VOICE
Introduction
Voice is the quality of a verb that indicates whether its subject acts or is acted upon.
Active Voice
In a sentence, when the subject is active, it is said to be in the Active Voice.
The subject is the 'doer' of the action.
Sentence pattern: S + V + O
Examples:
• Rahul writes a novel.
• Nirmala presents Vimala a camera.
Passive Voice
A sentence is said to be in Passive Voice when the subject is passive.
The subject is the 'receiver' of the action.
Sentence pattern: O + V + S
Examples:
• A novel is written by Rahul.
• Vimala is presented with a camera by Nirmala.
• A camera is presented to Vimala by Nirmala.
Direct Object
The receiver of the action expressed by the verb
Answers the questions what? or whom?
• Nirmala presents Vimala a camera
Here, ‘camera’ answers the question - what is being presented?
Indirect Object
The receiver of the direct object
Tells, to whom/what or for whom/what the action is performed
• Nirmala presents Vimala a camera
Here, ‘Vimala’ answers the question – to whom is the camera presented?
How we get there
Step 1: Identify the object.
Step 2: Ask a few questions to the verb.
Step 3: What? Whom?
Tense Summary
Simple Present Tense:
• Active: S+V1+O - Manju bakes a cake
• Passive: O+am/is/are+V3+by+S - A cake is baked by Manju
Present Continuous Tense:
• Active: S+am/is/are+V1+ing+O - Raju is making a doll
• Passive: O+am/is/are+being+V3+S - A doll is being made by Raju
Present Perfect Tense:
• Active: S+have/has+V3+O - I have completed my project
• Passive: O+have/has+been+V3+S - My project has been completed by me
Simple Past Tense:
• Active: S+v2+O - She ate an apple
• Passive: O+was/were+V3+S - An apple was eaten by her
Past Continuous Tense:
• Active: S+was/were+V1+ing+O - Sarah was wearing a gown
• Passive: O+was/were+V3+S - A gown was being worn by Sarah
Past Perfect Tense:
• Active: S+had+V3+O - Riya had taken the book
• Passive: O+had been+V3+S - The book had been taken by Riya
Simple Future Tense:
• Active: S+will/shall+V1+O - Pranav will place the jar
• Passive: O+will/shall+be+V3+S - The jar will be placed by Pranav
Future Perfect Tense:
• Active: S+will/shall+have+V3+O - Samvitha will have eaten pasta
• Passive: O+will/shall+have+been+V3+S - Pasta will have been eaten by Samvitha
Future Perfect Continuous Tense:
• Active: S+will/shall+have+been+V1+ing +O - She will have been teaching the class for an
hour.
• Passive: X_Not used in passive_X
Interrogative and Imperative Sentences
Interrogative Sentences:
• Why didn’t you bring the book? → Why was the book not brought by you?
• Can you make coffee with cold water? → Can coffee be made with cold water by you?
• Who broke the glass? → By whom was the glass broken?
Imperative Sentences:
• Bring the witness → Let the witness be brought
• Please keep off the grass → You are requested to keep off the grass
