Verbs in Active and Passive Voice (Grade 11 NSC Matric English HL): Revision Notes
Verbs in Active and Passive Voice
Understanding active and passive voice
Voice in grammar refers to the relationship between the subject of a sentence and the action being performed. There are two types of voice: active and passive. Understanding the difference between them helps you write more effectively and answer exam questions correctly.
What is active voice?
In active voice, the subject carries out or performs the action of the verb. The subject is the "doer" – the person or thing actively doing something. This is the most common and straightforward way to construct sentences.
Key features of active voice:
- The subject comes first
- The subject performs the action
- The sentence follows the pattern: Subject + Verb + Object
Example: The striker scored a goal.
Let's break this down:
- Subject: The striker (the person doing the action)
- Verb: Scored (the action being performed)
- Object: A goal (what receives the action)
Here, the striker is actively doing something – scoring. The focus is clearly on who performed the action.
What is passive voice?
In passive voice, the subject receives or experiences the action of the verb rather than performing it. The focus shifts from the doer to the receiver of the action. The person or thing that was originally the object now becomes the subject of the sentence.
Key features of passive voice:
- The receiver of the action becomes the subject
- The subject experiences rather than performs the action
- The sentence often includes a form of "to be" + past participle
- The doer may be mentioned using "by" or left out entirely
Example: The goal was scored by the striker.
Let's analyse this:
- Subject: The goal (what receives the action)
- Verb: Was scored (past participle with auxiliary verb)
- Doer (optional): By the striker (who performed the action)
Notice how the goal is now the subject, even though it's not doing anything. The striker is mentioned after "by," but this part could be removed: The goal was scored.
This is a unique feature of passive voice – you can leave out the doer of the action entirely.
Why does voice matter?
Understanding voice helps you:
- Write more clearly and directly (active voice is usually clearer)
- Recognise formal writing styles (passive voice is common in academic and scientific writing)
- Answer exam questions that specifically ask you to change voice
- Vary your sentence structure for better writing
Converting active voice to passive voice
Changing a sentence from active to passive voice involves a systematic process. Follow these four steps carefully, and you'll be able to convert any active sentence to passive voice whilst maintaining the correct tense.
Step 1: Identify the verb
Start by locating the main verb in the sentence. This is the action word that tells you what is happening.
Example: In "The striker scored a goal," the verb is scored.
Step 2: Divide the sentence into subject, verb and object
Break down the sentence into its three main components. Every active sentence that can be converted to passive voice must have all three parts.
- Subject: Who or what is doing the action?
- Verb: What action is being performed?
- Object: Who or what is receiving the action?
Example breakdown:
- Subject: The striker
- Verb: Scored
- Object: A goal
Step 3: Start the new sentence with the object
In passive voice, the object of the active sentence becomes the new subject. This shifts the focus from the doer to the receiver of the action.
Example: Begin your new sentence with "A goal..."
Step 4: Change the verb
This is the most technical step. You need to transform the verb in two ways:
a) Use the past participle of the main verb
The past participle is usually the "-ed" form for regular verbs (scored, played, watched) or an irregular form (written, done, seen).
Example: The past participle of "scored" is scored.
b) Add the correct form of 'to be' or sometimes 'got'
Place an appropriate form of the auxiliary verb "to be" (is, am, are, was, were, been, being) before the past participle. The form you choose depends on the tense and subject of your sentence.
Example: I was stung by a bee. (Here, "was" is the auxiliary verb and "stung" is the past participle.)
Complete Conversion Process:
Active: The striker scored a goal.
Passive: A goal was scored by the striker.
Notice that you can add "by the striker" to mention the doer, but it's optional. You could simply write: A goal was scored.
Voice in different tenses
When converting between active and passive voice, the tense of the sentence must remain the same. However, the form of the auxiliary verb changes depending on the tense. Here's how voice works across different tenses:
Present continuous tense
The present continuous describes actions happening right now. It uses "is/are + -ing" in active voice.
Active voice: The striker is scoring a goal.
- Shows an action in progress
- Uses "is" + present participle "scoring"
Passive voice: A goal is being scored by the striker.
- Same ongoing action, different focus
- Uses is being + past participle "scored"
- Notice how "being" is added to show the continuous aspect
Perfect tense
The perfect tense describes completed actions with present relevance. It uses "has/have + past participle" in active voice.
Active voice: The striker has scored a goal.
- Shows a completed action
- Uses "has" + past participle "scored"
Passive voice: A goal has been scored by the striker.
