Active vs Passive Voice: What’s the Difference? Rules, Examples & Exercises

Active vs Passive Voice: Active voice and passive voice are two ways to construct sentences in English. In active voice, the subject performs the action. In passive voice, the subject receives the action. Understanding the difference helps you write clearer sentences, improve your grammar, and communicate more effectively in academic, professional, and everyday English.

For example:

• Active Voice: The teacher explains the lesson.
• Passive Voice: The lesson is explained by the teacher.

Active vs Passive Voice: Both sentences communicate the same basic idea, but they emphasize different things. The active sentence highlights the teacher, while the passive sentence focuses on the lesson.

In this guide, you will learn the definitions of active and passive voice, their grammatical structures, tense rules, conversion methods, common mistakes, and practical exercises with answers.

What Is Active Voice?

Active voice occurs when the subject performs the action expressed by the verb. This sentence structure usually follows the pattern Subject + Verb + Object (SVO).

Structure: Subject + Verb + Object

Examples:

• Sarah writes a letter.
• The chef prepares dinner.
• The students completed the assignment.
• My brother drives the car.
• The company will launch a new product.

In each example, the subject performs the action. Sarah writes, the chef prepares, the students complete, the brother drives, and the company launches.

Characteristics of Active Voice

Active voice typically offers these benefits:

• Clear meaning: Readers can identify who performs the action.
• Direct sentences: Writers communicate ideas without unnecessary wording.
• Natural flow: Most everyday English sentences use active voice.
• Stronger writing: Active constructions often make instructions and explanations easier to understand.

When Should You Use Active Voice?

Use active voice when you want to emphasize the person or thing performing an action.

Examples:

• The manager approved the request.
• The police arrested the suspect.
• Our team won the competition.
• The researcher analyzed the results.
• I submitted the application yesterday.

Active voice works especially well in emails, essays, instructions, news reports, business communication, and conversational English.

What Is Passive Voice?

Passive voice occurs when the subject receives the action rather than performing it. Writers commonly use passive voice when the action, result, or recipient matters more than the person performing the action.

Structure: Subject + Form of Be + Past Participle (+ by + Agent)

Examples:

• A letter is written by Sarah.
• Dinner is prepared by the chef.
• The assignment was completed by the students.
• The car is driven by my brother.
• A new product will be launched by the company.

In these examples, the subjects receive the actions expressed by the verbs.

Characteristics of Passive Voice

Passive voice offers several useful features:

• Focus on the action: The sentence emphasizes what happened.
• Focus on the recipient: The subject receives the action.
• An optional agent: Writers can omit the person or thing responsible for an action.
• A formal tone: Scientific, academic, and official writing often uses passive constructions when the process or result deserves emphasis.

When Should You Use Passive Voice?

Use passive voice when the action or its recipient matters more than the agent.

Examples:

• The documents were signed yesterday.
• The road is being repaired.
• The experiment was conducted under controlled conditions.
• The package has been delivered.
• English is spoken in many countries.

You can omit the agent when readers already know it, consider it unimportant, or cannot identify it.

For example:

Active: Someone stole my bicycle.

Passive: My bicycle was stolen.

The passive sentence focuses on the bicycle and the incident rather than the unknown thief.

Active vs Passive Voice: Key Differences

Active and passive voice communicate similar information, but they organize the sentence differently.

Feature	Active Voice	Passive Voice
Subject’s role	Performs the action	Receives the action
Basic structure	Subject + Verb + Object	Subject + Be + Past Participle
Main emphasis	The doer	The action or recipient
Word order	Usually direct	Often changes the original word order
Agent	Usually appears as the subject	Can appear after by or remain unstated
Writing style	Often direct and concise	Useful when the action or result deserves emphasis
Example	The chef cooked the meal.	The meal was cooked by the chef.

Quick rule: If the subject performs the action, the sentence uses active voice. If the subject receives the action, the sentence uses passive voice.

