who is not doing homework today passive voice

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Passive voice of “they did not do the work”

What is the passive voice of “they did not do the work”?

• passive-voice

• I cleared the close votes on this question because even though it does not meet our quality standards, closing it would reject the migration and remove answers that would potentially be useful to other learners. You should take a look at Details, Please link on English Language Learners Meta . There are some examples of questions with good detail in an answer to that post. It helps us write better answers if we understand what you already know and what you've tried to do to answer your question before you posted. –  ColleenV Dec 12, 2018 at 14:59

4 Answers 4

In such a sentence one is " Dummy Do", the meaningless one the support of which we seek in Simple Present and Simple past where there is no auxiliary or modal but the sentence is to be made negative or interrogative.

Ignore this first DO, the meaningless one, we call do support.

• They ( did) NOT DO the work.

We know 'do support' embodies the tense and person of the finite verb. Thus deduced, the sentence is in simple past.

Let's make it passive.

The work was not done by them.

We know BE Verb in a sentence is conspicuous by its presence in the sense that it precedes the subject in questions and turns negative all by itself without support of any helping verb, irrespective of the fact that BE VERB is there either as a main verb or as an auxiliary.

• 4 Please note, the system has flagged your answer for deletion as "low-quality because of its length and content ." An answer on this site is expected to be authoritative, detailed, and explain why it is correct . You can edit your answer, for example to explain why this is passive voice. For further guidance, see How to Answer and take the Tour :-) –  Chappo Hasn't Forgotten Monica Dec 6, 2018 at 20:02

It is definitely:

The work wasn't done (by them).

We form the passive using the auxiliary "to be" + past participle. "by them" is optional since we usually focus on the action when we use the passive.

• We form the passive using the auxiliary "to be" + "past pariticiple". (by them) is optional since we usually focus on the action when we use the passive. –  Mossaab Cherai Dec 6, 2018 at 18:49
• This should go in the answer :) You can edit and add your explanation. –  Mari-Lou A Dec 6, 2018 at 18:52
• The other critical step you did not mention in converting between active and passive voice is swapping the subject and object of the verb. –  Ross Murray Dec 7, 2018 at 1:34
• @Mossaab Cherai I have serious reservation to call the " to be " we use in passive voice an auxiliary; it is to my mind is THE MAIN VERB. : Follow its use in tense formation. –  Barid Baran Acharya Dec 7, 2018 at 16:38

The difference between "they did not do the work" and "the work was not done by them" is the latter does not convey that the work was not done, and implies someone else may have. The question that follows is "well who did it?"

I prefer a more specific choice of words to more clearly create the inference that the work was not done at all :

the work was overlooked (by them).

• The OP asks about passive voice This is a purely grammatical question. –  TonyK Dec 6, 2018 at 19:59
• @TonyK my apologies, I erred in claiming my statement was active voice. Edited. –  Harper Dec 6, 2018 at 21:11

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Changing Passive to Active Voice

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This handout will explain the difference between active and passive voice in writing. It gives examples of both, and shows how to turn a passive sentence into an active one. Also, it explains how to decide when to choose passive voice instead of active.

If you want to change a passive-voice sentence to active voice, find the agent in a "by the..." phrase, or consider carefully who or what is performing the action expressed in the verb. Make that agent the subject of the sentence, and change the verb accordingly. Sometimes you will need to infer the agent from the surrounding sentences which provide context.

If you want to change an active-voice sentence to passive voice, consider carefully who or what is performing the action expressed in the verb, and then make that agent the object of a by the... phrase. Make what is acted upon the subject of the sentence, and change the verb to a form of be + past participle. Including an explicit by the... phrase is optional.

This passive voice contains a by the... phrase. Removing the by the... phrase and reworking the sentence will give it the active voice.

Image Caption: Making "most of the class" the subject of the sentence moves the action of the sentence onto the class, and shifts the sentence from passive into active voice.

The agent is not explicitly stated, but it is most likely researchers. Making the agent the subject of the sentence will allow you to use the active voice.

This sentence now uses the active voice because the agent (the researchers) are now performing the action as the sentence subject.

The CIA director and his close advisors are the agent of change in this sentence, but they are not the subject. Making the agent the subject will transform the sentence into a more concise, active voice phrase.

This sentence now uses the active voice because the agent (the CIA director and his close advisors) is performing the action as the sentence subject.

The agent is not specified in this sentence.

This sentence now uses the active voice because the agent (we) is the subject of the sentence.

This active voice sentence's agent is the presiding officer, which is the subject.

Changing the sentence subject from the agent (the presiding officer) to the object of the verb (the committee's recommendation) and adding a by the...phrase transforms the sentence into the passive voice.

This sentence includes the agent (the leaders) as the subject performing the action of the verb.

This sentence now uses the passive voice because the subject has been changed from the agent (the leaders) to the object of the verb (a fair resolution).

The scientists are the agent performing the verb's action in this active voice sentence.

