Active Voice, Passive Voice

Hello Friends... 

Sure, we all are doing well... Be careful, we must stay fit and shouldn't fall ill getting our studies affected. We shall eat and drink healthy, exercise regularly, and won't avoid our domestic and social responsibilities. And whatever time we get for ourselves at the end of the day, we must study hard for most of the time, so that we learn to think... and learn. We simply cannot afford to stop thinking, for we are learners, and we are the chosen ones who got the scope to learn... 

Let's learn to think first...

Voice

Do you find your voice in the classroom missing [which is otherwise always ringing out loud and clear] when you hear your teacher's instruction: "Change the 'voice'"? You needn't worry again. Let's see if we together can change the situation...

What is this 'voice' that we need to change in ESL/EFL [English as a Second Language/English as a Foreign Language] classrooms meant for grammar study so often? Of course you know that we have Active Voice and Passive Voice in English. But what is this 'voice'?

The Way of Saying

'Voice' refers to your way of speaking, or saying something. It's your 'voice', or the 'voice' of any speaker, expressing thoughts and communicating. 

Active Voice, Passive Voice

When you emphasise the 'subject' of the verb [performing the action of the 'verb' in the sentence], you are speaking in Active voice. Or we can say, the subject of the verb is the active agent in the sentence. 

On the other hand, if you emphasise the action of the 'verb' itself and render the performer of the action of the verb passive by referring to it optionally, you are speaking in Passive voice.

Am I sounding difficult? OK... Then let me simplify...

Performer Emphasised, Action Emphasised

Action Conveyed by the Verb

Whenever you think of something, or, say something, you actually refer to some 'action'. No one can think of any sentence, or say any sentence which is not referring to some 'action'. 

'You read this.' Reading is the 'action'. 

'You think about the discussion.' Thinking is the 'action'. 

'You desire to prove me wrong.' Your desire is the 'action'. 

'I challenge you to come up with any sentence without action.' Challenge is the 'action'. 

This 'action' referred to in the sentence is conveyed/communicated by the 'verb' of the sentence.

'We discuss grammar here.' - In this sentence, the action we are talking/thinking about is communicated by the verb 'discuss'. Is that right?

Subject

Now who perform the action of the verb? I mean, who discuss?

OK... I've got your answer loud and clear... Yes, 'we' perform the action of the verb 'discuss'  here; or in other words, 'we' discuss.

Grammatically, they say 'subject' performs the action of the verb in active voice. So, now you know that in the above example, 'we' is the subject of the verb 'discuss'.

Verbs with And without Objects

We have another question left. What do we discuss? Or, in other words, what is discussed?

Yes, yes, I know that you all know the answer. We discuss 'grammar'; or, in other words, grammar is discussed.

I'm sure you've noticed that this particular information was required to get the meaning of the verb [action] completed in the sentence. 'We discuss' is incomplete in meaning whereas 'We discuss grammar' conveys a complete meaning. This bit of information that completes the meaning of the  verb [action] is called the 'object' of the verb. It is not that all verbs require an [or more] object[s] to get the meanings complete. There are some which do not require any object at all to convey the complete meaning.

Intransitive Verbs

'I sat.' 

You get the meaning complete, that is to say, no 'object' is required here. Such verbs are called 'intransitive' verbs, indicating you need not move to some other following expression to get the meaning complete. Why don't you check the meaning of 'transit', by the way?

... Verbs

'I wrote... '

You certainly want to know 'what' did I write to get the meaning complete, or, we can say that we require an object here like 'this sentence'... Would you like to guess what these verbs are called?

Ditransitive Verbs

'I gave...' 

You now want to know 'whom' did I give + 'what' did I give to get the meaning complete. So you need two objects now!!! Such verbs are referred to as the 'ditransitive' verbs. I'm pretty sure now you are ready to tell me the meaning of the prefix (that is added before some words to bring in some change in meaning, like 'in-' in 'intransitive', meaning 'not') 'di-'.

