Active and Passive Voice Example | Rules | Exercises

The effective use of active and passive voice is a fundamental aspect of writing that can significantly enhance the clarity, impact, and style of your sentences. In this article, we will explore the easy steps of active and passive voice examples, their present, past, and future tense structures, and provide examples to help you grasp their application.

In active voice, the subject acts as the verb, whereas in passive voice, the subject undergoes the action of the verb. For instance, in the sentence “The feline pursued the rodent,” the subject is “feline,” and the verb is “pursued.” This sentence is in active voice since the “feline” is performing the action of pursuing. Conversely, in the sentence “The rodent was pursued by the feline,” the subject is “rodent,” and the verb is “was pursued.” This sentence is in passive voice since the “rodent” is receiving the action of being pursued.

In active voice, the subject performs the action indicated by the verb, while passive voice places emphasis on the recipient of the action.

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Active and Passive Voice in

Present, Past and Future Tenses

The passive voice is not commonly employed with certain tenses, namely the Present Perfect Continuous, Future Continuous, Future Perfect Continuous, and Past Perfect Continuous. These tenses usually emphasize ongoing or continuous actions, making the active voice a more suitable choice to convey the intended meaning. However, it is crucial to note that the passive voice can still be used in specific contexts, but it is less frequent in these particular tense forms.

The Present Tense in Active and Passive Voice Examples

The process of converting an active sentence to a passive sentence in the Present Tense follows these steps:

• Identify the subject, verb, and object in the active sentence.
• Move the object of the active sentence to the beginning of the passive sentence.
• Use the appropriate form of the verb “to be” (is, am, are, was, were, has been, have been) followed by the past participle of the main verb.
• If necessary, add the preposition “by” followed by the subject (optional) to indicate who performed the action.
• Adjust the tense of the verb as needed.

Simple Present Tense

Let’s explore the three main tenses of the present and provide sentence structures for each, along with examples.

Active Voice

Subject + base form of the verb + object

Example Sentences

1. John eats an apple every morning.
2. The cat chases the mouse.
3. They play football on weekends.
4. She sings beautifully.
5. The sun rises in the east.

Passive Voice

Object + is/are + past participle of the verb + by + subject (optional)

Example Sentences

1. An apple is eaten by John every morning.
2. The mouse is chased by the cat.
3. Football is played by them on weekends.
4. Beautiful songs are sung by her.
5. The east is where the sun rises.

Present Continuous Tense

In present continuous tense, actions that are happening at the moment of speaking or ongoing actions in the present are expressed.

Active Voice

Subject + is/are + present participle of the verb + object

Example Sentences

1. They are watching a movie right now.
2. She is writing an email at the moment.
3. We are studying for the exam.
4. The children are playing in the park.
5. He is cooking dinner for us.

Passive Voice

Object + is/are + being + past participle of the verb + by + subject (optional)

Example Sentences

1. A movie is being watched by them right now.
2. An email is being written by her at the moment.
3. The exam is being studied for by us.
4. The park is where the children are playing.
5. Dinner is being cooked for us by him.

Present Perfect Tense

In present perfect tense, actions that happened in the past but have an impact on the present or are still relevant are expressed.

Active Voice

Subject + has/have + past participle of the verb + object

Example Sentences

1. She has finished her work.
2. They have visited that museum before.
3. He has read the book twice.
4. The company has achieved its sales target.
5. We have lived in this city for five years.

Passive Voice

Object + has/have + been + past participle of the verb + by + subject (optional)

Example Sentences

1. Her work has been finished by her.
2. That museum has been visited by them before.
3. The book has been read twice by him.
4. The sales target has been achieved by the company.
5. This city has been lived in by us for five years.

The Past Tense in Active and Passive Voice Examples

The process of converting an active sentence to a passive sentence in the Past Tense follows these steps:

• Identify the subject, verb, and object in the active sentence.
• Move the object of the active sentence to the beginning of the passive sentence.
• Use the appropriate form of the verb “to be” (was, were, had been) followed by the past participle of the main verb.
• If necessary, add the preposition “by” followed by the subject (optional) to indicate who performed the action.
• Adjust the tense of the verb as needed.

Simple Past Tense

Active Voice

Subject + past tense of the verb + object

Example Sentences

1. She cooked dinner last night.
2. They visited their grandparents yesterday.
3. He played the piano at the concert.
4. The cat chased the mouse in the garden.
5. We finished the project on time.

Passive Voice

Object + was/were + past participle of the verb + by + subject (optional)

Example Sentences

1. Dinner was cooked by her last night.
2. Their grandparents were visited by them yesterday.
3. The piano was played at the concert.
4. The mouse was chased by the cat in the garden.
5. The project was finished on time by us.