This passive voice sentence no longer specifies the agent (scientists) and now uses the passive voice because the verb's object (traces of ice) is now the subject.

Active vs. Passive Voice: What's The Difference?

What to Know When a sentence is in the active voice , the subject of the sentence is the one doing the action expressed by the verb. In the passive voice , the subject is the person or thing acted on or affected by the verb's action. The passive voice is typically formed with a form of the verb be —such as is , was , or has been —and the past participle of the verb, as in "The ball was thrown by Jerry." Although sometimes criticized for being evasive, the passive voice can be useful when someone wants to emphasize an action that has taken place or when the agent of an action is unknown, as is often the case in news coverage.

Mistakes were made.

In English class, we are taught the difference between active and passive voice.

The active voice asserts that the person or thing represented by the grammatical subject performs the action represented by the verb.

The passive voice makes the subject the person or thing acted on or affected by the action represented by the verb.

Active voice: Jerry knocked over the lamp. Passive voice: The lamp was knocked over by Jerry.

Both sentences describe the same action taking place—Jerry making contact with a lamp and causing it to fall over—with the first sentence making Jerry the subject and the second making the lamp the subject.

The passive voice is often distinguished by its use of a linking verb form (e.g., was , had been ) followed by another verb in its past participle form (e.g., "I have been given an opportunity").

Usefulness of Passive Voice

Passive voice often gets criticized as a weak and evasive form of expression. But it is useful for those instances when you want to emphasize the fact of an action having taken place rather than who performed the action. It is also helpful for instances when the doer of an action (also known as the agent) is unknown.

Active voice: The kids have cleaned the kitchen. Passive voice: The kitchen has been cleaned. Active voice: We found an old car in the woods. Passive voice: An old car was found in the woods.

(There is also the mediopassive voice, which is a whole other animal that we discuss in this article .)

In the News

The differences between active and passive voice come up as a subject for discussion in criticism of news coverage. When news media reports on incidents of crime, for example, they will often use headlines that feature the passive voice: “Man (Is) Attacked on Elm Street” instead of “Person Attacks Man on Elm Street.”

The passive voice allows for a shorter headline, but more pertinently, it puts up front information that is known. In many cases, especially in stories involving crime, the fact of the crime being committed, and whom it was committed against, is known before who committed it becomes clear.

The reason for the passive is therefore practical: one might not know who carried out the attack, only that someone did, and that the attacker might still be at large. Even once an attacker has been identified, news writers might avoid the active voice for fear of stating what that person is accused of as fact. (Hence, “Arrest Made in Elm Street Attack.”)

The passive voice gets called out on occasion as a tool for expressing the avoidance of responsibility, like when one says “Mistakes were made” rather than “We made some mistakes.” Sometimes, as in our Elm Street example, it is criticized for placing what appears to be a burden of responsibility on the person who receives the action (i.e., the victim) rather than the person who performs it.

Passive voice is for when the state does violence. Active voice is for when a protester does? Got it. https://t.co/2ror8Sen1K — Rebecca Traister (@rtraister) May 31, 2020

Confusing Active and Passive Voice

There are other instances that technically count as active voice but nonetheless use language that dissociates the performer from the action being performed.

“The lamp fell over” is active voice, but it feels like a passive statement because there is no obvious causative agent like Jerry in “Jerry knocked over the lamp.”

This occurs in news writing as well. A sentence like “a rock shattered the store’s window” is phrased in active voice—the subject is rock , the verb is shatter , and the object is window —though it might be derided as elusive because it avoids the question of who was the agent who propelled the rock that broke the glass.

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Passive Voice - Exercises on Form

>mixed exercise on passive voice.

Rewrite the sentences in passive voice.

• John collects money. -
• Anna opened the window. -
• We have done our homework. -
• I will ask a question. -
• He can cut out the picture. -
• The sheep ate a lot. -
• We do not clean our rooms. -
• William will not repair the car. -
• Did Sue draw this circle? -
• Could you feed the dog? -

Passive Voice Usage and Examples for ESL/EFL

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The passive voice in English is used to express what is done to someone or something. Here are a few examples:

The company was sold for $5 million. That novel was written by Jack Smith in 1912. My house was built in 1988.

In each of these sentences, the subject of the sentences does nothing. Rather, something is done to the subject of the sentence. In each case, the focus is on the object of an action. These sentences could also be written in the active voice.

The owners sold the company for $5 million. Jack Smith wrote the novel in 1912. A construction company built my house in 1988.

Choosing Passive Voice

The passive voice is used to place focus on the object rather than the subject. In other words, who does something is less important than what was done to something (focusing on the person or thing affected by an action). Generally speaking, the passive voice is used less frequently than the active voice.

That said, the passive voice is useful to switch the focus from  who  is doing something to  what  is being done, which makes it especially useful in business settings when the focus is placed on a product. By using the passive, the product becomes the focus of the sentence. As you can see from these examples, this makes a stronger statement than using the active voice.

