NCERT Class 6 English Grammar Active Passive Voice
NCERT Class 6 English Grammar Active Passive Voice: The Active Voice and the Passive Voice are the two voices of a transitive verb. Voices indicate whether the verb’s subject is acting or being acted upon. These two statements have the same meaning. Simply said, there are two ways to communicate the same thing. But occasionally, the verb’s subject actually does the acting; otherwise, the verb’s subject is acted upon. As a result, the voice reveals whether the verb’s subject acts or is acted upon.
1.) Active Voice
2.) Passive Voice
Active Voice
The verb is considered to be in the Active Voice when the subject acts or is the one who performs the action.
The active voice has a concise and clear tone.
When you want the reader’s focus to be on the sentence’s subject and the action it is carrying out rather than the action’s target, use this structure.
Basic Structure of Active voice-
Subject + Verb + Object
Example- Shahin sings a song
Meera wrote a book.
Sainath painted the wall of the house.
Passive Voice-
A verb is considered to be in the passive voice when the subject is the acted upon or the recipient of the action.
Compared to the active voice, the passive voice has a more quiet tone. This tone is often necessary in writing, for example, when you want the reader to focus on the activity being described or its intended audience rather than the person or thing doing the action.
Basic Structure of Passive Voice-
Object + Verb + Subject
Example- A song is sung by Shahin.
A book was written by Radha.
The wall of the house was painted by Sainath.
Steps to follow during changing of a sentence from active voice to passive voice-
- The Subject in the Active Voice replaces the Object in the Passive Voice.
- Object in the Active Voice replaces the Subject in the Passive Voice.
- In the passive voice, the preposition “by” is placed before the object.
- According to the tense of the main verb in the Passive Voice and the number (singular/plural) of the new Subject, the verb third form is employed with the appropriate form of the verb “to be” (ie is, am, are, was, were, be, been, being ) before it.
PRESENT |
PAST | FUTURE |
is, am, are | was, were |
will be, shall be |
is/am/are being |
was/were being | – |
has been/have been | had been |
shall/will have been |
Noun and pronoun used in active and passive voice:
Active Voice Pronoun |
Passive Voice Pronoun |
I |
ME |
WE |
US |
HE |
HIM |
SHE |
HER |
THEY |
THEM |
YOU |
YOU |
IT |
IT |
Tenses-
Simple present tense.
Active Voice- Radha writes a book.
Passive voice- A book is written by Radha.
Present Continuous tense –
Active voice- Radha is writing a book.
Passive voice- A book is being written by Radha.
Simple Past Tense-
Active voice-Radha Wrote a book.
Passive voice- A book was written by Radha.
Past Continuous tense-
Active voice- Radha was writing a book.
Passive voice- A book was being written by Radha.
Past Perfect Tense-
Active voice- Radha had written a book.
Passive voice- A book had been written by Radha.
Simple Future tense-
Active voice- Radha will write a book.
Passive voice- A book will be written by Radha.
Future Perfect-
Active voice- Radha will have written a book.
Passive voice- A book will have been written by Radha.
Important to note-
1.) Passive voice does not exist in the Future Continuous
2.) There is no passive voice in any of the Perfect Continuous.
So , there are no passive voice formation for these tenses:
- Present Perfect Continuous Tense
- Past Perfect Continuous Tense
- Future Perfect Continuous Tense
- Future Continuous Tense
Case 1
When the sentences have verb + preposition in Active Voice, remember to retain the preposition with the verb.
A: The foster parents looked after the pup.
P: The pup was looked after by the foster parents.
Case 2
In interrogative sentences, the interrogative form of the sentence i.e. using a helping verb before the subject in the passive voice is always unchanged.
Example- Active Voice- Is she taking water?
Passive Voice: Is water being taken by her?
Active – Do you eat fruits?
Passive-: Are fruits eaten by you?
Case 3– Imperative Sentences
Active Voice: Help the needy one.
Passive Voice: Let the needy one be helped. / The needy one should be helped.
Also See: English Grammar and Writing for Students