ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

Transitive verbs have both active and passive forms:

Active Passive

The hunter killed the lion. >> The lion was killed by the hunter.

Someone has cleaned the windows. >> The windows have been cleaned.

The passive forms are made up of the verb be with a past participle:

be past participle

English is spoken all over the world.

The windows have been cleaned.

Lunch was being served.

The work will be finished soon.

They might have been invited to the party.

Here are examples of sentences written in both the active voice and the passive voice:

1. Sue changed the flat tire. (active)

The flat tire was changed by Sue. (passive)

2. We are going to watch a movie tonight. (active)

A movie is going to be watched by us tonight. (passive)

3. Kelly read the novel in one day. (active)

The novel was read by Kelly in one day. (passive)

4. I will clean the house every Saturday. (active)

The house will be cleaned by me every Saturday. (passive)

5. Kiren painted the entire house. (active)

The entire house was painted by Kiren. (passive)

6. The teacher always answers the students’ questions. (active)

The students’ questions are always answered by the teacher. (passive)

7. The forest fire destroyed the whole village. (active)

The whole village was destroyed by the forest fire. (passive)

8. The cleaning crew vacuums and dusts the office every night. (active)
Every night the office is vacuumed and dusted by the cleaning crew. (passive)
 9. The wedding planner is making all the reservations. (active)
All the reservations will be made by the wedding planner. (passive)

10. Cheah will bake two dozen cupcakes for the bake sale. (active)
For the bake sale, two dozen cookies will be baked by Cheah. (passive)

11. Alex posted the video on Facebook. (active)

The video was posted on Facebook by Alex. (passive)

12. The team will celebrate their victory tomorrow. (active)

The victory will be celebrated by the team tomorrow. (passive)

13. The kangaroo carried her baby in her pouch. (active)

The baby was carried by the kangaroo in her pouch. (passive)

 These sentences illustrate how different the same sentence can sound when written in active or
passive voice. Generally, it's better to write in the active voice. It's clearer and more direct. Passive
voice sentences tend to be more wordy and vague but can still be useful in some situations, such as
formal writing.

Practice: Change the sentences into passive voice.

1. Puan Shafinaz teaches English.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. Lim is writing a letter.
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3. The discipline master punished the boy.
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4. He was doing homework.
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5. The paramedics took the victim to the hospital.
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6. The volunteers have finished the job.
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7. The counsellor sent the report yesterday.
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8. The robber stabbed my father.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
9. The surgeon carried out the operation.
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10. Mrs Kausee will decorate the cake.
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11. Chefs use these machines to mix the ingredients.
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12. The teacher informed the students that the class had been cancelled.
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