Past Continuous Tense

In past continuous tense, ongoing or continuous actions that were happening in the past are expressed.

Active Voice

Subject + was/were + present participle of the verb + object

Example Sentences

1. They were watching a movie when I called.
2. She was studying all evening.
3. We were playing soccer at the park.
4. He was cooking dinner for us.
5. The dog was barking loudly.

Passive Voice

Object + was/were + being + past participle of the verb + by + subject (optional)

Example Sentences

1. A movie was being watched by them when I called.
2. All evening was being spent studying by her.
3. Soccer was being played at the park by us.
4. Dinner was being cooked for us by him.
5. Loud barking was being done by the dog.

Past Perfect Tense

In past perfect tense, actions that happened before another action or a specific time in the past are expressed.

Active Voice

Subject + had + past participle of the verb + object

Example Sentences

1. She had already finished her work before the meeting.
2. They had visited that museum many times.
3. He had read the book twice before the movie came out.
4. The team had won the championship last year.
5. We had never seen such a beautiful sunset before.

Passive Voice

Object + had + been + past participle of the verb + by + subject (optional)

Example Sentences

1. Her work had already been finished by her before the meeting.
2. That museum had been visited many times by them.
3. The book had been read twice by him before the movie came out.
4. The championship had been won last year by the team.
5. Such a beautiful sunset had never been seen by us before.

The Future Tense in Active and Passive Voice Examples

The process of converting an active to a passive sentence in the Future Tense follows these steps:

1. Identify the subject, verb, and object in the active sentence.
2. Move the object of the active sentence to the beginning of the passive sentence.
3. Use the auxiliary verb “will” followed by the appropriate form of the verb “to be” (be, be being, have been) and the past participle of the main verb.
4. If necessary, add the preposition “by” followed by the subject (optional) to indicate who will perform the action.
5. Adjust the tense of the verb as needed.

Let’s explore the three main tenses of the future and provide sentence structures for each, along with some examples.

Simple Future Tense

In simple future tense, actions that will happen in the future are expressed.

Active Voice

Subject + will + base form of the verb + object

Example Sentences

1. They will visit their grandparents next weekend.
2. She will complete her assignment tomorrow.
3. We will have a party on Friday.
4. He will write a novel one day.
5. The team will win the championship.

Passive Voice

Object + will + be + past participle of the verb + by + subject (optional)

Example Sentences

1. Their grandparents will be visited by them next weekend.
2. The assignment will be completed by her tomorrow.
3. A party will be had by us on Friday.
4. A novel will be written by him one day.
5. The championship will be won by the team.

Future Continuous Tense

In future continuous tense, ongoing actions that will happen in the future are expressed.

Active Voice

Subject + will + be + present participle of the verb + object

Example Sentences

1. They will be studying all night.
2. She will be working on the project tomorrow.
3. We will be traveling to Paris next month.
4. He will be cooking dinner for us.
5. The band will be performing at the concert.

Passive Voice

Object + will + be + being + past participle of the verb + by + subject (optional)

Example Sentences

1. All night will be spent studying by them.
2. The project will be worked on by her tomorrow.
3. Paris will be traveled to by us next month.
4. Dinner will be cooked for us by him.
5. The concert will be attended by the band.

Future Perfect Tense

In future perfect tense, actions that will be completed before a specified future time are expressed.

Active Voice

Subject + will + have + past participle of the verb + object

Example Sentences

1. She will have finished her work by 5 p.m.
2. They will have completed the project before the deadline.
3. He will have read the book by next week.
4. The company will have achieved its sales target by the end of the year.
5. We will have moved into our new house by August.

Passive Voice

Object + will + have + been + past participle of the verb + by + subject (optional)

Example Sentences

1. Her work will have been finished by her by 5 p.m.
2. The project will have been completed by them before the deadline.
3. The book will have been read by him by next week.
4. The sales target will have been achieved by the company by the end of the year.
5. Our new house will have been moved into by us by August.

Active and passive voice examples: two sides of the same coin.

References Active and Passive Voice Examples:

Here are some resources that provide detailed explanations, rules, examples, exercises, and further information on active and passive voice:

Some Important Website Links about Active and Passive Voice Examples:

1. Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) – Active and Passive Voice Examples: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/active_and_passive_voice_examples/index.html
2. Grammarly Blog – Active and Passive Voice: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/active-vs-passive-voice/
3. ThoughtCo – Active and Passive Voice: https://www.thoughtco.com/active-and-passive-voice-1691789