Active vs Passive Voice Examples

The following examples show how active and passive voice differ in everyday sentences.

Active Voice	Passive Voice
John cleans the room.	The room is cleaned by John.
Mary wrote a story.	A story was written by Mary.
The chef is cooking dinner.	Dinner is being cooked by the chef.
They have completed the project.	The project has been completed by them.
The workers will build a bridge.	A bridge will be built by the workers.
The teacher praised the student.	The student was praised by the teacher.
Someone has opened the door.	The door has been opened.
The company produces smartphones.	Smartphones are produced by the company.
The team was solving the problem.	The problem was being solved by the team.
The committee will announce the results.	The results will be announced by the committee.

Notice that passive voice changes the grammatical subject and requires an appropriate form of be followed by the past participle.

Active and Passive Voice Rules

Follow these rules to identify and construct active and passive sentences correctly.

Rule 1: Identify the Subject, Verb, and Object

First, identify the main parts of the active sentence.

Example:

Active: The boy kicked the ball.

• Subject: The boy
• Verb: Kicked
• Object: The ball

The boy performs the action, and the ball receives it.

Rule 2: Move the Object to the Subject Position

When converting a suitable active sentence into passive voice, move its object to the beginning of the sentence.

Active: The boy kicked the ball.

Passive: The ball was kicked by the boy.

The original object now functions as the grammatical subject of the passive sentence.

Rule 3: Use the Correct Form of “Be”

Passive constructions require an appropriate form of be, such as am, is, are, was, were, be, being, or been.

Examples:

• Active: She writes a report.
• Passive: A report is written by her.
• Active: She wrote a report.
• Passive: A report was written by her.
• Active: She will write a report.
• Passive: A report will be written by her.

Choose the form of be according to the tense, aspect, and subject.

Rule 4: Use the Past Participle

Passive voice requires the past participle, also called the third form of the verb (V3).

Examples:

Base Verb	Past Simple	Past Participle
Write	Wrote	Written
Eat	Ate	Eaten
Make	Made	Made
See	Saw	Seen
Take	Took	Taken
Do	Did	Done
Build	Built	Built
Break	Broke	Broken
Choose	Chose	Chosen
Speak	Spoke	Spoken

Correct: The letter was written by Ali.

Incorrect: The letter was wrote by Ali.

Rule 5: Use “By” to Identify the Agent When Necessary

Use by when you want to identify the person or thing that performs the action in a passive sentence.

Examples:

• The novel was written by the author.
• The window was broken by the children.
• The song was composed by a famous musician.

However, passive sentences do not always need an agent.

Examples:

• My wallet was stolen.
• The meeting has been postponed.
• The road is being repaired.

Adding an unnecessary agent can make a sentence wordy.

Rule 6: Keep the Original Meaning

Changing voice should preserve the original message, including the tense and the intended relationship between the participants.

Active: The manager has approved the plan.

Passive: The plan has been approved by the manager.

Incorrect: The plan was approved by the manager.

The last example changes the present perfect tense to the simple past tense.

Rule 7: Adjust Pronouns Correctly

When the object becomes the subject, change the pronoun to its subject form. When the original subject appears after by, use its object form.

Active Sentence	Passive Sentence
She helped me.	I was helped by her.
He invited us.	We were invited by him.
They called him.	He was called by them.
I supported her.	She was supported by me.
We praised them.	They were praised by us.

Common pronoun changes include I → me, he → him, she → her, we → us, and they → them when the pronouns appear as objects of by.

Active vs Passive Voice in All Tenses

The correct passive construction depends on the tense and aspect of the active sentence. The following table uses the verb write to demonstrate common transformations.