Computer chips are manufactured in our plant in Hillsboro. Your car will be polished with the finest wax. Our pasta is made using only the finest ingredients. 

Here are some other example sentences that a business might change to the passive form in order to change focus:

We have produced over 20 different models in the past two years.  (active voice) Over 20 different models have been produced in the past two years.  (passive voice) My colleagues and I develop software for financial institutions.  ​(active voice) Our software is developed for financial institutions.  (passive voice)

Study the passive voice below and then practice your writing skills by changing passive sentences to active sentences , or vice versa.

Passive Voice Sentence Structure

Passive subject + to be + past participle

Note that the verb "be" is conjugated followed by the participle form of the main verb. 

The house was built in 1989. My friend is being interviewed today. The project has been completed recently. 

The passive voice follows the same usage rules as all the  tenses in English . However, some tenses tend not to be used in the passive voice. Generally speaking, perfect continuous tenses are not used in the passive voice.

Using the Agent 

The person or people taking an action are referred to as the agent. If the agent (the person or people performing an action) is not important for understanding, the agent can be left out. Here are some examples:

The dogs have already been fed. (It's not important who fed the dogs) The children will be taught basic math. (It's clear that a teacher will teach the children) The report will have been finished by the end of next week. (It's not important who completes the report)

In some cases, it's important to know the agent. In this case, use the preposition "by" to express the agent following the passive structure. This structure is especially common when speaking about artistic works such as paintings, books, or music.

"The Flight to Brunnswick" was written in 1987 by Tim Wilson. This model was developed by Stan Ishly for our production team. 

Passive Used With Transitive Verbs

Transitive verbs are verbs that can take an object. Here are some examples:

We assembled the car in less than two hours. I wrote the report last week. 

Intransitive verbs do not take an object:

She arrived early. The accident happened last week. 

Only verbs that take an object can be used in the passive voice. In other words, the passive voice is used only with transitive verbs. 

We assembled the car in less than two hours.  (active voice) The car was assembled in less than two hours.  (passive voice) I wrote the report last week.  (active voice) The report was written last week.  (passive voice)

Passive Voice Structure Examples

Here are examples of some of the most common tenses used in the passive voice:

Passive Voice Quiz 

Test your knowledge by Conjugating the verbs in parentheses in the passive voice. Pay close attention to the time expressions for clues on tense usage:

• Our house ______________ (paint) brown and black last week.
• The project ______________ (complete) next week by our outstanding marketing department. 
• The plans for the new contract __________________ (draw up) right now. 
• More than 30,000 new computers _________________ (manufacture) every day at our plant in China. 
• The children ________________ (teach) by Ms Anderson since last year.
• The piece ________________ (write) by Mozart when he was only six years old.
• My hair ______________ (cut) by Julie every month.
• The portrait _______________ (paint) by a famous painter, but I'm not sure when. 
• The cruise ship ______________ (christen) by Queen Elizabeth in 1987.
• My paper ______________ (deliver) every morning by a teenager on his bike.
• was painted
• will be completed/is going to be completed 
• are being drawn up
• are manufactured
• have been taught
• was written
• will be painted 
• was christened
• is delivered 
• Example of the Verb 'Meet'
• Integrating Target Structure
• Parts of Speech: What Are Verbs?
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• Subject and Object Questions
• Complex Sentence Worksheet

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Active vs. Passive Voice

Take a sentence like “I want ice cream now.” It’s clear and straightforward—you know immediately that the subject, I , wants an object, ice cream . Now, recast this sentence, flipping it so that the object is in the position of the subject: “Ice cream is wanted by me now.” It isn’t just longer, but it’s also more detached, roundabout, and a little awkward, too. 

Those two sentences are examples of the active voice and the passive voice. Certain kinds of writing are best suited for the active voice, while the passive voice is most appropriate for other kinds of writing. Understanding how, when, and why to use each is key to being an effective writer and speaker. 

Here’s a tip: Want to make sure your writing shines? Grammarly can check your spelling and save you from grammar and punctuation mistakes. It even proofreads your text, so your work is extra polished wherever you write.

Your writing, at its best Grammarly helps you communicate confidently Write with Grammarly

What is active voice, what is passive voice, and what are their different functions?

In the active voice, the subject is performing an action:

The dog chases the ball. 

Notice how the subject, dog , is performing the action, chase , on the target of the action, ball . This is a simple, direct example of the active voice.

In the passive voice, the action’s target, ball , is positioned first as the focus of the sentence. The sentence gets flipped, and the subject is now being acted upon by the verb. In other words, the subject is passive :

The ball is being chased by the dog. 

Active and passive are the two grammatical voices in English. Neither is inherently better than the other, but each is suited to certain types of writing. There’s a reason why news anchors sound detached from the stories they’re reporting: They often speak using the passive voice. There’s also a reason why the authors of opinion pieces sound so sure of their positions: They usually write in the active voice. 