Performer Emphasised

Hope you do still remember that we think/speak in active voice when we assign maximum importance to the subject of the verb which performs the action of the verb. And whatever is more important, comes first. I'm sure, you won't disagree...

a. I sat.
b. I wrote this sentence.
c. I gave you a suggestion.

All these three sentences above are in active voice. We have the subjects of the verbs coming first to our mind, and hence, they come first in the sentences as well. And, the subjects are performing the actions as indicated by the verbs.

Action Emphasised

But, what do you think of these following sentences?

b'. This sentence was written [by me].- Does this mean just the same as sentence [b] above? By the way, the portion of the sentence within the bracket is optional.
c'. You were given a suggestion [by me]. Does this again mean just the same as sentence [c] above?
c''. A suggestion was given to you [by me]. Do you feel this sentence to be the same as sentences [c] and [c'] above?

Context of Speaking

Well, almost... we have slight differences though. Would you like to think of the situations/contexts when you would like to utter a particular sentence, and not the corresponding other? This may help you to get the differences in the meaning that the sentences convey.

Think of someone whom you dislike for being a bully. One day, suppose you thought of making a protest and wrote about your feelings on the board in your classroom. The moment the person enters the room and notices your writing on the board, [s]he asks about the identity of the author in a challenging tone. Now, if you still choose to be bold enough, how would you prefer to admit your authorship?

Active 'I'

Think of another situation. Maybe, inspired by some feelings, you wrote a poetic/philosophic sentence on the board. Your teacher, as soon as [s]he notices your writing, wants to know about the identity of the author with some admiration in his/her tone. How would you like to admit your authorship now?

Passive 'I'

I would have chosen to say 'I wrote this sentence' in case I was raising my voice against my classmate who's a bully, emphasising the fact that it is me who dared to speak my mind out. And in the other context, I would have opted to be a bit humble, saying 'This sentence was written by me'... Don't you feel that in the second utterance, the subject [I] is more passive in comparison to the subject in the first sentence?

Prioritising the Objects

In case of sentences with ditransitive verbs, your answers may very well differ from your friends' in the examination hall. You'll be interpreting the context as you read the sentence on your own, and will choose to prioritise the objects as per your own reading. And your readings may vary, for you're not given the contexts usually in your examination hall. But in real life, your interpretations of the contexts are more likely to be alike.

Dropping the Agent

Hope you understand how contexts/situations determine the way we speak, or, we voice our thoughts. Sometimes we choose to speak in active voice, emphasising the subject performing the action, sometimes we choose to speak in passive voice, emphasising the action itself, and turning the performer of the action [agent] so passive that even one may choose to drop it.

Intransitive Verbs

Can you get sentence [a] rephrased like these? Why don't you give it a try?

I'm sure you all have failed in your attempt to do so. It is so because you don't have any object here in the sentence, the verb being an intransitive one, and not a transitive [Have you guessed this term correctly earlier?] one.  The actions indicated by intransitive verbs are not emphasised this way.

Voice Change

The Structure of Sentences

Now let's try to understand the underlying rules that determine the structures of sentences in active voice and passive voice:

In both the cases, the basic structure of the sentences remains the same.- 

It is the subject which begins the sentence, and gets followed by the verb phrase. 

But have you noted that the object of the verb in the sentence in active voice turns to be the subject in the sentence in the passive voice? That's how the emphasis is shifted during voice-change. It is the subject in the sentence that carries the emphasis. You already know that whatever is important generally comes first. The subject in the sentence in active voice is no more that important in passive voice, hence it comes after the verb phrase, following a suitable preposition [mostly, it is 'by'], and can even be dropped. And don't miss the difference,- the object following the verb phrase in a sentence in active voice is crucial to complete the meaning, but the mention of the agent following the verb phrase in the passive voice is just an additional information. 

Apart from these, we have some structural differences in the verb phrases in the two sentences which are very important for us.

