Passive Voice

Grammar : Passive Voice

There will be two Passive Voice sentences for the sentences with two nouns.

There are few verbs which take two objects, a Direct object and an Indirect object.

For such sentences, there will be two forms in Passive Voice sentences.

1. Verbs with two objects:

Examples:

• I gave him five rupees. (Active voice)
• Five rupees were given to him by me. (Passive Voice)
• He was given five rupees by me. (Passive Voice)

• She has told me the truth. (Active voice)
• I was told the truth by her. (Passive Voice)
• The truth was told to me by her. (Passive Voice)

• They lent me their car. (Active voice)
• I was lent a car by them. (Passive Voice)
• A car was lent to me by them. (Passive Voice)

• The Government has sent him a message. (Active voice)
• He was sent a message by the government. (Passive Voice)
• A message was sent to him by the government. (Passive Voice)

2. Imperative sentences (Commands and requests)

There is special formula for changing the imperative sentence into passive voice.

• Please open the door. (Active voice)
• Let the door be opened by you. (Passive Voice)

Here the sentence in active-voice has been changed into a sentence in passive-voice.

Please understand the formula which has been followed to change the active-voice to passive-voice.

“Let” is used to convert the active voice sentence into a passive voice sentence.

Examples:

• Do not mistake me. (Active voice)
• Let me not be mistaken. (Passive Voice)

• Cut your nails. (Active voice)
• Let your nails be cut. (Passive Voice)

• Do not ignore my suggestions. (Active voice)
• Let not my suggestions be ignored. (Passive Voice).

These sentences have been changed into passive voice sentences by adding "let".

3. With Modal verbs:

The verbs can, could, may, might, and must are known modal verbs. As per the following methods these sentences with these verbs are changed into passive voice.

Examples:

• You can take the book. (Active voice)
• The book can be taken by you. (Passive Voice).

• Everybody must obey the rules. (Active voice)
• The rules must be obeyed by everybody. (Passive Voice).

• They might have studied their lessons. (Active voice)
• Their lessons might have been studied by them. (Passive Voice).

• He may not accept this plan. (Active voice)
• This lesson may not be accepted by him. (Passive Voice).4. Phrasal verbs:

Few verbs, with certain meanings are always used with prepositions.

In such situations the prepositions should not be omitted in the sentences.

Examples:

• We are looking at the game. (Active voice)
• The game is being looked at by us. (Passive Voice).

• The fire-brigade put out the fire. (Active voice)
• The fire was put out by the fire-brigade. (Passive Voice).

• The Government will set up a factory. (Active voice)
• A factory will be set up by the government. (Passive Voice).

5. With IT:

In few sentences, instead of a word or a phrase, a clause may be the object of a verb.

In such cases there are two ways of changing the sentences into the passive voice.

A. By making the clause itself as the subject in the passive voice.

Examples:

• I hope that he will realize his mistake. (Active voice)
• That his mistake will be realized is hoped by us. (Passive Voice).

• I expected that they would take up the matter. (Active voice)
• That the matter would be taken up by them was expected by me. (Passive Voice).

B. By substituting the clause with pronoun it.

Examples:

• The Romans expected that they would conquer Carthage. (Active voice)
• It was expected by the Romans that Carthage would be conquered by them. (Passive Voice).

• We have learned that you have secured the first rank. (Active voice)
• It has been learned by us that the first rank has been secured by you. (Passive Voice).

Exercises:

• The grandmother was telling her grandchildren an interesting story. (Active voice)
• An interesting story was being told by the grandmother to her grand children. (Passive Voice).
• Her grand children were being told an interesting story by their grandmother. (Passive Voice).

• The postman brought you a parcel. (Active voice)
• A parcel was brought to you by a postman. (Passive Voice).
• You were brought a parcel by the postman. (Passive Voice).

• I have taught the class the first lesson. (Active voice)
• The first lesson was taught by me to the class. (Passive Voice).
• The class was taught the first lesson by me. (Passive Voice).

• The office has sent her a message. (Active voice)
• A message has been sent to her by the office. (Passive Voice).
• She has been sent a message by her office. (Passive Voice).

• The waiter brought us the menu card. (Active voice)
• The menu card was brought to us by the waiter. (Passive Voice).
• We were brought the menu card by the waiter. (Passive Voice).

• They are offering you another chance. (Active voice)
• You are being offered another chance by them. (Passive Voice).
• Another chance is being offered to you by them. (Passive Voice).

• He had told me a lie. (Active voice)
• I had been told a lie by him. (Passive Voice).
• A lie had been told to me by him. (Passive Voice).

• I gave her your message. (Active voice)
• She was given your message by me. (Passive Voice).
• Your message was given to her by me. (Passive Voice).

• Who taught you Sanskrit? (Active voice)
• Sanskrit was taught to you by whom? (Passive Voice).
• You were taught Sanskrit by whom? (Passive Voice).

• Sign these documents. (Active voice)
• Let these documents be signed. (Passive Voice).

