1. 6 TIPS on ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICES
Grammar Rules and Tips for using Active and Passive Voices
VO: 10 Tips on using adverbs

2. What is Voice?
Voice: The voice of a verb tells whether the subject of the sentence performs or receives the action. i) Birds build nests.
ii) Nests are built by birds.
Types Of Voice:
Active Voice: the subject performs the action expressed by the verb.
Usage: when more clarity and straightforward relation is required between verb and subject
2. Passive Voice: the subject receives the action expressed by the verb. Usage: when the action is the focus, not the subject or when the doer is unknown
VO:

3. Rules of Conversion from Active to Passive Voice
Identify the subject, the verb and the object: S+V+O
Change the object into subject
Put the suitable helping verb or auxiliary verb
Change the verb into past participle of the verb
Add the preposition "by“
Change the subject into object
Example:
Active Voice: Sameer wrote a letter (subject) + (verb) + (object)
Passive Voice: A letter was written by Sameer.
(object) + (auxiliary verb) + (past participle) + (by+subject)
VO:

4. Passive Voice for All Tenses
The rules for using Auxiliary Verb for Passive Voice is different for each tense.
Tenses
Active Voice
Passive Voice
Present Simple
She writes a letter.
A letter is written by her.
Present Progressive
They are eating oranges.
Oranges are being eaten by them.
Present Perfect
Has she completed the work?
Has the work been completed by her?
Past Simple
He did not buy a book.
A book was not bought by him.
Past progressive
She was washing a shirt.
A shirt was being washed by her.
Past Perfect
They had won the match.
The match had been won by them.
Future Simple
She will write a poem.
A poem will be written by her.
Future Perfect
He will have received the letter.
The letter will have been received by him.
VO:
Note: Passive voice cannot be formed for active voice sentences in the Present Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous, Future Continuous or Future Perfect Continuous.

5. Tips on using Voice
VO:

6. Tip #2: Is, Are, Why, How Tip #1: Let
Helping Verbs like am, is, are, was, were, will, have, should, could, will: If the question in the Active Voice begins with a Helping verb the Passive voice must also begin with a suitable helping verb. Active: Are you writing a letter?
Passive: Is a letter being written by you?
Active: Will you write a letter?
Passive: Will a letter be written by you?
What, When, Who, Why, How: If the question begins with ‘Wh’ or How’ form (what, when, how etc) the Passive Voice must begin with the same. Only Who gets replaced by ‘By whom’.
Active: Why did you break the box?
Passive: Why was the box broken by you?
Active: Who broke the window?
Passive: By whom was the window broken?
Let: If the given sentence in the active voice is in the imperative form, to get the passive voice use ‘Let’. 
Formation of Passive Voice = Let + Object + be + Past Participle Examples:
Active: Help me.
Passive: Let me be helped.
Active: Open the door.
Passive: Let the door be opened.
VO:

7. Tip #3 Gerund, Infinitive: Tip #4: Direct & Indirect Object
Direct and Indirect Object: If a sentence contains two objects namely Indirect Object and Direct Object in the Active Voice, two forms of Passive Voice can be formed.
Active: She brought me a cup of coffee. Passive: I was brought a cup of coffee by her. Passive: A cup of coffee was brought to me by her.
Object Complement: When made passive, these objects complements become subject complements; they come after the verb.
Active: They elected him their leader. Passive: He was elected their leader.
Gerund, Infinitive: When used in passive form, gerund and Infinitive are formed differently.
Infinitive: passive is formed as ‘to be + past participle’
Active: I want to shoot the tiger. Passive: I want the tiger to be shot.
Gerund: passive is formed as ‘being + past participle’
Active: I remember my father taking me to the theatre. Passive: I remember being taken to the theatre by my father.
VO:

8. Tip #6: Cases where no passive form exists
Tip #5: Cases where ‘by’ is not used
Tip #6: Cases where no passive form exists
Present perfect Continuous:
She has been writing a letter.
Past perfect Continuous: He had been cleaning the house.
Future Continuous: I will be filing all the documents tomorrow. Future Perfect Continuous:
I will have been serving tea for customers at this hotel for twenty years by then.
Intransitive verb which do not take objects:
I eat.
I am living here.
I have travelled by train.
I went there.
I waited for a long time.
With: use with in place of ‘ by’ to talk about an instrument used by the agent/subject.
Active: Somebody hit the dog with a stick.
Passive: The dog was hit by with a stick.
Passive: The dog was hit by a boy.
Impersonal Passive: In scientific / technical / business writing, the emphasis is usually on the action or process. So the ‘by’ phrase is generally omitted.
Active: One finds mosquitoes everywhere. Passive: Mosquitoes are found everywhere.
VO:

9. Spot the Errors
VO: Each of the following sentences will contain a mistake in the Passive Voice form of the sentence. See if you can spot that mistake.

