Campus Recruitment – Verbal Ability – Active and Passive Voice

Campus Recruitment – Verbal Ability – Active and Passive Voice

Voice is that form of a verb which shows whether what is denoted by the subject ‘does something’ or ‘has something done to it’.

• A verb is in the active voice when its form shows that the person or thing denoted by the subject does something or is the ‘doer’ of the action. The active voice is so called because the person denoted by the subject ‘acts’.
  e.g.: The police help people.
• A verb is in the passive voice when its form shows that something is done to the person or thing denoted by the subject. The passive is so called because the person or thing denoted by the subject is not active but ‘passive’ that is suffers or receives some action.
  e.g.: People are helped by the police.
  Though both the sentences mean the same, some changes can be noticed in the structure of the sentences. Since the object of the verb in the active voice becomes the subject of the passive form, only ‘transitive verbs’ can be used in the passive voice, because an intransitive verb has no object. In order to identify an object ask the following questions ‘who’, ‘whom’, ‘what’. If the sentence has answers to any of these questions, then the verb is transitive and the sentence can be passivized.
• A transitive verb is one that needs an object to complete the action. Some verbs may also require two objects.
  e.g.: A verb like ‘give’ – the sentence ‘I give’ seems incomplete. It requires an object to indicate ‘what’ or ‘to whom’.
  See the following examples.
  She accepted the proposal, (what ?)
  They gave him a reward, (what ? to whom ?)
  The R & B department has widened this road, (what ?)
  Australia won the last cricket world cup. (who ?)
  The Government awarded Sachin Tendulkar Khel Ratna (to whom ?)
  They released a new film yesterday, (what ?)
• An intransitive verb on the other hand does not require an object to complete the sentence. Some of these verbs are: come, go, fall, die, sleep, wake up, walk etc. These verbs do not answer to the questions – ‘what’, ’who’ or ‘whom’.

1. The object of an active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. Hence in the example, ‘The police help people’ given above ‘people’ which is the object of the active sentence, has become the subject of the passive sentence (People are helped by the police).
   e.g.: The police arrested the thief. (The police is the subject)
   The thief was arrested, (object – thief has become the subject)
2. The subject of the active sentence becomes the agent and is indicated by ‘by’, (by the police). This agent may sometimes be omitted.
   e.g.: Trial runs of Metro Rail have started, (by L&T not necessary)
   The main roads in the city are swept at night, (by GHMC employees need not be mentioned)
3. The tense of the active voice is to be retained in the passive sentence too, but the structure has to change according to the tense of the verb.
   These are the changes which occur when a sentence is changed from active to passive voice.

• In all the examples given above the sentence in active voice must have an object, which becomes the subject of the sentence in passive voice.
• Sentences in present/ past continuous tenses cannot be made into passive.

Passive voice is used,
When the ‘doer’ of the action is not important, but the person or thing acted upon is important.
e.g.: This over bridge was inaugurated last month. (It is immaterial who inaugurated the bridge, our concern is only the bridge being usable now).

When the ‘doer’ of the action is unknown.
e.g.: The house was burgled when the inmates were on vacation.

When the ‘doer’ of the action is obvious or understood.
e.g.: The telephone was disconnected for non-payment of the bill, (only the telephone department can disconnect the instrument)
These roads have been re-laid recently. (This work can be done only by the R&B department)

Correction of Sentences (Based on passive voice)

1. A.R.Rahman awarded the Oscars for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. (was awarded)
2. He was died before the police came. (had died – ‘die’ cannot be made into passive)
3. The student punished Principal. (was punished by the Principal)
4. He was worked in BMW when he lived in Germany, (remove ‘was’. Work is an intransitive verb).
5. The roads being repaired. (are being, refer to the structure)
6. My friend given me money yesterday, {gave can be active voice or I was given money yesterday- in passive voice)
7. Identity card must displayed at the entrance. (must be displayed)
8. Fruits eaten by people after meals, {are eaten)