Tense	Active Voice	Passive Voice
Simple Present	She writes a letter.	A letter is written by her.
Present Continuous	She is writing a letter.	A letter is being written by her.
Present Perfect	She has written a letter.	A letter has been written by her.
Simple Past	She wrote a letter.	A letter was written by her.
Past Continuous	She was writing a letter.	A letter was being written by her.
Past Perfect	She had written a letter.	A letter had been written by her.
Simple Future	She will write a letter.	A letter will be written by her.
Future Perfect	She will have written a letter.	A letter will have been written by her.

Passive Voice in the Simple Present

Structure: Subject + am/is/are + Past Participle

Examples:

• Active: He washes the car.
• Passive: The car is washed by him.
• Active: They sell fresh vegetables.
• Passive: Fresh vegetables are sold by them.

Use is with singular subjects, are with plural subjects, and am with I.

Passive Voice in the Present Continuous

Structure: Subject + am/is/are + being + Past Participle

Examples:

• Active: She is preparing the meal.
• Passive: The meal is being prepared by her.
• Active: They are painting the walls.
• Passive: The walls are being painted by them.

The word being shows that the action is in progress.

Passive Voice in the Present Perfect

Structure: Subject + has/have + been + Past Participle

Examples:

• Active: He has completed the assignment.
• Passive: The assignment has been completed by him.
• Active: They have repaired the machines.
• Passive: The machines have been repaired by them.

Use has with singular third-person subjects and have with plural subjects and I/you/we/they, as appropriate.

Passive Voice in the Simple Past

Structure: Subject + was/were + Past Participle

Examples:

• Active: The teacher checked the homework.
• Passive: The homework was checked by the teacher.
• Active: The workers repaired the roads.
• Passive: The roads were repaired by the workers.

Use was with singular subjects and were with plural subjects and you.

Passive Voice in the Past Continuous

Structure: Subject + was/were + being + Past Participle

Examples:

• Active: The mechanic was repairing the engine.
• Passive: The engine was being repaired by the mechanic.
• Active: They were decorating the hall.
• Passive: The hall was being decorated by them.

This structure emphasizes an action that was in progress at a particular time in the past.

Passive Voice in the Past Perfect

Structure: Subject + had + been + Past Participle

Examples:

• Active: She had finished the report.
• Passive: The report had been finished by her.
• Active: The team had completed the project.
• Passive: The project had been completed by the team.

The past perfect passive emphasizes an action completed before another past event or reference point.

Passive Voice in the Simple Future

Structure: Subject + will + be + Past Participle

Examples:

• Active: They will announce the winner.
• Passive: The winner will be announced by them.
• Active: The company will release the product.
• Passive: The product will be released by the company.

Passive Voice in the Future Perfect

Structure: Subject + will + have + been + Past Participle

Examples:

• Active: They will have completed the building by June.
• Passive: The building will have been completed by June.

This form is grammatically correct but can sound formal or cumbersome. Use it when the future completion point matters.

What About Other Tenses?

Some tense combinations, especially the perfect continuous forms and the future continuous, rarely appear in passive voice because their constructions sound awkward or overly complicated.

For example, a theoretical passive version of “They have been repairing the road” would be “The road has been being repaired.” Although grammatically possible in certain analyses, most writers prefer “The road has been under repair” or “They have been repairing the road,” depending on the intended meaning.

The important point is that not every active sentence needs a passive equivalent.

How to Change Active Voice into Passive Voice

Use this step-by-step method to convert an active sentence into passive voice.

Step 1: Identify the subject, verb, and object.

Active: The chef cooks the food.

Subject: The chef
Verb: Cooks
Object: The food

Step 2: Move the object to the beginning.

The food …

Step 3: Identify the tense.

The verb cooks is in the simple present tense.

Step 4: Choose the correct form of “be.”

The new subject, the food, is singular, so use is.

Step 5: Change the main verb to its past participle.

The past participle of cook is cooked.

Step 6: Add the original subject after “by” if necessary.

Final passive sentence: The food is cooked by the chef.

More Conversion Examples

Example 1: Simple Past

Active: The boy broke the window.