Although the idea of teachers telling their students to avoid the passive voice is repeated so frequently that it feels like a trope, the truth is that the passive voice does have its applications. We’ll get into those later. For now, let’s look at how to recognize the active voice and the passive voice in your writing and in others’ work. 

Active voice

As we’ve learned, in the active voice, the sentence’s subject performs the action. Here are two examples of sentences in the active voice: 

Shira likes birdwatching.

She loves twilight. 

No matter what verb you use, structuring your sentence so the subject performs the verb is writing in the active voice. 

The active voice has a direct, clear tone. Use it when you want the reader to focus on the subject of your sentence and the action it is doing rather than on the action’s target.

Passive voice

In the passive voice , the action’s target is the focus, and the verb acts upon the subject. Or, to put it in the passive voice, the subject is acted upon by the verb. Every sentence in the passive voice contains two verbs: 

• A conjugated form of “to be”
• The main verb’s past participle

Take a look at the previous examples, now written in passive voice:

Birdwatching is liked by Shira.  

Twilight is loved by her.

Notice how the targets of the action—also the direct objects of the sentences—are now the focus. The sentences now contain a conjugated form of “to be” ( is ) and the main verb’s past participle ( liked and loved ). Often, sentences in the passive voice are longer than sentences in the active voice simply because they have to include additional words like prepositions. Take a look at this sentence in the passive voice: 

Summer break is [conjugated form of “to be”] loved [past participle of the main verb] by [preposition] my friends. 

However, sentences written in the passive voice don’t necessarily need a preposition. Take a look at the example sentences below:

The check was paid. 

He will be remembered. 

The Philippines is known for its marine biodiversity.

The passive voice has a subtler tone than the active voice has. Sometimes your writing needs this tone, like when you want your reader to focus on the action being described or the action’s target rather than on who or what is performing the action. This is why the passive voice is used in lab reports —it conveys scientific objectivity by minimizing the focus on the doer of the action. 

Active and passive voice usage

Although you may have been told that writing in the passive voice is “bad writing,” it’s actually more nuanced than that. For most of the writing you do, like emails , blog posts , and many kinds of essays , the active voice is a more effective way to communicate the ideas, themes, and facts you’re expressing. 

In certain kinds of writing , though, the passive voice is necessary. Think about how news reports about crime and incidents are usually written and delivered: 

A car was broken into on Elm Street last night. 

Cash was stolen from the register. 

In these kinds of reports, the passive voice is used to emphasize the action that occurred rather than the individual or group who committed the action, often because the perpetrator isn’t known or hasn’t yet been found guilty of the offense.

There are other kinds of writing where the action itself, rather than the doer of the action, is the primary focus. These include scientific and, in some cases, historical reports. These use the passive voice to keep the reader’s focus on what has happened or is happening. Here are a few examples:

The rats were placed into the maze. 

The governor was inaugurated at the statehouse. 

Notice how in both of these sentences, the doer of the action isn’t mentioned. That’s because it’s either implied or irrelevant. In the first example, the scientist performing the experiment is the one who placed the rats in the maze. In the second, those conducting the inauguration ceremony aren’t relevant to what’s being expressed in the sentence. 

How to change passive voice to active voice

After you finish your first draft, read it. You might even want to read it aloud and listen to how it sounds. By reading and listening to your own work, you can catch awkward sentences and unclear phrasing and mark them as points to revise in your next draft. You’ll also hear where you used the active and passive voices and how they shift your work’s tone as a whole. 

Let’s say you’ve detected a few instances of the passive voice in your argumentative essay :

More flexible scheduling options are deserved by students. Significant amounts of tuition are paid to the university every year, and many feel the level of service being paid for by students is not being received. 

See how these sentences feel like they’re dancing around the topic at hand rather than addressing it head-on? The writer isn’t making a particularly persuasive argument, but they can make their writing far more impactful by changing it to the active voice. 

Sentence-by-sentence, identify who or what is performing the action, and make that the subject when you rewrite it. In the first sentence, make students the subject, since that’s who is performing the action. The main verb in this sentence is deserve, and the target is more flexible scheduling options , which will become the direct object in your new sentence. With these identified, restructure the sentence so the subject is now directly performing the verb. In the active voice, this sentence would read like this: 

Students deserve more flexible scheduling options. 

See how this version gets right to the point? It makes the writer sound more confident too, which is a priority in argumentative writing. Let’s try changing the second sentence to the active voice, which also allows us to condense: 

Students pay a significant amount of tuition to the university every year, and many feel they aren’t receiving the level of service they’re paying for.

As you can see from the compound sentence above, you can write any kind of sentence in the active or passive voice as long as the sentence has a transitive verb . Whether it’s a simple or complex sentence (or even a compound-complex sentence), you can dramatically alter your tone by simply reworking its structure. 

