In English, sentences can be active or passive voice. You must learn to recognize the difference to successfully speak English. In active sentences, the thing doing the action is the subject of the sentence and the thing receiving the action is the object. And in passive sentences, the thing receiving the action is the subject of the sentence and the thing doing the action is optionally included near the end of the sentence. You can use the passive form if you think that the thing receiving the action is more important or should be emphasized. You can also use the passive form if you do not know who is doing the action or if you do not want to mention who is doing the action.
The rules to make active or passive voice
Simple past tense : Active => verb 2 (ed) ______ Passive => was/were + verb 3
Simple present tense : Active => verb 1 (+ s/es) _____ Passive => Is/am/are + verb 3
Present perfect tense : Active => has/have + verb 3 ______ Passive => has/have + been + verb 3
Present continous tense : Active => is/am/are + verb-ing _____ Passive => is/am/are + being + verb 3
Present future tense : Active => will + verb 1 ______ Passive => will + be + verb 3
Past perfect tense : Active => had + verb 3 ________Passive => had + been + verb 3
Present perfect continous tense :
The rules to make active or passive voice
Simple past tense : Active => verb 2 (ed) ______ Passive => was/were + verb 3
Simple present tense : Active => verb 1 (+ s/es) _____ Passive => Is/am/are + verb 3
Present perfect tense : Active => has/have + verb 3 ______ Passive => has/have + been + verb 3
Present continous tense : Active => is/am/are + verb-ing _____ Passive => is/am/are + being + verb 3
Present future tense : Active => will + verb 1 ______ Passive => will + be + verb 3
Past perfect tense : Active => had + verb 3 ________Passive => had + been + verb 3
Present perfect continous tense :
Active => has/have + been + verb ing ______ Passive => has/have + been + being + verb 3
Examples:
Simple Present
Simple Present
Active : Once a week, Tom cleans the house.
Passive : Once a week, the house is cleaned by Tom.
Present Continuous
Active : Right now, Sarah is writing the letter.
Passive : Right now, the letter is being written by Sarah.
Simple Past
Active : Sam repaired the car.
Passive : The car was repaired by Sam.
Past Continuous
Active : The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the store.
Passive : The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the store.
Present Perfect
Active : Many tourists have visited that castle.
Passive : That castle has been visited by many tourists.
Present Perfect Continuous
Active : Recently, John has been doing the work.
Passive : Recently, the work has been being done by John.
Past Perfect
Active : George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license.
Passive : Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's license.
Past Perfect Continuous
Passive : Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's license.
Past Perfect Continuous
Active : Chef Jones had been preparing the restaurant's fantastic dinners for two years before he moved to Paris.
Passive : The restaurant's fantastic dinners had been being prepared by Chef Jones for two years before he moved to Paris.
Simple Future
Simple Future
Active : Someone will finish the work by 5:00 PM.
Passive : The work will be finished by 5:00 PM.
Future Continuous
Active : At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going to be washing the dishes.
Passive : At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes are going to be being washed by John.
Future Perfect
Future Perfect
Active : They will have completed the project before the deadline.
Passive : The project will have been completed before the deadline.
or
or
Active : They are going to have completed the project before the deadline.
Passive : The project is going to have been completed before the deadline.
Passive : The project is going to have been completed before the deadline.
Future Perfect Continuous
Active : The famous artist will have been painting the mural for over six months by the time it is finished.
Passive : The mural will have been being painted by the famous artist for over six months by the time it is finished.
Past Future
Active : I knew John would finish the work by 5:00 PM.
Passive : I knew the work would be finished by 5:00 PM