Active Passive Voice

Active and passive sentences usually have the same meaning but the focus is different. In active sentences, the thing doing the action is the subject of the sentence and the thing receiving the action is the object. Most sentences are active.

Sarmila  cleaned  the kitchen.

சர்மிலா சமையலறை சுத்தம் செய்தாள்.

In passive sentences, the thing receiving the action is the subject of the sentence. We use a passive verb to say what happens to the subject.

The kitchen was cleaned by Sarmila.

சமையலறை சர்மிலாவினால் சுத்தம் செய்யப்பட்டது.

Passive and Tense

Active- செய்வினை	Passive- செயப்பாட்டுவினை
Present simple	am/are/is + past participle
She does the homework.	The homework is done (by her).
Present continuous	am/are/is + being + past participle
She is doing the homework.	The homework is being done (by her).
Present perfect	have/has + been + past participle
She has done the homework.	The homework has been done (by her).
Past simple	was/were + past participle
He did the homework.	The homework was done (by him).
Past continuous	was/were + being + past participle
He was doing the homework.	The homework was being done (by him).
Past perfect	had + been + past participle
He had done the homework.	The homework had been done (by him).
Future	will + be + past participle
She will do the homework.	The homework will be done (by her).
Future (going to)	am/are/is going to + be + past participle
He is going to do the homework.	The homework is going to be done (by him).
Infinitive	to be + past participle
She wants to do the homework.	She wants the homework to be done (by her).
Modal-Can, may, ought	modal + be + past participle
He can do the homework.	The homework can be done (by him).

Intransitive and stative verbs

Intransitive verbs are verbs that have a subject but don’t have an object. Ex: run, fall, die, sleep, and arrive

Stative verbs are verbs that show a state, quality or description of the subject.

Eg: be, feel, see, have, like, belong, need, love, like, think, believe, want, understand etc....

Intransitive and stative verbs cannot be used in the passive forms.

The  person  who  makes  the  action  is  introduced  by  the  preposition  “by”  in  the  passive  sentence. But in some cases the subject of the passive sentence is omitted, this happens when, who or what causes the action is unknown or unimportant. Look at the examples:

Active	Passive
Ramya bought a book.	A book was bought by Ramya
A thief stole my car.	My car was stolen (by a thief).
I read the message.	The message is read (by me).
Someone has opened the window.	The window has been opened.
They are building a house.	A house is being built.
They are building three houses.	Three houses are being built.

Rewrite the sentences in passive voice. (Present continuous)

1.       Sheila is drinking a cup of tea.

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2.       My father is washing the car.

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3.       Milkmaid is milking the cows.

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4.       She is taking a picture of him.

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5.       I am writing a poem.

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6.       We are not playing football.

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7.       He is not wearing a tie.

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8.       Is she preparing the party?

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9.       Are they talking about the meeting?

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10.   Is she watering the flowers?

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Rewrite the sentences in passive voice. (Present Perfect)

1.       Karalina has paid the bill when she got the bill.

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2.       I have eaten a bun in the canteen.

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3.       We have cycled five miles.

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4.       I have opened the gift.

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5.       They have not read the book.

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6.       You have not sent the parcel. 

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7.       We have not agreed to this proposal.

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8.       Police have not caught the thieves. 

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9.       Has she called him?

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10.   Have they noticed us?

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Rewrite the sentences in passive voice. (Past Perfect)

1.       I had worn blue shoes which were given by uncle.

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2.       Jothi had cleaned the tables after she had the lunch.

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3.       We had lost the key while we were returning from Pasikkuda.

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4.       They had started a fight in the playground.

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5.       I had read an article.

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6.       I had not closed the window.

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7.       They had not bought the paper.

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8.       She had not noticed me before I introduced myself.

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9.       Had she solved the problem?

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10.   Had he recorded that song while I was singing?

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Rewrite the sentences in passive voice.(Past continuous)

1.       We were talking about Farhadhi.

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2.       He was playing the guitar.

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3.       She was watching a film.

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4.       I was repairing their bikes.

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5.       They were not eating dinner.

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6.       We were not painting the gate.

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7.       You were not driving him home.

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8.       He was not feeding the pigeons.

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9.       Was she reading these proverbs?

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10.   Were they carrying bags?

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Rewrite the sentences in passive voice.(Future perfect)

1.       Firnas will have ordered the package.

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2.       You will have spent all the money.

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3.       I will have taken the cow for a medical checkup.

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4.       She will have sold the car.

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5.       The parliamentarian will have solved the problem.

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6.       Radha will not have read the book.

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7.       Police will not have trusted him.

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8.       He won't have rung Bala.

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9.       Will they have paid the bill?

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10.   Will you have washed my socks?

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    Rewrite the following sentences by means of the passive.

1.            Millions Of people have bought today’s Virakesari

Today’s Virakesari has been bought by millions of people            

2.            They will open a new online shop this week.

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3.            Everybody can visit the exhibition from 9 am to 4 pm.

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4.            Hundreds of millions of people use social networks.

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5.            We will finish the work by noon.

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6.            He didn’t pay the bill on time.

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7.            They build that house on sandy soil.

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8.            The government must deal with the problem of unemployment.

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9.            The doctor ordered me to take some rest.

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Rewrite the sentences in the active. When you don’t have a subject use they.

1.       I have been woken up by a strange noise.

A strange noise has woken me up.

2.       Romeo and Juliet was written by Shakespeare.

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3.       A lot of souvenirs are bought by tourists.

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4.       He has been taken away by the police.

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5.       Their house won’t be sold.

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6.       We weren’t told that there was a strike.

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Rephrase the sentences in two ways. Omit unimportant agents.

1.            The teacher asked us a difficult question.

                A difficult question was asked us by the teacher              

We were asked a difficult question by the teacher

2.            He has served us a wonderful meal.

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