If you aren’t sure whether a sentence is active or passive based on how it sounds, use the rules we outlined above to identify the two voices in your work. The biggest clue you have a passive voice sentence on your hands will be a form of “to be” followed by a past participle (e.g., was requested or will be missed ). Not every passive voice sentence says who is performing the action, but if it does, you’ll see a preposition next to it (e.g., by zombies or by my brother ).

You can use either voice when you’re paraphrasing a longer work. Sometimes, such as in cases where you’re paraphrasing a scientific article, you’ll need to use the passive voice in your paraphrased version. In others, you might actually make the original clearer by paraphrasing in the active voice. 

Active and passive voice examples

Take a look at these examples of both the active and passive voices in action: 

Active: Is Ajani visiting us today?

Passive: Will we be visited by Ajani today?

As you see, questions can be written in either voice. Other kinds of sentences, like exclamatory and imperative sentences, are often best written in the active voice: 

Active: Please remove your shoes before entering my house. 

Passive: Shoes should be removed before entering my house. 

Active: Lock the door!

Passive: Let the door be locked!

See how with the first pair, the passive voice makes the request feel more like a suggestion? In the second pair, the passive voice makes the message sound stilted and formal rather than an urgent exclamation.

Now take a look at these two examples: 

Active: I poured the solution into the beaker and heated it to 100℉.

Passive: The solution was poured into the beaker and heated to 100℉. 

Active and passive voice FAQs

What is active voice, what is passive voice, and what’s the difference.

In the active voice, the sentence’s subject performs the action on the action’s target. In the passive voice, the target of the action is the main focus, and the verb acts upon the subject. There are numerous differences between the two grammatical voices, but the most important is that the active voice is clearer and more direct, while the passive voice is subtler and can feel more detached. 

When should you use active vs. passive voice?

Use the active voice in any sentence that focuses on the doer of the action. Unless the majority of your writing is scientific or reporting incidents involving unknown perpetrators, most of the sentences you write should be in the active voice. 

The passive voice is meant for sentences where you need to emphasize the target of an action or the action itself rather than who or what is performing the verb. 

How do you change passive voice to active? 

To change the passive voice to the active voice, determine who is actually performing the action in the sentence, then restructure the sentence so that the performer is the focus, clearly performing the verb upon the sentence’s direct object. 

• Passive: Salsa dancing has always been loved by our community.
• Active: Our community has always loved salsa dancing. 

Here’s a tip: You don’t have to guess whether you’re using certain words correctly or breaking grammar rules in your writing. Just copy and paste your writing into our Grammar Checker and get instant feedback on whether your sentences have misspellings, punctuation errors, or any structural mistakes.

• B1-B2 grammar

Do you know how to use the passive voice to change the focus of a sentence? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see how the passive voice is used.

A lot of olive oil is produced in Italy. This book was written by Angela Davis. The suspect will be released tomorrow. This product has not been tested on animals.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar B1-B2: Passives: 1

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

We use the passive voice to change the focus of the sentence.

My bike was stolen. (passive – focus on my bike ) Someone stole my bike. (active – focus on someone )

We often use the passive:

• when we prefer not to mention who or what does the action (for example, it's not known, it's obvious or we don't want to say)
• so that we can start a sentence with the most important or most logical information
• in more formal or scientific writing.

How we make the passive

We make the passive using the verb be + past participle. We start the sentence with the object.

It is not always necessary to add who or what did the action.

Only the form of be changes to make the tense. The past participle stays the same. Here are examples of the passive in its most common tenses.

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar B1-B2: Passives: 2

Language level

Hello! Could you please explain what type of passive is it: "We were afraid of being seen together" Thank you!

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Hi Iryna_hn,

This is a passive - ing form (or passive gerund). The structure is  being  + past participle. It is needed here because it follows the preposition  of . Here are a couple more examples.

• I was happy about being chosen to join the team . (follows a preposition)
• Being valued and appreciated by others is the best feeling . (the subject of the sentence)

Hope that helps.

LearnEnglish team

Hello support team Can anyone explain a question on second grammer test: Someone ___ my talk at the conference and recommended me as a speaker. The answer was"saw" but i think it should be "had seen". Because verb of "see" happened before verb "recommend" and they both hapenned in past. And secondly i want to ask why are we saying "I went home then I changed my clothes, then I leaved." Instead of using past perfect. Thank you.

Hello Emirorhan,

For past actions which happen in sequence (i.e. not at the same time) we usually use two past simple forms. For example: I got up, I cleaned my teeth, I had a shower and I went to work.

This is true even if we change the order of description:  Before I went to work I got up, cleaned my teeth and I had a shower.

So, when do we use the past perfect? We use it when an action not only happens before another action in the past, but when the two events are connected in some way. In other words, if an action triggers (causes) another action, or if one action has a direct influence on a later action then the past perfect is common. As you can see, the past perfect does fit in your sentence as the earlier action (seeing you) affected or caused the later action (recommending you). The past simple is also fine, however - it is up to the speaker how far they choose to link the two actions.

