Passive Voice: Meaning, Structure, Rules, Examples, Common Mistakes

There are two types of Voice in English grammar: Active Voice and Passive Voice. Active voice is a sentence structure where the subject performs the action, focusing on who or what is carrying out the activity. On the other hand, Passive Voice is a way of structuring a sentence where the focus is on the action or the object receiving the action, rather than the Subject performing it.

Passive Voice is used in multiple situations, such as when the doer of the action is unknown, not necessary, or non-relevant to the action itself.

Passive Voice Structure

• Object + is/am/are/was/were (Depends on Tense Form) + past participle (V3) + (by) Subject (optional).

This is the basic sentence structure of Passive Voice. Below, we have mentioned a table where you will understand how to convert active voice to passive voice.

Explanation of Sentence 1:

• Active Voice: In the active sentence, "Ram" is the subject who acts (writes), and "a book" is the object that receives the action. Here, the focus is on the Subject, who is doing something.
• Passive Voice: A book (Object) is written (Verb form changed) by Ram (Subject). Here, the focus shifted to the object.

We hope that you have understood basics of Passive Voice. This will not only help you in preparation for the IELTS exam but also in day-to-day life communications.

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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.

You may have noticed that when changing a sentence from Active Voice to Passive Voice, the object of the transitive verb of the Active Voice sentence becomes Subject in the Passive Voice sentence. Verbs are an important element of Passive Voice sentences which allow you to focus on the action or receiver of action rather than the subject of the sentence. Note that, only transitive verbs can be used in Passive Voice sentences and not the Intransitive Verbs.

Role of Transitive Verbs in Passive Voice

To understand the role of Transitive verbs in Passive Voice, you need to understand the difference between Transitive and Intransitive Verbs.

• A Transitive Verb is a Verb that denotes an action which passes over from the doer or Subject to an object or receiver of the action. For Example: The singers were singing.

In this sentence, "singing" is a transitive verb because the action is being performed on an object (the song).

• An Intransitive Verb is a Verb that denotes an action which does not pass over to an object, or which expresses a state. For Example: He laughed loudly.

Here, "laughed" is an intransitive verb because there is no object receiving the action.

Modal Verbs in Passive Voice

Modal verbs can also be used when changing active voice to passive voice sentences. The only rule you must remember is that the main verb changes to the past participle, and the auxiliary verb "be" is included. For Example

• Active Voice: She can finish the report by tomorrow.
• Passive Voice: The report can be finished by tomorrow.
• Active Voice: They must complete the assignment by Friday.
• Passive Voice: The assignment must be completed by Friday.

We have now come to the end of this article, where we will discuss some common mistakes that learners often make while using passive voice. As a learner, you have learned that passive voice is helpful when the focus should be on the action or the receiver of the action.

Overuse of Passive Voice

Excessive use of Passive Voice can make your paragraph or answer in the exam sound monotonous, and you may lose valuable points in your IELTS score. Also, it will show that you have a limited vocabulary. It will become challenging for you when you need to write about a “subject”.

For Example:

Do you remember the movie scene in Harry Potter when Dumbledore said, “The Sorcerer’s Stone was protected by my powerful magic,” instead of saying, “I protected the Sorcerer’s Stone with powerful magic”?

Explanation: The first sentence is correct in Passive Voice, but it feels distant. The focus is more on the Sorcerer’s Stone. The second sentence shows Dumbledore’s action and ownership of the responsibility. The sentence comes alive, and you understand the importance of Dumbledore’s role in protecting the stone.

Ignoring the Subject (Doer) of the Sentence

Another mistake is ignoring the “Subject” who has done the action, in a passive sentence when it's important for clarity. While passive voice focuses on the action or the object, sometimes we need to mention the doer to avoid confusion and make the meaning clear.

For Example:

• Sentence 1: The cake was baked. (Without Subject)
• Sentence 2: The cake was baked by the popular baker. (With Subject).

Explanation: By adding "Popular Baker" we clarify who acted. This is important in contexts where knowing the doer is necessary for understanding or context.

By now you must have understood the Passive Voice through some examples. Ensure that you practice the exercises to improve your grammar learning. Practice is key and regular practice is essential to crack the IELTS exam. Continue learning and practice!