• Object: The window
• Tense: Simple past
• Passive auxiliary: Was
• Past participle: Broken

Passive: The window was broken by the boy.

Example 2: Present Perfect

Active: The students have completed the project.

Passive: The project has been completed by the students.

Notice that have changes to has because the new subject, the project, is singular.

Example 3: Simple Future

Active: The company will publish the report.

Passive: The report will be published by the company.

Example 4: Modal Verb

Active: You must follow the rules.

Passive: The rules must be followed.

Keep the modal verb must and add be before the past participle.

How to Change Passive Voice into Active Voice

To convert passive voice into active voice, identify the agent, move it to the subject position, and use the appropriate active verb form.

Example:

Passive: The cake was baked by Sarah.

1: Identify the agent: Sarah.

2: Move Sarah to the beginning.

3: Preserve the past tense.

4: Use the active verb baked with Sarah as the subject.

Active: Sarah baked the cake.

More Examples

Passive Voice	Active Voice
The letter was written by Ali.	Ali wrote the letter.
The room is cleaned by the staff.	The staff cleans the room.
The match was won by our team.	Our team won the match.
The project has been completed by the students.	The students have completed the project.
The food will be prepared by the chef.	The chef will prepare the food.
The road is being repaired by workers.	Workers are repairing the road.

If the passive sentence does not identify the agent, you may not know who performed the action.

Passive: The window was broken.

Possible active versions include:

• Someone broke the window.
• The children broke the window.
• A storm broke the window.

Choose an active subject only when the context supports it. Otherwise, use a general subject such as someone or keep the passive construction.

Active vs Passive Voice in Questions

You can use both voices in questions. Keep the appropriate auxiliary verb and word order.

Active Question	Passive Question
Does she write letters?	Are letters written by her?
Did he finish the work?	Was the work finished by him?
Has she completed the task?	Has the task been completed by her?
Will they announce the results?	Will the results be announced by them?
Are they repairing the road?	Is the road being repaired by them?

Questions with “Who”

Active: Who wrote this book?

Passive: By whom was this book written?

In everyday English, people often prefer the more natural construction “Who was this book written by?” In formal writing, By whom was this book written? may suit the context.

Questions with “What”

Active: What caused the accident?

Passive: What was the accident caused by?

The second question is possible, but the first often sounds more natural because cause does not always require a voice change to express the intended meaning.

Active vs Passive Voice in Negative Sentences

Negative sentences retain their negative meaning when you change the voice.

Examples:

• Active: She does not clean the room.
• Passive: The room is not cleaned by her.
• Active: He did not complete the task.
• Passive: The task was not completed by him.
• Active: They have not delivered the package.
• Passive: The package has not been delivered by them.
• Active: The company will not publish the report.
• Passive: The report will not be published by the company.

Place not after the appropriate auxiliary verb. In simple present and simple past active sentences, do/does/did disappears during the conversion because the passive construction uses be instead.

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Passive Voice with Modal Verbs

Modal verbs express ability, permission, possibility, obligation, or advice. You can form their passive equivalents with the following structure:

Structure: Subject + Modal + Be + Past Participle

Active Voice	Passive Voice
You must obey the rules.	The rules must be obeyed.
They can solve the problem.	The problem can be solved.
We should protect the environment.	The environment should be protected.
You may use this room.	This room may be used.
They might cancel the event.	The event might be canceled.
You ought to respect your elders.	Your elders ought to be respected.

With perfect modal constructions, use modal + have + been + past participle.

Active: They should have completed the work.

Passive: The work should have been completed.

Sentences That Cannot Normally Change into Passive Voice

Not every active sentence can become passive. Most standard passive transformations require a transitive verb with a direct object.

Intransitive Verbs

Intransitive verbs do not take direct objects, so they generally cannot form ordinary passive constructions.

Examples:

• The baby sleeps.
• Birds fly.
• The audience laughed.
• He arrived late.
• The sun rises.