The Structure of the Verb Phrases

Simple Aspect

As reflected in the above examples, you can easily point out that the structure of the verb phrase in the passive voice can be summarised as ['be' + '-en'] where 'be' refers to the 'be' group of verbs, and '-en' refers to the 3rd form [past participle] of the main verb. That's great. In fact, that's why we have 'was' ['be' verb] and 'written' [3rd form of 'write'] in the above sentence in passive voice. 

But we have a few more challenges beside this:

Continuous Aspect

What do we get as we change the voice of this sentence?

Here, the verb phrase in the passive voice can be summarised as the previous ['be' + '-en'] with an additional 'being' in between. How do we account for this 'being'? This is actually the continuous aspect marker '-ing' carried by another 'be' verb. We don't require this when we deal with simple aspect.

Perfect Aspect

Let's take another example:

As we change the voice, we get-

As you can very well see, here, the verb phrase in the passive voice can be summarised as the original ['be' + '-en'] with an additional 'have' verb and another 3rd form ['been']. 'Be' verb in this verb phrase is in its 3rd form ['-en]. Have you realised that '-en' form of the 'be' verb is the perfect aspect marker whereas the 3rd form of the main verb is the passive voice marker as usual? So in a sentence in passive voice reflecting perfect aspect, we do have two '-en' forms. One is for the passive voice, the other is for the perfect aspect. That's it. Simple...

Not so simple? Perhaps you need a break now. Come back and resume this discussion when you're refreshed again, and I'm sure you won't find it as complex as you find this now.

Subject-verb Conjugation

The rest is easy. You just need to remember to match the number and person of the subjects with the corresponding 'be' and 'have' verbs, apart from staying cautious about the tense [marked by the main verb in the simple/indefinite aspect, by the 'be' verb in the continuous aspect, and by the 'have' verb in the perfect aspect]. 

A Quick Recapitulation of the Previous Learning

Why don't we study some pairs of sentences to get our learning consolidated? You may go through the next few sections for a quick revision of what you already know. These sections may help you to remember a few important things that you require to keep  in mind while analysing the sentences:

• We have three tenses,- past [time that is passed], present [time that is now] and future [time that is yet to come]
• We have three aspects,- simple/indefinite [refers to any action irrespective of whether the action is complete or habitual], continuous/progressive [refers to any ongoing/continuing action] and perfect aspect [refers to a complete action]. We also have a combination of perfect-continuous, but we need not discuss this for voice-change.
• Auxiliary/helping verbs are functional units that mark the tense, aspect, and person and number of the subject. [The main verb marks the tense, aspect, and person and number of the subject only if there is no helping verb to help, as in the simple/indefinite aspect.] We may use 'be', 'have', 'do' [or 'modals'] as auxiliary/helping verbs. [They (except the modals) do not refer to any meaning when used as auxiliary verbs. However, when they (except the modals) are used as main verbs, they refer to meanings, as main verbs are supposed to do.]
• 'be' group of verbs include a number of forms for different tenses; and persons and numbers of the subjects:
• In past tense, we use 'was' for singular subjects, and 'were' for plural subjects.
• In present tense, we use 'am' for I as subject, 'is' for any other singular subject, and 'are' for all plural subjects.
• In future tense, we use 'shall be' and 'will be' irrespective of the person and number of the subject.
• 'have' group of verbs also similarly include a number of forms for different tenses; and persons and numbers of the subjects:
• In past tense, we use 'had' for all subjects.
• In present tense, we use 'has' for any third person singular subject, and 'have for any other subject.
• In future tense, we use 'shall have' or 'will have' irrespective of the person and number of the subject.

Now let's start the study of the examples:

Simple/Indefinite aspect:

Active: I discuss grammar.

Passive: Grammar is discussed by me.

Hopefully, you are now able to understand which segment of the sentence is the subject, which one is the verb phrase, which one is the object, and which one is the agent following a suitable preposition. Hence I have just marked the segments by underlining them, but have not named the segments as I have done earlier. Here, we have the sentences in present tense, simple/indefinite aspect. Hence we have the main verb in the active voice and the 'be' verb in the passive voice reflecting present tense. Have you noted that 'Grammar' is Third Person, and Singular in number. Hence we have the specific 'be' verb 'is' which is used for a Third Person Singular subject in present tense. You must also note the conversion of 'I', First Person Singular in number [in the subject position] to 'me' in the object position of the preposition.

