#passivevoice

I know, I know. I hate the Grammar Police. The people who “walk” up behind you online and correct every little mistake. Sometimes we have bad days. I often get annoyed seeing their, when someone is referring to a place there (adverb) or they’re when someone means their. For instance: Their going to the club wouldn’t be grammatical because their is possessive. Instead, you would write: They’re…

Active Voice is a form of a sentence in which the subject performs the action of the verb. In active voice, the focus is on who does the action.

Active Voice (कर्तृवाच्य) वह वाक्य होता है जिसमें कर्ता स्वयं कार्य करता है। इसमें वाक्य का मुख्य जोर कार्य करने वाले (कर्ता) पर होता है।

Example: Ram writes a letter. (राम पत्र लिखता है।)

(Ram = subject, does the action) (राम = कर्ता, कार्य कर रहा है)

Passive voice is a sentence structure in which the subject receives the action rather than performing it.

In passive voice, the focus is on the action or the object, not on the doer (agent).

Passive Voice (कर्मवाच्य) वह वाक्य होता है जिसमें कर्ता (काम करने वाला) पर ज़ोर न होकर कर्म (जिस पर काम हो रहा है) पर ज़ोर दिया जाता है।

इसमें कर्ता क्रिया नहीं करता, बल्कि क्रिया का प्रभाव सहता है।

Example:

The letter is written by Amit. (Here, the letter receives the action.)

पत्र अमित द्वारा लिखा गया है। (यहाँ पत्र पर काम हुआ है।)

Active to Passive for Affirmative Sentences 

He writes a letter. - A letter is written by him. वह एक पत्र लिखता है। - एक पत्र उसके द्वारा लिखा जाता है।

She cleans the room. - The room is cleaned by her. वह कमरा साफ करती है। - कमरा उसके द्वारा साफ किया जाता है।

Active to Passive for Negative Sentences 

He does not write a letter. - A letter is not written by him. वह पत्र नहीं लिखता है। - पत्र उसके द्वारा नहीं लिखा जाता है।

She is not cooking food. - Food is not being cooked by her. वह खाना नहीं बना रही है। - खाना उसके द्वारा नहीं बनाया जा रहा है।

Active - Negative Passive (Interrogative / Negative-Interrogative)

Active: Does he write a letter? Passive (Negative): A letter is not written by him. Hindi: क्या वह पत्र लिखता है? - पत्र उसके द्वारा नहीं लिखा जाता है।

Active: Did he not complete the work? Passive (Negative): The work was not completed by him. Hindi: क्या उसने काम पूरा नहीं किया? - काम उसके द्वारा पूरा नहीं किया गया।

WH-Word Interrogatives

Active: Why does he ignore the rules? Passive (Negative): The rules are not followed by him. Hindi: वह नियमों की अनदेखी क्यों करता है? - नियम उसके द्वारा नहीं माने जाते।

Active: When did she submit the form? Passive (Negative): The form was not submitted by her. Hindi: उसने फ़ॉर्म कब जमा किया? - फ़ॉर्म उसके द्वारा जमा नहीं किया गया।

WHO to BY WHOM (Positive Sentences)

Active: Who writes this letter? Passive: By whom is this letter written? Hindi: यह पत्र कौन लिखता है? / यह पत्र किसके द्वारा लिखा जाता है?

Active: Who teaches you English? Passive: By whom are you taught English? Hindi: तुम्हें अंग्रेज़ी कौन पढ़ाता है? / तुम्हें अंग्रेज़ी किसके द्वारा पढ़ाई जाती है?

Let’s face it: grammar rules can feel stuffy. But here’s the deal active and passive voice aren’t about “right” or “wrong.” They’re tools. And like any good tool, their power lies in knowing when to use them.

Used well, active voice makes your writing crisp and confident. Passive voice? It’s not the villain it’s made out to be it’s just misunderstood. So, let’s cut through the jargon and learn how to wield both like a pro.

Active and Passive Voice - The Forms of Sentences

Active Voice and Passive Voice are the forms of sentences. We can write these for the same meaning.

Voice is a form of verb showing whether the subject acts or has acted to it. That is, sentences are in either active or passive voice.

Here, we shall see the forms of sentences in the manner of-

characteristics

pattern

example with explanation

Active Voice

In an active form, the subject acts.

Definition

We can define this as;

An active voice is a sentence in which a verb shows that subject does an action.

Characteristics of active voice

We shall see the characteristics of this form.

In an active voice-

The subject of a sentence in an active form is at the starting of the sentence.

The subject is followed by the form of ‘to be’, verb, and object.

We can say that a verb is in the Active Voice.

An active voice tells clearly about the actor who has done it.

Pattern of sentence

The pattern of a sentence in this voice is-

Subject+ Verb+ Object

Example with explanation

Here is an example with explanation -

My son has built a website.

In the above sentence, we have a subject (my son), a verb (has built), and the object of the verb (website).

Passive voice

In passive voice, the action is done by someone.

Definition

We define this form as;

Passive voice is the sentence in which the form of a verb shows that an action is done to the subject.

Characteristics of passive voice

The Characteristics of this form are-

When we change the sentence from active to passive voice, the object becomes the subject.

We can use sentences with only transitive verbs in the passive voice. That is, we can change the sentences having objects into this voice.

This form may or may not tell clearly about the actor who has done it.

We should add 'by' in a sentence to make clear the action, who has done it.

Pattern of sentence

The pattern of a sentence in this voice is as -

Subject+ form of ‘to be + past participle of verb+ by + object

Example with explanation

The website has been built.

Or

The website has been built by my son.

In the above sentence, we have-

the direct object of the verb (a website)

the verb is in passive form (has been built)

The subject is missing, but we can add ‘by’ and make the subject clear.

I use a trick to teach students how to avoid passive voice. Circle the verbs. Imagine inserting “by zombies” after each one. Have the words been claimed by the flesh-hungry undead? If so, passive voice. I wonder if these sixth graders will recollect, on summer vacation, as they stretch their legs on the way home from Yellowstone or Yosemite and the byway’s historical marker beckons them to the site of an Indian village— Where trouble was brewing. Where, after further hostilities, the army was directed to enter. Where the village was razed after the skirmish occurred. Where most were women and children. Riveted bramble of passive verbs etched in wood— stripped hands breaking up from the dry ground to pinch the meat of their young red tongues.