Incorrect: The late arrival was arrived by him.

Correct: He arrived late.

Linking Verbs

Linking verbs connect the subject to a description or identity rather than expressing an action on a direct object.

Examples:

• She is happy.
• He became a doctor.
• The soup tastes delicious.
• They seem tired.

These sentences do not have direct objects that can become passive subjects.

Verbs Without an Appropriate Object

Active: The child cried.

This sentence has no direct object, so it has no ordinary passive equivalent.

Active: The guests arrived.

The verb arrived does not take a direct object here, so a standard passive transformation does not work.

Active vs Passive Voice in Academic Writing

Academic writing uses both voices. Choose the voice that best communicates the purpose of each sentence.

When Active Voice Works Best

Active voice identifies the researcher, author, or organization responsible for an action.

Examples:

• We analyzed the survey responses.
• The researchers compared three treatment methods.
• The study identifies several limitations.

These constructions make responsibility and reasoning clear.

When Passive Voice Works Best

Passive voice can emphasize procedures, observations, and results when the agent is less important.

Examples:

• The samples were stored at room temperature.
• The data were analyzed using statistical software.
• The questionnaire was distributed to 200 participants.

However, passive voice does not automatically make academic writing more formal or objective. Modern academic style often favors active voice when it improves clarity.

Compare:

Wordy: It was decided by the research team that the results would be reviewed.

Clearer: The research team decided to review the results.

Use passive voice when it serves a clear purpose, not simply to sound formal.

Active vs Passive Voice in Everyday English

Both voices appear in conversations, messages, announcements, and professional communication.

Everyday Active Voice Examples

• I lost my keys.
• My friend invited me to dinner.
• The teacher changed the schedule.
• Someone left the door open.
• The delivery driver brought the package.

Everyday Passive Voice Examples

• My keys were lost.
• I was invited to dinner.
• The schedule was changed.
• The door was left open.
• The package was delivered.

The passive versions emphasize the affected person or thing. The active versions place more emphasis on who performed the action.

Common Mistakes in Active and Passive Voice

English learners often make mistakes when changing sentence voice. Use these examples to avoid common errors.

Mistake 1: Using the Past Simple Instead of the Past Participle

Incorrect: The letter was wrote by Sarah.

Correct: The letter was written by Sarah.

Passive voice requires the past participle after the form of be.

Mistake 2: Forgetting the Auxiliary Verb

Incorrect: The room cleaned by the workers.

Correct: The room was cleaned by the workers.

Use an appropriate form of be to construct the passive voice.

Mistake 3: Changing the Tense

Incorrect: Active: They have completed the work.
Incorrect passive: The work was completed by them.

Correct passive: The work has been completed by them.

The correct transformation preserves the present perfect tense.

Mistake 4: Using the Wrong Form of “Be”

Incorrect: The books is arranged on the shelf.

Correct: The books are arranged on the shelf.

Match the auxiliary verb to the grammatical subject.

Mistake 5: Changing a Sentence Without an Object

Incorrect: The accident was happened yesterday.

Correct: The accident happened yesterday.

The verb happen does not take a direct object in this sentence, so it does not form an ordinary passive construction.

Mistake 6: Using Passive Voice When Active Voice Is Clearer

Wordy: The decision was made by the committee to postpone the meeting.

Clearer: The committee decided to postpone the meeting.

Choose active voice when it makes the sentence shorter and easier to understand.

Mistake 7: Omitting Important Information

Active: The technician repaired the computer.

Passive: The computer was repaired.

Both sentences are correct, but the passive version omits the agent. Include the agent when the reader needs to know who performed the action.

Tips for Identifying Active and Passive Voice

Use these quick checks to recognize sentence voice.