I think I've already answered the second question in my description of the past simple above. Note that the past form of 'leave' is 'left' - it's irregular.

The LearnEnglish Team

Good morning everyone

I have doubts about passive regarding “impersonal passive structure and the normal passive structure” for example: _ he reads books.

1) the normal passive structure: Books are read. 2) the impersonal passive structure: it’s said that he reads books. OR he is said to read books.

The question is: can I make the sentences that have “object” with the two structures? OR there are sentences go with the normal structure, and sentences go with the impersonal?

Thank you in advance.

Hi khaledAl5,

Good question. Yes, you can transform a sentence that has an object into the two passive forms that you mentioned.

However, as the impersonal passive includes a phrase such as "It's said that ..." or "He is said to ...", it tends to be used when the speaker wants to report what other people say. Apart from "say", other reporting verbs can be used in this structure (e.g. "It's believed / claimed / suggested / reported that ..."). If the speaker is not reporting what other people say, the normal passive would be preferred.

If you are interested in this topic, we are currently preparing a new C1 grammar page on it and it should be published soon!

Hello support team!

I hope you're doing well and feeling alright.

The following multiple-choice question was in my entrance exam, and I think it has two correct answers, making it technically incorrect.

I would be obliged if you would help me. Here it goes:

They are first taught the basic procedures for scuba diving, including safety and communication with fellow divers, ................... with the equipment before dipping their  toes into the water. 

1) and familiarized ✅ 2) who are familiarized  3) while they are familiarizing 4) then familiarize themselves✅

Hi Amir__760__,

I would choose answer 1 as the correct one.

Consider this sentence:  They are taught the procedures and then familiarised with the equipment . Here, "then" is an adverb. But the sentence also needs to include the conjunction "and", which functions to join the two parts of the sentence. We need "and" because "then" is not a conjunction and it can't join the parts of the sentence in this way. Strictly speaking, therefore, it's incorrect to say  They are taught the procedures, then familiarize themselves ...  because a conjunction (e.g. "and") is missing. (I should add that it is, nonetheless, fairly common to use "then" in this way in actual speaking and writing.) It should instead be one of these options.

• They are taught the procedures, and then familiarize themselves ...
• They are taught the procedures. Then they familiarize themselves ...

So, answer 4 can be considered incorrect - not because of "familiarize themselves", but because of the use of "then" as a conjunction.

I hope that helps to answer your question.

Please explain to me the rules of passive for the following sentence : His employers did not pay him well.

Hello Sarita,

You need to change the object 'him' into a subject ('he'). The active verb 'did not pay', which is a negative past simple verb, should be converted into a passive verb by putting 'be' into the negative past simple plus the past participle of 'pay'. Then use the adverb 'well' (with no change in form). Finally, the subject 'his employers' goes after 'by' to show the agent.

Why don't you write it out and we confirm if it's correct?

All the best, Kirk LearnEnglish team

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, active vs passive voice: understanding the difference.

General Education

Though fun, writing can also get pretty darn confusing, especially when you’re trying to figure out whether to use the active or passive voice. What is the difference between active and passive voice? When and how should you use them?

In this complete active voice vs passive voice guide, we'll go over how each voice works in English grammar, when to use the two voices, and how to change a sentence from passive to active (and vice versa). We’ll also give you an active vs passive voice quiz to test your skills. Let's get started!

What Is Active Voice?

The active voice is when the subject of a sentence performs an action on an object. In other words, the subject does the action, and the object receives the action .

The active voice is easy to identify in writing because it follows a simple form, which is the basis of English grammar:

Subject ( doer ) → Verb → Object ( recipient )

Here’s an example of a sentence using the active voice:

The dog ate my homework.

In this example, "the dog" is the subject, "ate" is the verb, and "my homework" is the object. Here’s a diagram to better show this connection:

Here, "the dog" is doing (or, in this case, has already done) the action: it is the one that "ate." Meanwhile, "homework" is the object that is receiving this action of eating.

Here’s another example of the active voice at play:

She is writing an essay.

In this example, "she" is the subject, "is writing" is the verb (in the present progressive tense), and "an essay" is the object.

Once again, the subject ("she") is the one performing the action: "she" is "writing." And what is she writing? An "essay," i.e., the noun that’s receiving the action.

Finally, here's an example of the active voice being used without an object:

In this sentence, we have a subject ("he") and a verb ("sings") but no object. Regardless, because the subject is performing the act of singing, we can identify this as the active voice .

What Is Passive Voice?

The passive voice is basically the opposite of the active voice: it’s when the subject is acted upon by the object. In other words, the subject receives the action, and the object does the action .

The passive voice is a little trickier to identify, as it uses more words than the active voice. The basic structure is as follows:

Subject ( recipient ) → Verb ( past participle of "to be" form ) → Object ( doer )

Note that the object here is always preceded by the word "by."