Active: We discussed grammar.

Passive: Grammar was discussed by us.

Here, we have the sentences in past tense, simple/indefinite aspect. Hence we have the main verb in the active voice and the 'be' verb in the passive voice reflecting past tense. Now you know that 'Grammar' is Third person, and Singular in number. Hence we have the specific 'be' verb 'was' which is used for a Third Person Singular subject in past tense. You must also note the conversion of 'We', First person, Plural in number [in the subject position] to 'us' in the object position of the preposition.

Active: You  will discuss grammar.

Passive: Grammar will be discussed by you.

Here, we have the sentences in future tense, simple/indefinite aspect. Hence we have the main verb in the active voice [will discuss] and the 'be' verb in the passive voice [will be] reflecting future tense. [In future tense, I hope you remember now that we have two forms of 'be' verbs,- 'shall be' and 'will be'; and they are used irrespective of the person and number of the subject. You must have noted that  'You', Second person, always grammatically Plural in number, remains the same form in the subject as well as the object position.

Active: The teacher discusses grammar.

Passive: Grammar is discussed by the teacher.

Here, we have the sentences in present tense again, simple/indefinite aspect. I'm sure you have already noted that the main verb in the active voice [discuss + -es] marks the present tense as well as the Third Person Singular subject [the teacher] with the '-s/-es' marker. The 'be' verb in the passive voice reflects the present tense as usual. And I'm quite sure that you have noted the other points you need to study as discussed earlier.

Active: Teachers discuss examples.

Passive: Examples are discussed by teachers.

Would you like to tell me what are the tense and aspect as reflected in the sentences? Why do we have 'are' here as the 'be' verb in the verb phrase in the sentence in the passive voice?

Active: The student does (not) ask questions.

Passive: Questions are (not) asked by the student.

This pair of sentences are again in present tense, simple/indefinite aspect. Now you may like to ask me why I have chosen to put 'not' within brackets in this pair of sentences. It's because 'not' is not a part of the verb phrase, though is usually placed after the auxiliary/helping verb in a sentence.

Apart from this, you have to note that we have an auxiliary/helping verb 'do' here in the verb phrase in the active voice. Usually, we don't have anything else apart from the main verb in the verb phrase in active voice, simple aspect. But we need to have an auxiliary/helping verb in such a sentence when it's a negative one, or, an interrogation/question. Hence we insert 'do' as the required auxiliary/helping verb. As soon as we get this 'do' verb, it is used to mark the tense, and the person and number of the subject instead of the main verb itself.

Would you then, like to explain how 'do' in the first sentence of the pair reflects the tense, and the person and number of the subject?

Active: Students understand whatever is said.

Passive: Whatever is said is understood by students.

I would like you to explain the tense and aspect reflected in this pair of sentences. You're welcome if you want to point out anything else... I'm all ears...

By the way, have you noticed that the object in the sentence in the active voice [or the subject in the sentence in the passive voice] is itself a sentence structurally? Why don't you try to identify the voice from the structure of the verb phrase in it?

Continuous Aspect

Let's study the Continuous aspect now: Note how the tenses, aspects, and persons and numbers of the subjects are getting reflected by the auxiliary/helping verbs.

Active: I am discussing grammar.

Passive: Grammar is being discussed by me.

Active: We were discussing grammar.

Passive: Grammar was being discussed by us.

Active: You  will be discussing grammar.

Passive: Grammar will be discussed by you.

Active: The teacher is discussing grammar.

Passive: Grammar is being discussed by the teacher.

Active: Teachers are discussing examples.

Passive: Examples are being discussed by teachers.

Active: The student is (not) asking questions.

Passive: Questions are (not) being asked by the student.

Active: Students are understanding whatever is said.

Passive: Whatever is said is being understood by students.

