Active & Passive Voice

Active & Passive Voice

Concept

Voice in English grammar tells us whether the subject performs the action (Active) or receives it (Passive). In the active voice, the subject is the agent — “The manager approved the report.” In the passive voice, the subject is the patient — “The report was approved by the manager.”

To convert active to passive: move the object to subject position, move the subject to the end preceded by “by,” and change the verb to a form of “be” + past participle. The tense of “be” matches the original verb’s tense, and the past participle stays the same.

Passive voice is the standard in formal, official, and administrative English — government communications, scientific writing, and news reports frequently use it. SSC tests voice because clerical and administrative roles require strong command of both forms.

Key Points

• Tense conversion chart:
  • Present Simple: “writes” → “is written”
  • Past Simple: “wrote” → “was written”
  • Present Continuous: “is writing” → “is being written”
  • Present Perfect: “has written” → “has been written”
  • Past Perfect: “had written” → “had been written”
  • Future Simple: “will write” → “will be written”
• Imperative sentences: “Close the door” → “Let the door be closed” or “You are requested to close the door”
• Modal verbs: “can write” → “can be written”; “must submit” → “must be submitted”
• Omit “by agent” when the agent is unknown, obvious, or unimportant — “The report was submitted yesterday” (no by-agent needed)

Worked Example

Q: Change to Passive: “The committee has submitted the report.” Approach: Identify tense = Present Perfect. Object = “the report.” Move object to subject, add “by the committee,” change verb to “has been submitted.” Answer: “The report has been submitted by the committee.”

SSC Pattern / Tips

• 2–3 questions per paper — mix of active-to-passive and passive-to-active
• Sentences with two objects: either object can become the new subject. Prefer indirect object as subject — “She gave me a book” → “I was given a book by her” (more natural than “A book was given to me by her”)
• Modal passive: keep modal before “be” and use V3 after — “should be done,” “must be submitted,” “could have been finished”
• Eliminate options where the tense of “be” doesn’t match the original verb’s tense