Additionally, the verb takes its "to be" form (meaning it’s preceded by "is/are" for the present tense and "was/were" for the past tense) and is put in the past participle (e.g., "eaten" for the verb "eat" or "given" for the verb "give").

Here’s an example of a sentence using the passive voice:

The ice cream was bought by the little girl.

In this example, "the ice cream" is the subject, "bought" is the verb, and "the little girl" is the object. Here’s a diagram to help you understand this grammar pattern better:

As you can see, "the ice cream" (as the subject) is the one receiving the action, while "the little girl" (as the object) is the one performing the action.

Here's another passive voice example:

Our tests were graded by the teacher.

Here, the subject is "our tests," the verb is "were graded," and the object is "the teacher." Again, the subject ("our tests") is receiving the action from the object ("the teacher") , which is, in turn, performing it (i.e., the one who is grading).

Sometimes you’ll see the passive voice being used without an object (i.e., without identifying the doer of the action—only the recipient). Here’s an example:

The tea was poured.

In this sentence, "the tea" is the subject and "was poured" is the verb; however, there’s no object performing the action of pouring . Simply put, we don’t know who poured the tea! Nevertheless, we can identify this sentence as passive based on its setup: a subject followed by a verb in its past participle "to be" form.

If we wanted to insert an object here, we'd simply add the word "by" followed by a noun:

The tea was poured by my grandmother.

Now, we have an object, or doer, of this act of pouring tea: "my grandmother."

Active vs Passive Voice: When Do You Use Them?

The active and passive voice express the same ideas, just in different ways. In terms of when we actually use them, though, what is the difference between active and passive voice?

In general, you should always aim to use the active voice whenever you write. This is because the active voice is clearer and more direct, while the passive voice is wordier and more confusing.

That being said, this doesn’t mean that the passive voice is inherently wrong. There are many cases in which you might opt for the passive voice over the active voice.

Here are some scenarios in which you might want (or need) to use the passive voice:

• When you want to emphasize the recipient of the action
• When you want to emphasize the action itself
• When you don’t know who or what is performing the action
• When the doer of the action is irrelevant or unimportant

For example, say you’re writing an essay about the Declaration of Independence and you come up with the following sentence:

Most people believe that the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, but this is not actually the case.

Let’s parse this out a bit. 

While part of the sentence is clearly in the active voice (the "most people believe" section), the crux of it ("the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4") is in the passive voice. Doing this lets you keep the emphasis on the document, i.e., the topic of your essay .

In addition, there were many people who signed the Declaration of Independence, but listing them all here would only make the sentence longer and more convoluted; this is why the passive voice is a better fit.

Changing From Passive to Active Voice (and Vice Versa)

There are many times you might want to change a sentence from passive to active, or even from active to passive. To do this, you’ll need to understand exactly how the two types of voices work.

First, recall that the primary difference between active and passive voice lies in the roles of the subject and object : whereas in active voice the subject is the doer and the object is the recipient of the action, in passive voice the subject is the recipient of the action and the object is the doer.

Here’s an example of a sentence in the active voice vs passive voice:

Active: She created a travel blog. Passive: A travel blog was created by her.

Below is another way of looking at the difference between active and passive voice:

As you can see here, in the active voice, "she" is the subject and doer, whereas "a travel blog" is the object and recipient of the verb "created."

But in the passive voice, these designations swap : as the original subject, "she" becomes the object (but is still the doer of the action), whereas "a travel blog," which was originally the object, becomes the subject (but is still the recipient of the action).

In addition, the verb, which began in the simple past, has been converted into its past participle "to be" form .

To sum up, to convert from active to passive voice, here’s what you must do:

• Switch the positions of the subject and object so the original object is now the subject and the original subject is now the object
• Add the word "by" before the new object
• Convert the verb into its "to be" past participle form  based on the original tense used
• Switch the positions of the subject and object so the original subject is now the object and the original object is now the subject
• Delete the word "by" used before the original object (now subject)
• Convert the "to be" past participle form of the verb into the appropriate tense as indicated by the verb and overall sentence

The verb is arguably the trickiest part of converting from passive to active. You want to make sure you’re keeping the same tense as indicated by the original verb and sentence.

As an example, here's how you'd change various tenses of the word "do" from passive to active:

• is done → do/does
• is/are being done → is/are doing
• was/were done → did
• was/were being done → was/were doing
• will be done → will do

Finally, know that you cannot convert from active to passive or passive to active if you do not have an object . You can see why this doesn’t work in these active vs passive voice examples:

Active (Without Object): I drank. Passive: ??? was drunk by me.

Without an object, we have no idea what "I" actually "drank."

Passive (Without Object): The project will be completed by tomorrow. Active: ??? will complete the project by tomorrow.

Without an object, we cannot explain who "will complete the project."

Active vs Passive Voice Quiz

It’s time to test out what you learned in an active vs passive voice quiz. 

