ICBT Anuradhapura Campus

Higher Diploma in English Leading to BA Degree in English

Cardiff Metropolitan University UK

 

Lecturer: Dr. D.N. Aloysius (BA/PGDE/MA/M.Phil/Ph.D) Senior Lecturer in English (Former Head/English and Senior Lecturer in English (Retired) Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Examiner MA in Linguistics Program University of Kelaniya

Active and Passive Voice

A Comprehensive Lesson for ICBT Higher Diploma Students

1. Introduction

Active and Passive Voice are important grammatical structures in English. They help speakers and writers present information in different ways depending on what they want to emphasize.

Understanding Active and Passive Voice is essential for academic writing, business communication, technical reports, research papers, and professional correspondence.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

·         Define Active and Passive Voice.

·         Identify Active and Passive sentences.

·         Convert Active sentences into Passive sentences.

·         Convert Passive sentences into Active sentences.

·         Use Passive Voice appropriately in academic and professional writing.

·         Avoid common mistakes related to voice.

2. What is Voice?

Voice refers to the relationship between the subject and the action expressed by the verb.

There are two voices in English:

1.      Active Voice

2.      Passive Voice

3. Active Voice

A sentence is in the Active Voice when the subject performs the action.

 

Structure

Subject + Verb + Object

Examples

Subject	Verb	Object
John	writes	a report
The manager	approved	the proposal
Students	completed	the assignment

Sentences

·         John writes a report.

·         The manager approved the proposal.

·         Students completed the assignment.

·         The company launched a new product.

·         The teacher explained the lesson.

In all these examples, the subject performs the action.

4. Passive Voice

A sentence is in the Passive Voice when the subject receives the action.

Structure

Object + Be Verb + Past Participle + (by + Subject)

Examples

Active Voice	Passive Voice
John writes a report.	A report is written by John.
The manager approved the proposal.	The proposal was approved by the manager.
Students completed the assignment.	The assignment was completed by the students.

 

 

Observation

In Passive Voice:

·         The object becomes the subject.

·         The verb changes form.

·         The doer of the action may be mentioned or omitted.

5. Why Do We Use Passive Voice?

Passive Voice is used when:

1. The doer is unknown

·         Someone stole my laptop. (Active)

·         My laptop was stolen. (Passive)

The thief is unknown.

2. The doer is unimportant

·         The road was repaired last week.

Who repaired it is not important.

3. The action is more important than the doer

·         A new vaccine was developed.

The focus is on the vaccine.

4. Formal and Academic Writing

·         Data were collected from 500 participants.

·         The experiment was conducted under controlled conditions.

6. Steps to Change Active Voice into Passive Voice

Step 1

Identify the Subject, Verb, and Object.

Example:

The engineer designed the bridge.

Subject = The engineer

Verb = designed

Object = the bridge

Step 2

Move the object to the beginning.

The bridge

Step 3

Choose the correct form of "be".

Since the active sentence is in the past tense:

was

Step 4

Use the past participle form of the verb.

designed → designed

Step 5

Add "by + subject".

The bridge was designed by the engineer.

7. Active and Passive Voice in Different Tenses

A. Simple Present Tense

Structure

Active:
Subject + V1/Vs/es + Object

Passive:
Object + am/is/are + V3

Examples

·         The teacher teaches English.

·         English is taught by the teacher.

·         The company manufactures computers.

·         Computers are manufactured by the company.

B. Present Continuous Tense

Structure

Active:
Subject + am/is/are + V-ing + Object

Passive:
Object + am/is/are + being + V3

Examples

·         The staff are preparing reports.

·         Reports are being prepared by the staff.

·         The team is developing software.

·         Software is being developed by the team.

C. Present Perfect Tense

Structure

Active:
Subject + has/have + V3 + Object

Passive:
Object + has/have been + V3

Examples

·         The company has launched a product.

·         A product has been launched by the company.

·         Researchers have collected data.

·         Data have been collected by researchers.

D. Simple Past Tense

Structure

Active:
Subject + V2 + Object

Passive:
Object + was/were + V3

Examples

·         The lecturer delivered the speech.

·         The speech was delivered by the lecturer.

·         The workers completed the project.

·         The project was completed by the workers.

E. Past Continuous Tense

Structure

Active:
Subject + was/were + V-ing + Object

Passive:
Object + was/were + being + V3

Examples

·         The team was testing the application.

·         The application was being tested by the team.

F. Past Perfect Tense

Structure

Active:
Subject + had + V3 + Object

Passive:
Object + had been + V3

Example

·         The company had finished the work.

·         The work had been finished by the company.

G. Simple Future Tense

Structure

Active:
Subject + will + V1 + Object

Passive:
Object + will be + V3

Examples

·         The organization will announce the results.

