Passive Voice: Meaning, Structure, Rules, Examples, Common Mistakes
International English Language Testing System ( IELTS )
"The Iron Man suit was made by Tony Stark, and it saved world from alien attack." This is from movie The Avengers. In this sentence, focus is on Iron Man suit, not Tony Stark, who made the suit. This is good example of Passive Voice, because focus is on action or thing getting action, not who did it.
Today, we will learn second topic of B1 Grammar for IELTS: Passive Voice. In my last article, I talked about Reported Speech; types, usage, and more. If you not read it yet, you can check it! These lessons help you improve IELTS score.
What is Passive Voice?
Passive Voice is when subject in sentence is acted on by action or verb. Subject now not do action, it receive action. It is passive.
Oxford Learner’s Dictionary says Passive Voice is “form of verb used when subject is affected by action of verb.” Collins Dictionary says Passive Voice is “made using ‘be’ + past participle. Subject in passive sentence does not do action but is affected by it.”
- Object + is/am/are/was/were (Depends on Tense Form) + past participle (V3) + (by) Subject (optional).
| Active Voice Example |
Passive Voice Examples |
|---|---|
| Ram writes a book |
A book is written by Ram. |
| A thief steals a bike |
A bike is stolen by a thief. |
Active and Passive Voice Rules
Now, here’s a catch! The passive voice structure is not the same for every form of tense; it changes according to the tense form. Below, we have provided a table to help you understand the tense-wise transformation from Active Voice to Passive Voice.
| Tense |
Active Voice Structure with Example |
Passive Voice Structure With Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject + V1(s/es) + Object She writes a letter. |
Object + is/am/are + V3 + by Subject A letter is written by her. |
|
| Subject + is/am/are + V1-ing + Object They are watching a movie. |
Object + is/am/are + being + V3 + by Subject A movie is being watched by them. |
|
| Subject + V2 + Object He made a cake. |
Object + was/were + V3 + by Subject A cake was made by him. |
|
| Past Continuous Tense |
Subject + was/were + V1-ing + Object She was reading a novel. |
Object + was/were + being + V3 + by Subject A novel was being read by her. |
| Subject + has/have + V3 + Object They have completed the project. |
Object + has/have + been + V3 + by Subject The project has been completed by them. |
|
| Subject + had + V3 + Object He had repaired the car. |
Object + had + been + V3 + by Subject The car had been repaired by him. |
|
| Future Simple |
Subject + will + V1 + Object She will invite me. |
Object + will + be + V3 + by Subject I will be invited by her. |
| Future Perfect |
Subject + will have + V3 + Object They will have finished the work. |
Object + will have been + V3 + by Subject The work will have been finished by them. |
| Modals (Can, Should, Must, etc.) |
Subject + Modal + V1 + Object She can solve the problem. |
Object + Modal + be + V3 + by Subject The problem can be solved by her. |
Use of Verbs in Passive Voice
You maybe notice that when you change sentence from Active Voice to Passive Voice, the object of transitive verb in active sentence become subject in Passive Voice. Verbs are very important in Passive Voice.
Role of Transitive Verbs in Passive Voice
To understand role of transitive verbs in Passive Voice, you need know difference between transitive and intransitive verbs.
A Transitive Verb is verb that shows action pass from doer or subject to object or receiver. Example: The singers were singing.
Here, "singing" is transitive verb because action happens on object (the song).
An Intransitive Verb is verb that action not pass to object, or show state. Example: He laughed loudly.
Here, "laughed" is intransitive verb because no object get action.
Modal Verbs in Passive Voice
You can use modal verbs when change active voice to passive voice. Rule: main verb change to past participle, and auxiliary be added.
Common Mistakes to Avoid While Using Passive Voice
Overuse of Passive Voice
Using too much Passive Voice can make your paragraph or answer in IELTS boring. You also may lose marks because it shows you have small vocabulary. It become hard when you need write about a “subject”.
Ignoring the Subject (Doer) of the Sentence
Another mistake is ignoring the “Subject” who did the action in passive sentence when it is needed for clarity. Passive voice focus on action or object, but sometimes we need the doer to avoid confusion and make meaning clear.
By now you must have understood Passive Voice with examples. Make sure you do exercises to improve grammar. Practice is very important.
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