- Same completed action, different focus
- Uses has been + past participle "scored"
- "Been" is added after "has" to form the passive
Simple future tense
The simple future describes actions that will happen later. It uses "will + base verb" in active voice.
Active voice: The striker will score a goal.
- Shows a future action
- Uses "will" + base form "score"
Passive voice: A goal will be scored by the striker.
- Same future action, different focus
- Uses will be + past participle "scored"
- "Be" is inserted between "will" and the past participle
Key pattern: Notice that passive voice always uses a form of "to be" (is being, has been, will be) followed by the past participle of the main verb. The form of "to be" changes with the tense, but the pattern remains consistent.
Worked examples
Let's practise converting sentences between active and passive voice. Pay attention to how the structure changes while the meaning and tense stay the same.
Example 1: Changing active to passive
Active sentence: Money provides financial freedom.
Step-by-step conversion:
- Identify the verb: provides
- Divide into parts:
- Subject: Money
- Verb: Provides
- Object: Financial freedom
- Start with the object: Financial freedom...
- Change the verb: is provided (present tense of "to be" + past participle)
Passive sentence: Financial freedom is provided by money.
The focus has shifted from money (the provider) to financial freedom (what is provided).
Example 2: Changing active to passive (continuous tense)
Active sentence: Robert is training someone every week.
Step-by-step conversion:
- Identify the verb: is training
- Divide into parts:
- Subject: Robert
- Verb: Is training
- Object: Someone
- Start with the object: Someone...
- Change the verb: is being trained (present continuous passive form)
Passive sentence: Someone is being trained by Robert every week.
Notice how the present continuous tense is maintained using "is being trained."
Example 3: Changing active to passive (perfect tense)
Active sentence: The 18-year-old had developed an illness causing paralysis.
Step-by-step conversion:
- Identify the verb: had developed
- Divide into parts:
- Subject: The 18-year-old
- Verb: Had developed
- Object: An illness causing paralysis
- Start with the object: An illness causing paralysis...
- Change the verb: had been developed (past perfect passive form)
Passive sentence: An illness causing paralysis had been developed by the 18-year-old.
The past perfect tense is preserved by using "had been" before the past participle.
Example 4: Changing passive to active
You may also need to convert sentences from passive to active voice. The process works in reverse.
Passive sentence: Graça Machel is admired greatly by the people of Mozambique.
Step-by-step conversion:
- Identify the doer after "by": the people of Mozambique
- Make the doer the new subject
- Identify the main action: admired
- Convert to active form: admire
- Place the original subject as the object: Graça Machel
Active sentence: The people of Mozambique greatly admire Graça Machel.
The sentence is now clearer and more direct, with the doers (the people) as the subject.
Exam tips for voice conversion
These strategies will help you succeed when answering questions about active and passive voice in your exams:
Identify all parts first
Always identify the subject, verb, and object before changing voice. This prevents confusion and ensures you understand the sentence structure. Underline or mark each part in the exam if it helps you.
Maintain the tense
Ensure the tense remains the same when converting sentences. If the active sentence is in past tense, your passive sentence must also be in past tense. Check the auxiliary verb carefully – it should match the original tense.
The most common mistake students make is changing the tense accidentally when converting voice. Always double-check that your converted sentence maintains the same time reference as the original.
Understand formality levels
Passive voice often sounds more formal and is commonly used in reports, academic writing, and scientific texts. For example, "The experiment was conducted" sounds more professional than "We conducted the experiment." Recognising this helps you understand why authors choose passive voice.
Know when active is better
In active voice, the subject is clearer and more direct. This makes your writing easier to understand and more engaging. Use active voice in creative writing, personal narratives, and when you want to emphasise who is doing something.
Optional elements in passive voice:
Remember that in passive voice, you can omit the doer entirely. "The goal was scored" is perfectly correct without adding "by the striker." In exams, you may be asked to include or exclude this information.
Key Points to Remember:
- Active voice: The subject performs or does the action (example: "The cat chased the mouse")
- Passive voice: The subject receives the action, shifting focus from the doer to the receiver (example: "The mouse was chased by the cat")
- Conversion requires four steps: Identify the verb, divide the sentence into parts, start with the object, and change the verb to past participle + auxiliary form
- The tense must stay the same when converting between voices – only the structure changes, not the time reference
- Passive voice uses forms of "to be" (is, was, been, being) plus the past participle of the main verb, and you can leave out the doer of the action entirely