·         The results will be announced by the organization.

H. Future Perfect Tense

Structure

Active:
Subject + will have + V3 + Object

Passive:
Object + will have been + V3

Example

·         The team will have completed the project.

·         The project will have been completed by the team.

8. Passive Voice with Modal Verbs

Structure

Active:
Subject + Modal + Verb + Object

Passive:
Object + Modal + be + V3

Examples

Active	Passive
You can solve the problem.	The problem can be solved.
We must follow the rules.	The rules must be followed.
They should complete the report.	The report should be completed.
You may use this software.	This software may be used.

9. Passive Voice in Questions

Active

Did the manager approve the proposal?

Passive

Was the proposal approved by the manager?

Active

Has the company launched the product?

Passive

Has the product been launched by the company?

10. Passive Voice in WH Questions

Active

Who wrote the report?

Passive

By whom was the report written?

Active

Who completed the assignment?

Passive

By whom was the assignment completed?

11. Imperative Sentences

Active

·         Close the door.

·         Submit the report.

·         Complete the form.

Passive

·         Let the door be closed.

·         Let the report be submitted.

·         Let the form be completed.

12. Verbs That Cannot Normally Be Used in Passive Voice

Only transitive verbs (verbs with objects) can be changed into passive voice.

Intransitive Verbs

·         arrive

·         sleep

·         die

·         laugh

·         cry

·         go

·         come

Examples

❌ He arrived the station.

❌ The station was arrived by him.

Incorrect because "arrive" does not take a direct object.

13. Common Mistakes

Mistake 1

Incorrect:
The letter was wrote by him.

Correct:
The letter was written by him.

Mistake 2

Incorrect:
The work completed by the team.

Correct:
The work was completed by the team.

Mistake 3

Incorrect:
The report has wrote.

Correct:
The report has been written.

Mistake 4

Incorrect:
The problem can solved.

Correct:
The problem can be solved.

14. Active vs Passive in Academic Writing

Academic and research writing often uses Passive Voice.

Active

Researchers collected data from 300 participants.

Passive

Data were collected from 300 participants.

Active

The scientists conducted the experiment.

Passive

The experiment was conducted by the scientists.

Active

The team analyzed the results.

Passive

The results were analyzed.

15. Business and Professional Communication

Active

The finance department prepared the budget.

Passive

The budget was prepared by the finance department.

Active

The company launched a new service.

Passive

A new service was launched by the company.

Active

Management approved the proposal.

Passive

The proposal was approved by management.

16. Practice Exercise 1

Change Active to Passive

1.      The teacher explains the lesson.

2.      The company manufactures vehicles.

3.      The manager approved the budget.

4.      Researchers collected data.

5.      The team will complete the project.

Answers

1.      The lesson is explained by the teacher.

2.      Vehicles are manufactured by the company.

3.      The budget was approved by the manager.

4.      Data were collected by researchers.

5.      The project will be completed by the team.

17. Practice Exercise 2

Change Passive to Active

1.      The report was written by the student.

2.      The proposal has been approved by management.

3.      The project will be completed by the team.

4.      The software is being developed by engineers.

5.      The assignment was submitted by the students.

Answers

1.      The student wrote the report.

2.      Management has approved the proposal.

3.      The team will complete the project.

4.      Engineers are developing the software.

5.      The students submitted the assignment.

18. Classroom Activity

Identify whether the following sentences are Active or Passive.

1.      The book was published in 2025.

2.      The company hired new employees.

3.      The application is being tested.

4.      Students completed the examination.

5.      The project has been approved.

Answers

1.      Passive

2.      Active

3.      Passive

4.      Active

5.      Passive

19. Summary

Active Voice

·         Subject performs the action.

·         Structure: Subject + Verb + Object.

·         Direct, clear, and concise.

·         Common in everyday communication.

Passive Voice

·         Subject receives the action.

·         Structure: Object + Be Verb + Past Participle.

·         Useful when the doer is unknown, unimportant, or when emphasis is on the action.

·         Common in academic, scientific, and formal writing.

Formula for Conversion

Active: Subject + Verb + Object

Passive: Object + Appropriate Form of "Be" + Past Participle + (by + Subject)

Assessment Questions

1.      Define Active Voice and Passive Voice with examples.

2.      Explain the steps involved in converting Active Voice into Passive Voice.

3.      Why is Passive Voice frequently used in academic writing?

4.      Convert ten Active sentences into Passive sentences using different tenses.

5.      Convert ten Passive sentences into Active sentences.

6.      Identify five situations where Passive Voice is more suitable than Active Voice.

7.      Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using Passive Voice in professional communication.

This lesson provides a complete foundation for Higher Diploma students to understand, analyze, and apply Active and Passive Voice effectively in academic, professional, and business contexts.