IELTS Writing, academic writing, and formal reports.
Example:
The data was collected from 100 students.
This sentence sounds formal and objective. IELTS learners should understand both active and passive voice because they help improve grammatical range and accuracy.
If you are preparing for IELTS, start with What Is IELTS? Everything Beginners Need to Know and Introduction to IELTS Speaking.
Takeaway
Voice is an important part of English grammar. Active voice focuses on the doer of the action, while passive voice focuses on the action or the receiver of the action. Active voice is direct and natural, while passive voice is useful in formal, academic, and result-focused communication.
The key to mastering voice is practice. Learn the structure, understand the tense, use the correct past participle form, and decide whether the doer or the action is more important.
Quiz: Test Your Understanding
1. In active voice, what does the subject do?
2. Which sentence is in passive voice?
3. What is the passive form of “He opened the door”?
4. Which verb form is necessary in passive voice?
5. Which sentence cannot normally be changed into passive voice?
📖 Show Answer Key
Answer Key
- Performs the action
- A letter is written by her.
- The door was opened by him.
- Past participle form
- He sleeps.
Summary
In this lesson, you learned that voice shows whether the subject performs or receives an action. Active voice follows the structure Subject + Verb + Object. Passive voice follows the structure Object + be verb + past participle + by + subject. Active voice is clear and direct, while passive voice is useful when the action or receiver is more important than the doer.
You also learned how passive voice changes in different tenses, when to use passive voice, common mistakes, and practical examples. If you practise regularly, voice will no longer feel difficult.