Active to Passive Voice

Converting sentences from active to passive voice involves changing the focus from the subject performing the action to the object receiving the action.

Conversion in Different Tenses

Steps to convert active voice to passive voice.

  • Identify the Subject, Verb, and Object.
  • Move the Object to the Subject Position.
  • Use the Appropriate Form of Auxiliary Verb.
  • Change the Main Verb to Its Past Participle Form.
  • Add the Original Subject at the End.
Auxiliary Verbs Conversion from Active to Passive Voice
Tense Active Voice Passive Voice
Present Simple do, does am, is, are
Present Continuous am, is, are am, is, are + being
Present Perfect has, have has, have + been
Past Simple did was, were
Past Continuous was, were was, were + being
Past Perfect had had + been
Future Simple will will + be
Future Perfect will have will have + been

Present Simple

Present Simple Active to Passive Voice
Form Voice Structure
Affirmative Active Subject + base verb + object
Passive Object + am/is/are + past participle + by + subject
Negative Active Subject + do/does + not + base verb + object
Passive Object + am/is/are + not + past participle + by + subject
Interrogative Active Do/does + subject + base verb + object?
Passive Is/am/are + object + past participle + by + subject?
Example:
  • Affirmative:
    • Active: The chef cooks the meal.
    • Passive: The meal is cooked by the chef.
  • Negative:
    • Active: The chef does not cook the meal.
    • Passive: The meal is not cooked by the chef.
  • Interrogative:
    • Active: Does the chef cook the meal?
    • Passive: Is the meal cooked by the chef?

Present Continuous

Present Continuous Active to Passive Voice
Form Voice Structure
Affirmative Active Subject + am/is/are + base verb + ing + object
Passive Object + am/is/are + being + past participle + by + subject
Negative Active Subject + am/is/are + not + base verb + ing + object
Passive Object + am/is/are + not + being + past participle + by + subject
Interrogative Active Am/is/are + subject + base verb + ing + object?
Passive Am/is/are + object + being + past participle + by + subject?
Example:
  • Affirmative:
    • Active: The chef is cooking the meal.
    • Passive: The meal is being cooked by the chef.
  • Negative:
    • Active: The chef is not cooking the meal.
    • Passive: The meal is not being cooked by the chef.
  • Interrogative:
    • Active: Is the chef cooking the meal?
    • Passive: Is the meal being cooked by the chef?

Present Perfect

Present Perfect Active to Passive Voice
Form Voice Structure
Affirmative Active Subject + has/have + past participle + object
Passive Object + has/have + been + past participle + by + subject
Negative Active Subject + has/have + not + past participle + object
Passive Object + has/have + not + been + past participle + by + subject
Interrogative Active Has/have + subject + past participle + object?
Passive Has/have + object + been + past participle + by + subject?
Example:
  • Affirmative:
    • Active: The chef has cooked the meal.
    • Passive: The meal has been cooked by the chef.
  • Negative:
    • Active: The chef has not cooked the meal.
    • Passive: The meal has not been cooked by the chef.
  • Interrogative:
    • Active: Has the chef cooked the meal?
    • Passive: Has the meal been cooked by the chef?

Past Simple

Past Simple Active to Passive Voice
Form Voice Structure
Affirmative Active Subject + past verb + object
Passive Object + was/were + past participle + by + subject
Negative Active Subject + did not + base verb + object
Passive Object + was/were + not + past participle + by + subject
Interrogative Active Did + subject + base verb + object?
Passive Was/were + object + past participle + by + subject?
Example:
  • Affirmative:
    • Active: The chef cooked the meal.
    • Passive: The meal was cooked by the chef.
  • Negative:
    • Active: The chef did not cook the meal.
    • Passive: The meal was not cooked by the chef.
  • Interrogative:
    • Active: Did the chef cook the meal?
    • Passive: Was the meal cooked by the chef?

Past Continuous

Past Continuous Active to Passive Voice
Form Voice Structure
Affirmative Active Subject + was/were + base verb + ing + object
Passive Object + was/were + being + past participle + by + subject
Negative Active Subject + was/were + not + base verb + ing + object
Passive Object + was/were + not + being + past participle + by + subject
Interrogative Active Was/were + subject + base verb + ing + object?
Passive Was/were + object + being + past participle + by + subject?
Example:
  • Affirmative:
    • Active: The chef was cooking the meal.
    • Passive: The meal was being cooked by the chef.
  • Negative:
    • Active: The chef was not cooking the meal.
    • Passive: The meal was not being cooked by the chef.
  • Interrogative:
    • Active: Was the chef cooking the meal?
    • Passive: Was the meal being cooked by the chef?

Past Perfect

Past Perfect Active to Passive Voice
Form Voice Structure
Affirmative Active Subject + had + past participle + object
Passive Object + had + been + past participle + by + subject
Negative Active Subject + had + not + past participle + object
Passive Object + had + not + been + past participle + by + subject
Interrogative Active Had + subject + past participle + object?
Passive Had + object + been + past participle + by + subject?
Example:
  • Affirmative:
    • Active: The chef had cooked the meal.
    • Passive: The meal had been cooked by the chef.
  • Negative:
    • Active: The chef had not cooked the meal.
    • Passive: The meal had not been cooked by the chef.
  • Interrogative:
    • Active: Had the chef cooked the meal?
    • Passive: Had the meal been cooked by the chef?

Future Simple

Future Simple Active to Passive Voice
Form Voice Structure
Affirmative Active Subject + will + base verb + object
Passive Object + will be + past participle + by + subject
Negative Active Subject + will not + base verb + object
Passive Object + will not be + past participle + by + subject
Interrogative Active Will + subject + base verb + object?
Passive Will + object + be + past participle + by + subject?
Example:
  • Affirmative:
    • Active: The chef will cook the meal.
    • Passive: The meal will be cooked by the chef.
  • Negative:
    • Active: The chef will not cook the meal.
    • Passive: The meal will not be cooked by the chef.
  • Interrogative:
    • Active: Will the chef cook the meal?
    • Passive: Will the meal be cooked by the chef?

Future Perfect

Future Perfect Active to Passive Voice
Form Voice Structure
Affirmative Active Subject + will have + past participle + object
Passive Object + will have + been + past participle + by + subject
Negative Active Subject + will not have + past participle + object
Passive Object + will not have + been + past participle + by + subject
Interrogative Active Will + subject + have + past participle + object?
Passive Will + object + have + been + past participle + by + subject?
Example:
  • Affirmative:
    • Active: The chef will have cooked the meal.
    • Passive: The meal will have been cooked by the chef.
  • Negative:
    • Active: The chef will not have cooked the meal.
    • Passive: The meal will not have been cooked by the chef.
  • Interrogative:
    • Active: Will the chef have cooked the meal?
    • Passive: Will the meal have been cooked by the chef?
Modal Verbs Conversion from Active to Passive Voice
Form Voice Structure
Affirmative Active Subject + modal verb + base verb + object
Passive Object + modal verb + be + past participle + by + subject
Negative Active Subject + modal verb + not + base verb + object
Passive Object + modal verb + not + be + past participle + by + subject
Interrogative Active Modal verb + subject + base verb + object?
Passive Modal verb + object + be + past participle + by + subject?

Example:

  • Affirmative:
    • Active: The chef can cook the meal.
    • Passive: The meal can be cooked by the chef.
  • Negative:
    • Active: The chef cannot cook the meal.
    • Passive: The meal cannot be cooked by the chef.
  • Interrogative:
    • Active: Can the chef cook the meal?
    • Passive: Can the meal be cooked by the chef?