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Home Search THIS Site Online Tutoring Main Index A Word A Day ESL Jobs Find Your Teacher Nursery Rhymes Beauties of English What is NEW? Grammar - 1 Grammar - 2 Intermediate Level Advanced English f.a.q Tips Plain English Vocabulary Etymology Synonyms Antonyms TOEFL GRE GMAT Your English Teacher Business Letters Difficult Words Social Letters Short Stories English Poems English Songs Famous Quotations Business Dictionary Grammar Tests Exam Tips English to Enjoy Life Practising English SMS English Essays Today in History About Us Contact Us English Teacher Taboos [?]Subscribe To This Site	Grammar : Passive Voice There will be two Passive Voice sentences for the sentences with two nouns. There are few verbs which take two objects, a Direct object and an Indirect object. For such sentences, there will be two forms in Passive Voice sentences. 1. Verbs with two objects: Examples: • I gave him five rupees. (Active voice) • Five rupees were given to him by me. (Passive Voice) • He was given five rupees by me. (Passive Voice) • She has told me the truth. (Active voice) • I was told the truth by her. (Passive Voice) • The truth was told to me by her. (Passive Voice) • They lent me their car. (Active voice) • I was lent a car by them. (Passive Voice) • A car was lent to me by them. (Passive Voice) • The Government has sent him a message. (Active voice) • He was sent a message by the government. (Passive Voice) • A message was sent to him by the government. (Passive Voice) 2. Imperative sentences (Commands and requests) There is special formula for changing the imperative sentence into passive voice. • Please open the door. (Active voice) • Let the door be opened by you. (Passive Voice) Here the sentence in active-voice has been changed into a sentence in passive-voice. Please understand the formula which has been followed to change the active-voice to passive-voice. “Let” is used to convert the active voice sentence into a passive voice sentence. Examples: • Do not mistake me. (Active voice) • Let me not be mistaken. (Passive Voice) • Cut your nails. (Active voice) • Let your nails be cut. (Passive Voice) • Do not ignore my suggestions. (Active voice) • Let not my suggestions be ignored. (Passive Voice). These sentences have been changed into passive voice sentences by adding "let". 3. With Modal verbs: The verbs can, could, may, might, and must are known modal verbs. As per the following methods these sentences with these verbs are changed into passive voice. Examples: • You can take the book. (Active voice) • The book can be taken by you. (Passive Voice). • Everybody must obey the rules. (Active voice) • The rules must be obeyed by everybody. (Passive Voice). • They might have studied their lessons. (Active voice) • Their lessons might have been studied by them. (Passive Voice). • He may not accept this plan. (Active voice) • This lesson may not be accepted by him. (Passive Voice).4. Phrasal verbs: Few verbs, with certain meanings are always used with prepositions. In such situations the prepositions should not be omitted in the sentences. Examples: • We are looking at the game. (Active voice) • The game is being looked at by us. (Passive Voice). • The fire-brigade put out the fire. (Active voice) • The fire was put out by the fire-brigade. (Passive Voice). • The Government will set up a factory. (Active voice) • A factory will be set up by the government. (Passive Voice). 5. With IT: In few sentences, instead of a word or a phrase, a clause may be the object of a verb. In such cases there are two ways of changing the sentences into the passive voice. A. By making the clause itself as the subject in the passive voice. Examples: • I hope that he will realize his mistake. (Active voice) • That his mistake will be realized is hoped by us. (Passive Voice). • I expected that they would take up the matter. (Active voice) • That the matter would be taken up by them was expected by me. (Passive Voice). B. By substituting the clause with pronoun it. Examples: • The Romans expected that they would conquer Carthage. (Active voice) • It was expected by the Romans that Carthage would be conquered by them. (Passive Voice). • We have learned that you have secured the first rank. (Active voice) • It has been learned by us that the first rank has been secured by you. (Passive Voice). Exercises: • The grandmother was telling her grandchildren an interesting story. (Active voice) • An interesting story was being told by the grandmother to her grand children. (Passive Voice). • Her grand children were being told an interesting story by their grandmother. (Passive Voice). • The postman brought you a parcel. (Active voice) • A parcel was brought to you by a postman. (Passive Voice). • You were brought a parcel by the postman. (Passive Voice). • I have taught the class the first lesson. (Active voice) • The first lesson was taught by me to the class. (Passive Voice). • The class was taught the first lesson by me. (Passive Voice). • The office has sent her a message. (Active voice) • A message has been sent to her by the office. (Passive Voice). • She has been sent a message by her office. (Passive Voice). • The waiter brought us the menu card. (Active voice) • The menu card was brought to us by the waiter. (Passive Voice). • We were brought the menu card by the waiter. (Passive Voice). • They are offering you another chance. (Active voice) • You are being offered another chance by them. (Passive Voice). • Another chance is being offered to you by them. (Passive Voice). • He had told me a lie. (Active voice) • I had been told a lie by him. (Passive Voice). • A lie had been told to me by him. (Passive Voice). • I gave her your message. (Active voice) • She was given your message by me. (Passive Voice). • Your message was given to her by me. (Passive Voice). • Who taught you Sanskrit? (Active voice) • Sanskrit was taught to you by whom? (Passive Voice). • You were taught Sanskrit by whom? (Passive Voice). • Sign these documents. (Active voice) • Let these documents be signed. (Passive Voice). Go to the section on Degrees of Comparison to continue Letter of Invitation\| Letter of Condolence\| Business Letters Synonyms and Antonyms Vocabulary\| English Teacher\| Etymology\| Longest Word \| Letter Writing Proverbs\| Misspelled Words\| Contractions Go to the Grammar Index Page From Passive Voice to HOME PAGE SBI!