What do you feel about your own understanding of the sentences? Feel free to ask me if you have any doubt. 

Perfect Aspect

Now, how about studying sentences in Perfect aspect? Again, you have to note how the tenses, aspects, and persons and numbers of the subjects are getting reflected by the auxiliary/helping verbs.

Active: I have discussed grammar.

Passive: Grammar has been discussed by me.

Active: We had discussed grammar.

Passive: Grammar  had been discussed by us.

Active: The teacher has discussed grammar.

Passive: Grammar has been discussed by the teacher.

Active: Teachers have discussed examples.

Passive: Examples have been discussed by teachers.

Active: The student has (not) asked questions.

Passive: Questions have (not) been asked by the student.

Active: Students have understood whatever is said.

Passive: Whatever is said has been understood by students.

Do you find any particular tense missing in this series of examples? Would you like to volunteer to explain the reason?

If we try to summarise the whole structural scheme of verb phrases in different voices and aspects, we may come up with something like this:

Simple/Indefinite Aspect:  

    Active voice:            

    

    Passive voice:             

Continuous Aspect:

    Active voice:             

    Passive voice:           

Perfect Aspect:

    Active voice:             

    Passive voice:           

A Word of Caution

But you need to remember that such schemata/tables are not meant to be memorised at all. These are just for your quick reference as you practise your grammar exercises. And, now you must know that though such exercises may help you in your ESL/EFL examinations, or to use the language accurately, these may not be so helpful for you to use the language fluently in your real life. For that you need to listen and read; and today, you are lucky to have plenty of interesting listening and reading materials available online absolutely free... So, it's better that you supplement your grammar book with some real English actually used in our lives.

Advanced Level

Advanced learners may note it down that apart from statements/assertive sentences, we may use imperatives and questions/interrogations as well in both active and passive voices.

Imperative Sentences

How do we construct imperatives? It's easy in active voice. We drop/omit the subject and begin the sentence with the verb phrase itself. Do you wonder why? It's because in such cases, the speaker communicates directly with the listener[s], and hence, the need of using the subject do not arise. When you ask your friend, looking at his/her eyes, to switch on the fan overhead, do you need to call out his/her name?

Certainly not. I would have not called her/him at least...

Please switch on the fan.

Now, if it would have been a formal request to some unknown office bearer in some public office, say, a bank, I would have preferred the passive voice:

Let the fan be switched on, please.

So, I use the linker 'Let' to begin the sentence, agent is not mentioned here, and the rest is all the same. For the verb phrase, I use the same old 'be' + '-en'. And it's easier than the statements in passive voice because you need not decide the 'be' verb, for it's always 'be' in such imperatives in passive voice. That's it.

Interrogatives/Questions

For using interrogatives, you just need to study the structural difference between an assertive sentence and an interrogation. That's it.

Active voice: Have you learned voice-change? 

'You have learned voice-change' is the assertive structure. The auxiliary verb 'have' has been moved before the subject in the interrogation as per the norm.

Passive voice: Has voice-change been learned by you?

'Voice-change has been learned by you' is the assertive structure. The first auxiliary verb has been moved before the subject in the interrogation as per the norm again.

Didn't you find it useful? 

Could you identify the voice? This is how we structure negative interrogations by moving the auxiliary verb and 'not' before the subject of the verb. Why don't you try to change the voice of this sentence now?

Wasn't it found to be useful [by you]? 

I would like to hear from you...

Sometimes, many speakers of English use 'get' + '-en' structure informally instead of the formal 'be' + '-en' in passive voice:

The ball got smashed for a sixer.
The ball was smashed for a six.

Which of the above would you like to say from a cricket stadium? You get to choose, dear... Would you mind if I ask you to turn this sentence to a formal one?

And if you want to try and test your understanding, you may find these links below useful:

https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/en/quiz/jeu-quiz-voix-active-passive-identify-eng

http://www.learnenglish-online.com/grammar/tests/passive.html

https://test-english.com/grammar-points/b1/active-passive-voice/