10. Spot the Error Active: They sell books.
Passive: Books are being sold by them.
Active: You are disturbing me.
Passive: I have been disturbed by you.
Active: She has written two books.
Passive: Two books are written by her.
Active: Did he buy a car?
Passive: Had a car bought by him?
Active: Boys were singing songs.
Passive: Songs were sung by boys.
VO: Can you spot the errors in these 5 sentences? Please pause the video here to see if you can spot all 5 errors.

11. Spot the Error Active: They sell books.
Passive: Books are sold by them.
Active: You are disturbing me.
Passive: I am being disturbed by you.
Active: She has written two books.
Passive: Two books have been written by her.
Active: Did he buy a car?
Passive: Was a car bought by him?
Active: Boys were singing songs.
Passive: Songs were being sung by boys.
VO: The sentence in passive voice : Books are being sold by them-- Is not correct because we see in active voice the sentence is in simple present tense so the passive voice for same will be formed with ‘be verbs’ like is, are and am. So ‘being’ should be removed and the correct answer is Books are sold by them.
The passive voice I have been disturbed by you –is wrong because the sentence in active voice is in present progressive tense. So form for passive voice is ‘am being’ and the correct answer would be I am being disturbed by you.
Two books are written by her– the passive voice form is wrong here because the active voice is present perfect tense, so as per the conversion rule passive voice will be formed with have/has been. So the correct answer is Two books have been written by her.
The sentence Had a car bought by him? Is wrong because interrogative sentence in active voice ‘Did he buy a car?’ is in simple past tense. So as per the conversion rules, the auxiliary verbs was/were should be used. So the correct answer is Was a car bought by him?
The passive form Songs were sung by boys as the active form of Boys were singing songs is incorrect because the active voice is in past progressive tense. So the correct passive voice is Songs were being sung by boys.

12. Spot the Error Active: He had collected stamps.
Passive: Stamps were being collected by him.
Active: They will arrange the party.
Passive: The party can be arranged by them.
Active: She cleaned the table with a feather duster.
Passive: The table was cleaned by a feather duster.
Active: Sing a song.
Passive: Let a song be sing.
Active: Where can you hide this box?
Passive: How can this box be hidden by you?
VO: Can you spot the errors in these 5 sentences? Please pause the video here to see if you can spot all 5 errors.

13. Spot the Error Active: He had collected stamps.
Passive: Stamps had been collected by him.
Active: They will arrange the party.
Passive: The party will be arranged by them.
Active: She cleaned the table with a feather duster.
Passive: The table was cleaned with a feather duster by her.
Active: Sing a song.
Passive: Let a song be sung.
Active: Where can you hide this box?
Passive: Where can this box be hidden by you?
VO: Stamps were being collected by him– is wrong because it in past progressive tense but the active voice for this sentence, that is, He had collected stamps– is past perfect tense. So as per the conversion rules ‘had been’ should be in passive form. So the correct answer is Stamps had been collected by him.
The passive voice sentence The party can be arranged by them is wrong because as per the rules of conversion for simple future tense, the passive voice is formed with ‘will be’. Plus, ‘can be’ changes the meaning of the sentence. So the correct answer is The party will be arranged by them.
The sentence The table was cleaned by a feather duster– is incorrect because here ‘feather duster’ is used by the subject as an ‘instrument’ so instead ‘by’ in passive form, ‘with’ will be used. So the correct answer is The table was cleaned with a feather duster by her.
The sentence Let a song be sing-- is incorrect because the sentence in active voice is in Imperative form, so the passive voice is formed as Let + Object + be + Past Participle. So it will be sung in place of sing and the correct answer is Let a song be sung.
The interrogative passive voice form of sentence How can this box be hidden by you?—is incorrect because as per conversion rules if the active voice form of the question begins with ‘Wh or How’ form (what, when, how ...) the Passive Voice must begin with the same. So the correct answer is Where can this box be hidden by you?

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