Read these two sentences carefully:
"The chef cooked the meal."
"The meal was cooked by the chef."
Both sentences tell you exactly the same fact. Nothing about the meaning has changed. But the way each sentence is built is completely different. The first sentence is in Active Voice. The second is in Passive Voice.
This topic confuses students for years, mainly because it is usually taught with just two or three examples and no real explanation of why or when to use each one. In this lesson, we are going to fix that completely. By the end, you will be able to convert any sentence from active to passive (and back), understand exactly when native speakers use each voice, and avoid every common mistake — without needing a teacher sitting next to you.
Active Voice → the subject does the action. The doer comes first.
Passive Voice → the subject receives the action. The receiver comes first,
and the doer becomes less important (or disappears completely).
Think of it like a spotlight. In active voice, the spotlight is on the doer. In passive voice, the spotlight moves to the action or the thing affected by the action.
Step 1: Understand the Three Parts of Every Sentence
Before learning the rules, you must be able to spot three things in any sentence:
- Subject — the person or thing doing the action. (Rahul, The teacher, Workers)
- Verb — the action itself. (wrote, explains, are building)
- Object — the person or thing receiving the action. (a letter, the lesson, the bridge)
Example: Rahul [subject] wrote [verb] a letter [object].
Important rule: only sentences that have an object can be changed into passive voice. If there is no object, there is nothing for the "spotlight" to move to.
- ✅ "Rahul wrote a letter." → has an object ("a letter") → can become passive.
- ❌ "Rahul slept." → no object → cannot become passive. There is nothing to receive the action of sleeping.
Step 2: How to Form Active Voice
Subject + Verb + Object
This is the "normal," everyday way we speak. It follows the natural order: who did it → what they did → to what/whom.
- Rahul wrote a letter.
- The teacher explains the lesson every day.
- Workers are building the bridge.
- My mother cooks dinner every evening.
- The company will launch a new app next month.
Step 3: How to Form Passive Voice
Object + a form of "be" + Verb (past participle) + (by + Subject)
The "form of be" changes depending on the tense (is, am, are, was, were, has been, will be, etc.). The "by + subject" part is optional — you only add it if you want to mention who did the action.
- A letter was written by Rahul.
- The lesson is explained by the teacher every day.
- The bridge is being built by workers.
- Dinner is cooked by my mother every evening.
- A new app will be launched by the company next month.
Whenever you want to change Active → Passive, follow these four steps in order:
- Find the object of the active sentence. It becomes the new subject.
- Choose the correct "be" verb based on the original tense (see the chart below).
- Change the main verb to its past participle form (3rd form — written, eaten, done, made, broken).
- Add "by + old subject" at the end — only if it's important to say who did it.
Example: "The dog chased the cat."
1) Object = "the cat" → becomes new subject.
2) Tense = simple past → "be" verb = "was".
3) Verb "chased" → past participle = "chased" (same form here).
4) Add "by the dog".
Result: "The cat was chased by the dog."
Step 4: The Full Tense-by-Tense Chart
This is the part most students never get taught clearly. Passive voice changes shape depending on the tense of the original sentence. Here is every common tense side by side, so you never have to guess again.
| Tense | Active Voice | Passive Voice |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | She cleans the room. | The room is cleaned by her. |
| Present Continuous | She is cleaning the room. | The room is being cleaned by her. |
| Present Perfect | She has cleaned the room. | The room has been cleaned by her. |
| Simple Past | She cleaned the room. | The room was cleaned by her. |
| Past Continuous | She was cleaning the room. | The room was being cleaned by her. |
| Past Perfect | She had cleaned the room. | The room had been cleaned by her. |
| Simple Future | She will clean the room. | The room will be cleaned by her. |
| Future Perfect | She will have cleaned the room. | The room will have been cleaned by her. |
| Modal (can/should/must) | She must clean the room. | The room must be cleaned by her. |
Notice the pattern: in every case, you keep whatever "helping structure" the tense uses (is/was/has/will, etc.), but you always finish with been/be + past participle. Once this clicks, you can convert any tense.
Present Perfect Continuous and Past Perfect Continuous (e.g., "has been cleaning") are almost never changed into passive voice in natural English — the passive form is too awkward and native speakers avoid it. You do not need to worry about converting these.
Step 5: When Should You Actually Use Each Voice?
Knowing the grammar rule is only half the job. The real skill is knowing when a native speaker would naturally choose one over the other. Here are the real situations:
Use Active Voice when…
- You want your sentence to sound clear, direct, and confident: "The manager approved the plan." (much stronger than "The plan was approved by the manager")
- The doer of the action is important information: "Riya painted this picture." — we want everyone to know Riya did it.
- You are telling a story, writing an email, or speaking casually. Active voice is shorter and sounds more natural in everyday conversation.
- You are giving instructions or commands: "Close the door." "Submit the form by Friday."
Use Passive Voice when…
- You don't know who did the action, or it isn't important: "My phone was stolen." (we have no idea who stole it)
- The action or the result matters more than who did it: "The report has been submitted." (what matters is that it's done — not who exactly submitted it)
- You are writing formally — news reports, science papers, official notices, legal documents: "The experiment was conducted under controlled conditions."