1. Find the subject. Identify the person, place, thing, or idea that occupies the subject position.
2. Check the verb. Determine whether the subject performs the action or receives it.
3. Look for a form of “be.” Passive constructions commonly use be plus a past participle, although some passive structures use other auxiliary patterns.
4. Look for “by.” A by-phrase often identifies the agent, but passive sentences do not always include one.
5. Check the meaning. Do not classify a sentence as passive just because it contains is, was, or a past participle. For example, “She is tired” does not use passive voice.
6. Ask who performs the action. If the grammatical subject performs the action, the sentence is active. If it receives the action, the sentence may be passive.

Remember that “The door is closed” can describe a state, while “The door is closed by the guard every evening” clearly uses a passive construction. Context determines the grammatical interpretation.

Active vs Passive Voice Exercises

Test your understanding with the following exercises. Identify the voice or convert each sentence as directed.

Exercise 1: Identify Active or Passive Voice

Write Active or Passive for each sentence.

1. The gardener waters the plants.
2. The windows were cleaned yesterday.
3. My sister baked a chocolate cake.
4. The project will be completed tomorrow.
5. The students are preparing for the exam.
6. The invitation was sent by email.
7. Someone has stolen my bag.
8. The road is being repaired.
9. The manager approved the proposal.
10. The books have been arranged on the shelves.

Exercise 2: Change Active Voice into Passive Voice

Rewrite each sentence in passive voice where possible.

1. The teacher explains the lesson.
2. The police arrested the thief.
3. She is writing a letter.
4. They have completed the assignment.
5. The company will launch a new product.
6. The workers are building a bridge.
7. He had finished the report.
8. You must follow the instructions.
9. The chef prepared the dinner.
10. They can solve this problem.

Exercise 3: Change Passive Voice into Active Voice

Rewrite each sentence in active voice.

1. The room was cleaned by Maria.
2. The match was won by our team.
3. The letter has been written by John.
4. The road is being repaired by the workers.
5. The results will be announced by the principal.
6. The meal is prepared by the chef.
7. The assignment had been completed by the students.
8. The rules must be followed by everyone.
9. The window was broken by the boy.
10. The project has been approved by the manager.

Exercise 4: Correct the Mistakes

Rewrite each sentence correctly.

1. The letter was wrote by Ali.
2. The room cleaned by the workers.
3. The books is arranged on the shelf.
4. The accident was happened yesterday.
5. The work have been completed by the team.

Answers to Active and Passive Voice Exercises

Ex. 1 Answers

1. Active
2. Passive
3. Active
4. Passive
5. Active
6. Passive
7. Active
8. Passive
9. Active
10. Passive

Exercise 2 Answers

1. The lesson is explained by the teacher.
2. The thief was arrested by the police.
3. A letter is being written by her.
4. The assignment has been completed by them.
5. A new product will be launched by the company.
6. A bridge is being built by the workers.
7. The report had been finished by him.
8. The instructions must be followed by you.
9. The dinner was prepared by the chef.
10. This problem can be solved by them.

Exercise 3 Answers

1. Maria cleaned the room.
2. Our team won the match.
3. John has written the letter.
4. The workers are repairing the road.
5. The principal will announce the results.
6. The chef prepares the meal.
7. The students had completed the assignment.
8. Everyone must follow the rules.
9. The boy broke the window.
10. The manager has approved the project.

Ex. 4 Answers

1. The letter was written by Ali.
2. The room was cleaned by the workers.
3. The books are arranged on the shelf.
4. The accident happened yesterday.
5. The work has been completed by the team.

People Also Ask

Conclusion

Active and passive voice help you present the same event from different perspectives. 

Active voice emphasizes who performs the action, while passive voice emphasizes who or what receives it.

Use active voice when you want direct, clear, and concise sentences. Choose passive voice when the action or result deserves more attention than the agent, or when the agent remains unknown or irrelevant.

To master both forms, identify the subject, verb, and object; preserve the original tense; select the correct form of be; and use the past participle in passive constructions. Practice with different tenses and sentence types to strengthen your English grammar and writing skills.