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Voice in English Inter 1st Year
AP Inter 1st Year English Voice
Voice Inter 1st Year
Look at the following sentences and compare them
- Alice found the wonderland.
- The wonderland was found by Alice.
Both the sentences above mean the same.
The first sentence is said to be in Active Voice because the subject, Alice, actively did something. In the second sentence, the subject, ‘the wonderland,’ is passive, and the action is highlighted. Here, the subject receives the action. So, the second sentence is said to be in Passive Voice. Precisely, in Active Voice, the Subject/ the Doer/ the Agent of the action is important. In the Passive Voice, the action is important.
Kinds
Voice is of two kinds
1. Active Voice
2. Passive Voice
1. Active Voice
- The subject is the doer of the action.
- Emphasises the performer of the action.
Examples
- She writes a letter.
- The dog bit the man.
2. Passive Voice
- The subject is the receiver of the action.
- Emphasises the action rather than the doer.
Examples
- A letter is written by her.
- The man was bitten by the dog.
Why Passive
The passive is used when the object of the verb/ the action. is more important than the subject, and is often used in formal contexts like media reports, scientific writings and formal letters and factual reports. The Passive Voice is used when the doer of the action is unimportant, unknown, or understood from the context.
Nitish was declared the man of the match. (We just do not care who declared it)
The door has been broken (We don’t know who the doer of the action is)
The thief was arrested (It is understood that the police alone can arrest a thief)
The sentences having intransitive verbs cannot be changed into the Passive Voice because the action does not pass over to the object here.
The following verbs are often used in the Passive rather than the Active voice. be born be deemed be populated be stranded be strewn be taken aback
Key Steps to Change Active to Passive Voice
The following points must be taken note of while changing:
- The object of the active verb is made the subject of the passive verb
- The subject of the active verb becomes the ‘agent’ of the passive verb (If the agent is unknown, unimportant, or obvious, it can be omitted).
- Appropriate ‘be form’ is used and the verb is always in V3 form i.e. the past participle (See the table below)
- When the agent is mentioned in the Passive Voice it is generally preceded by the preposition ‘by’ (Sometimes ‘in, with, at, to, etc’ may also be used)
- Pronouns in the Nominative Case (I, we, he, she, they, who) are changed into the Objective Case (me, us, him, her, them, whom)
Note:
- The tense remains the same when changing from the Active Voice to the Passive Voice and vice versa.
- Passives forms of Future Continuous, Present Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous and Future Perfect Continuous are not normally used.
Transforming Different Kinds of Sentences into Passive Voice
Champion Corner
Advanced Points
1. The verbs see, catch, find, keep, leave, lose, spend, and waste are followed by a present participle in both active and passive voice.
E.g. The officer kept us waiting. (Active Voice)
We were kept waiting by the officer. (Passive Voice)
2. The verbs hear, make, let, help, and see take a bare infinitive in Active Voice and a ‘to’ infinitive in Passive Voice.
E.g.
- The teacher helped the students solve the problem. (Active Voice)
The students were helped to solve the problem by the teacher. (Passive Voice) - The owner let the dog play for some time. (Active Voice) The dog was let to play for some time by the owner. (Passive Voice)
3. ‘Get/Have’ + Object + Past participle is a pseudo-passive construction with no agent or passive structure resembling passive voice.
E.g. I got my car washed. (Passive Voice)
I had my hair cut. (Passive Voice)
4. The present participle after the object becomes ‘being’ + V3 in passive voice.
E.g. I saw him turning the key. (Active Voice)
I saw the key being turned by him. (Passive Voice)
5. Some verbs like know, surprise, please, contain, and fill do not take ‘by’ as the agent in the passive voice. Instead, they use different prepositions, such as ‘to’, ‘at,’ ‘with’, or ‘in’.
E.g. a) I know him. (Active Voice)
He is known to me. (Passive Voice)
b) His decision surprised them. (Active Voice)
They were surprised at his decision. (Passive Voice)
c) Her behaviour pleases us. (Active Voice)
We are pleased with her behaviour. (Passive Voice)
d) Smoke filled the room. (Active Voice)
The room was filled with smoke. (Passive Voice)
e) The box contains many chocolates. (Active Voice)
Many chocolates are contained in the box. (Passive Voice)
6. Verbs like show, sell, buy, send, lend, take, give, bring, teach, and tell are ditransitive. They can be written either with a Direct Object or an Indirect Object.
E.g. a) She has sent/lent/brought/given me a gold ring. (Active Voice)
I have been sent/lent/brought/given a gold ring by her. (Passive Voice)
A gold ring has been sent/lent/brought/given to me by her. (Passive Voice)
b) He taught us grammar. (Active Voice)
We were taught grammar by him. (Passive Voice)
Grammar was taught to us by him. (Passive Voice)
c) Grandpa told me a story. (Active Voice)
I was told a story by Grandpa. (Passive Voice)
A story was told to me by Grandpa. (Passive Voice)
7. A preposition/particle after a verb is retained in the passive voice.
E.g. a) The police are looking into the matter. (Active Voice)
The matter is being looked into by the police. (Passive Voice)
b) Ilisten to melodious songs. (Active Voice)
Melodious songs are listened to by me. (Passive Voice)
8. We use the verbs said, reported, understood, known, believed, and thought in passive voice to express information received from unknown sources or when it is not known who provided the information.
E.g. a) They say all snakes are not poisonous. (Active Voice)
It is said that all snakes are not poisonous. (Passive Voice)
b) We believe God exists. (Active Voice)
It is believed that God exists. (Passive Voice)
9. The verbs elect, make, call, appoint, name, choose, and consider take a complement after them without the preposition ‘by’ in passive voice.
E.g. a) We named our dog Dudu. (Active Voice)
Our dog was named Dudu. (Passive Voice)
b) They made him President of the Club. (Active Voice)
He was made President of the Club. (Passive Voice)
c) The teacher considered it a big mistake. (Active Voice)
It was considered a big mistake. (Passive Voice)
Exercise:
Change the Voice of the following sentences.
1. Everyone will laugh at us.
Answer:
We will be laughed at by everyone.
2. How did you solve this sum?
Answer:
How was this sum solved by you?
3. He has lost his wallet and bag.
Answer:
His wallet and bag have been lost by him.
4. Farmers grow crops.
Answer:
Crops are grown by farmers
5. Tell him to go.
Answer:
He should be told to go
6. The jury found the prisoner guilty of murder.
Answer:
The prisoner was found guilty of murder by the jury
7. I hate people looking at me.
Answer:
I hate being looked at by people.
8. Who taught you English?
Answer:
By whom were you taught English?
9. I bought her a present.
Answer:
A present was bought for her by me.
10. Who did this?
Answer:
By whom was this done?
11. Consult a good doctor.
Answer:
A good doctor should be consulted.
12. I will never forget this experience.
Answer:
This experience will never be forgotten by me.
13. The tiger was chasing the deer.
Answer:
The deer was being chased by the tiger.
14. Have you finished the report?
Answer:
Has the report been finished by you?
15. Somebody stole my pen yesterday.
Answer:
My pen was stolen yesterday by somebody.
16. Nurses look after patients.
Answer:
Patients are looked after by nurses.
17. I saw him opening the parcel.
Answer:
He was seen opening the parcel by me.
18. They are repairing chairs in the hall.
Answer:
Chairs are being repaired in the hall (by them).
19. Do not insult the weak and the oppressed.
Answer:
Let the weak and the oppressed not be insulted.
20. Prashant is solving problems.
Answer:
Problems are being solved by Prashant.