- You want to sound polite or avoid directly blaming someone: "A mistake was made in the invoice." (softer than "You made a mistake")
- The subject is obvious and repeating it would be pointless: "He was arrested yesterday." (obviously by the police — no need to say "by the police")
Read a newspaper headline: "Two Suspects Arrested in Bank Robbery Case." This is passive voice — the police did the arresting, but the news wants to highlight the suspects, not the police. This is exactly why passive voice is everywhere in news and formal writing.
Step 6: Side-by-Side Comparison Table
| Active Voice | Passive Voice | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Neha cooked the food. | The food was cooked by Neha. | Active: focus on Neha. Passive: focus on the food. |
| The company launched a new app. | A new app was launched by the company. | Active: direct and confident. Passive: formal, focus on the app. |
| Someone broke the window. | The window was broken. | Passive drops "someone" since the doer is unknown. |
| Scientists discovered a new species. | A new species was discovered by scientists. | Passive is common in formal/scientific writing. |
| The government will build a new hospital. | A new hospital will be built. | Passive keeps focus on the hospital, not who is building it. |
Step 7: Passive Voice for Questions
Passive voice isn't only for statements — questions can be passive too. The word order just shifts slightly.
| Active Question | Passive Question |
|---|---|
| Did she write this letter? | Was this letter written by her? |
| Who cleaned the room? | By whom was the room cleaned? |
| Will they finish the project on time? | Will the project be finished on time? |
Step 8: Passive Voice with Two Objects
Some verbs (give, send, offer, teach, show) have two objects — an indirect object (usually a person) and a direct object (usually a thing). These sentences can actually be made passive in two different ways.
Active: "The company gave him [indirect object] a bonus [direct object]."
- Passive (Option 1): He was given a bonus by the company. (more common and natural)
- Passive (Option 2): A bonus was given to him by the company.
In everyday English, Option 1 (starting with the person) is used far more often.
Step 9: The Most Common Mistakes Students Make
❌ "The cake was baking by my mother."
✅ "The cake was baked by my mother."
In passive voice, the main verb must always be in its past participle (3rd form: baked, written, done, made) — never the -ing form. The "-ing" form belongs to continuous tenses, not passive voice.
❌ "Is slept by him." (does not make sense)
✅ "He slept." (must stay active — there is no object)
Verbs like sleep, arrive, happen, die, exist, go, and fall do not take an object, so they can never be changed into passive voice.
❌ "The letter is wrote by Rahul." (mixing tenses)
✅ "The letter was written by Rahul."
The "be" verb must always match the original tense of the sentence — check the chart in Step 4 whenever you're unsure.
Passive voice is useful, but too much of it makes writing feel weak, vague, and hard to read. If you can name the doer and it matters, prefer active voice.
❌ Weak: "Mistakes were made and the deadline was missed by the team."
✅ Stronger: "The team made mistakes and missed the deadline."
Step 10: Quick Self-Check — Is It Active or Passive?
Ask yourself these two questions about any sentence:
- Does the subject at the start of the sentence do the action, or receive it?
- Is there a form of "be" (is/am/are/was/were/been/being) followed by a past participle verb?
If the subject does the action → Active.
If the subject receives the action, and you see "be + past participle" →
Passive.
Practice: Convert These Sentences Yourself
Cover the answers with your hand, try each one, then check. This is the fastest way to make the rule stick in your memory.
-
"The children ate all the chocolates." (Change to Passive)
→ All the chocolates were eaten by the children. -
"The letter was posted by Aman." (Change to Active)
→ Aman posted the letter. -
"They are painting the wall." (Change to Passive)
→ The wall is being painted (by them). -
"The window was broken by the storm." (Change to Active)
→ The storm broke the window. -
"Someone has completed the project." (Change to Passive)
→ The project has been completed. -
"The teacher will explain the topic tomorrow." (Change to Passive)
→ The topic will be explained by the teacher tomorrow. -
"This building was designed by a famous architect." (Change to Active)
→ A famous architect designed this building. -
"Doctors advise regular exercise." (Change to Passive)
→ Regular exercise is advised by doctors. -
"The police had already arrested the thief." (Change to Passive)
→ The thief had already been arrested by the police. -
"Who wrote this poem?" (Change to Passive)
→ By whom was this poem written?
Quick FAQ
Q: Do I always need "by + someone" in passive voice?
No. Only add it when the doer is important or interesting. "The window was broken" is
perfectly correct without saying who broke it.
Q: Can every active sentence be made passive?
No. Only sentences with an object can be made passive. "He laughed" or "She arrived"
cannot become passive because there is nothing receiving the action.
Q: Is passive voice "bad grammar"?
No — it is completely correct grammar and very common in formal, scientific, and news
writing. It only becomes a problem when it's overused in casual writing, making sentences
sound weak or unclear.
Q: What's the fastest way to spot passive voice in a sentence?
Look for a form of "be" (is/am/are/was/were/being/been) immediately followed by a past
participle verb (a "-ed" or irregular 3rd form like written, broken, done, seen).
Summary
- Active Voice = subject performs the action; direct, natural, and usually the better default choice.
- Passive Voice = subject receives the action; the doer becomes optional or unimportant.
- Formula to remember: Object + be + past participle (+ by + subject).
- The "be" verb changes with tense — use the Step 4 chart until it becomes automatic.
- Only sentences with an object can become passive.
- Passive voice's main verb is always the past participle, never "-ing".
- Use passive voice for formal writing, unknown doers, or when the action/result matters more than the doer.
- Use active voice for clear, confident, everyday communication — it should usually be your first choice.