Before you start, make sure you know what the three types of questions expect you to do:

• Questions 1-3: Identify whether the sentence is active or passive
• Questions 4-5: Fill in the blanks to create a grammatically correct sentence
• Questions 6-8: Convert the sentence from active to passive, or vice versa

Answers and explanations will be provided at the end of the quiz. Good luck!

#1: Active or Passive?

This novel was not written by Charlotte Brontë but rather her sister Emily.

#2: Active or Passive?

The mail arrived on time yesterday.

#3: Active or Passive?

A study on the gender wage gap was conducted in 2018.

#4: Fill in the Blank

This gift was given to me _____ my sister.

#5: Fill in the Blank

The toy will soon be _____ by him. (past participle of "fix")

#6: Convert to Passive

Jessica is teaching me how to speak Italian.

#7: Convert to Active

He was advised by his dentist to floss more.

#8: Convert to Active

The valuable painting is finally going to be sold this year.

Active vs Passive Voice Quiz: Answers + Explanations

In this sample sentence, the subject is "the novel," the action is "was not written," and the object is "Charlotte Brontë" — we can leave out that last part since it’s not really important to understanding the voice here.

Because the object ("Charlotte Brontë") is the doer of the action — that is, she’s the one who did not write "the novel" —you should be able to tell right away that  this sentence is in the passive voice . (You might also be able to tell it’s passive due to the use of the word "by" before the object.)

Here, "the mail" is the subject and "arrived" is the verb — there is no object. Because "the mail" is the one doing the action of "arriving," this sentence uses the active voice .

In this example, "a study" is the subject and "was conducted" is the verb; there’s no object. Since "a study" is receiving the action instead of performing it, this sentence is in the passive voice .

(Just in case you’re wondering, the reason we don’t see "by" is that the object, or doer, of the action is either unknown or irrelevant.)

Right away you should recognize this as the passive voice. "This gift" is the subject, "was given" is the verb, and "my sister" is the object who is performing the action of giving.

As you know, the word "by" must come before the object in a passive sentence , so this is the missing word. The sentence should therefore read, "This gift was given to me by my sister."

Again, you should recognize this example as a passive sentence since it calls for the past participle of the verb and has the word "by" before the object. The past participle of the verb "fix" is the same as its simple past: "fixed" ; t herefore, the sentence should read, "The toy will soon be fixed by him."

To convert this sentence from active to passive, you must switch the positions of the subject and object and then convert the verb (in present progressive) to its past participle "to be" form. Don't forget that "me" must transform into its subject form ("I") when going from an object to a subject. ("Jessica" is a name and proper noun and therefore does not change form.)

Finally, place the word "by" before the new object ("Jessica"). This should give you the following passive sentence: "I am being taught how to speak Italian by Jessica."

To convert this example from passive to active, you’ll need to switch the subject and object, change the verb form from "to be" past participle to simple past, and eliminate the "by." Note that "he" will turn into "him" when converted from a subject into an object.

Doing all this correctly should give you this: "His dentist advised him to floss more."

If you didn’t know it already, this question is actually a trick! But how? Because there is no object in this passive sentence, there’s no way to convert it into the active voice. In other words, we have no idea who is going to sell the painting.

If we tried to convert it, we’d get this nonsensical statement: " ??? is finally going to sell the valuable painting this year." As such,   we cannot create a sentence in the active voice without a subject .

What’s Next?

Now that you understand active voice vs passive voice examples, want to brush up on your English grammar? Then check out our detailed guides on semicolons , verbs , prepositions , proper nouns , and parts of speech .

To ace the SAT/ACT, you'll need to have an excellent grasp of the English language.  Learn the most important SAT grammar rules and ACT grammar rules so you can earn an amazing score.

Need help with using and identifying literary devices? Our expert guide explains more than 30 key literary devices and how they work to help you become a pro at reading and writing.

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Our vetted tutor database includes a range of experienced educators who can help you polish an essay for English or explain how derivatives work for Calculus. You can use dozens of filters and search criteria to find the perfect person for your needs.

Hannah received her MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. From 2013 to 2015, she taught English in Japan via the JET Program. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel.

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How do you change "who are you" into passive voice?

How do you change "who are you" into passive voice?

Passive Voice:

The passive voice occurs in English when an object of a sentence turns into the subject of the sentence. Using this construction often results in confusion as to who is completing the action of the sentence.

Answer and Explanation:

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Learn the definition of active and passive voice, identify their difference, and examine when to use them. Find examples of active and passive sentences.

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Do I Do My Homework? – Active Voice And Passive Voice Patterns

What can we do to help the student understand the distinction? One of the most important keys is to remember that the active voice used to tell the student to do his or her homework is really a command. This is meant to be a directive rather than a suggestion. A much better idea is to express to the student clearly what it is that he or she is supposed to be doing when he or she does his or her homework.

When I used to teach students how to do their work, I would often use the active voice. I would say to them, “Do you r homework on time.” For many students, this was sufficient because they understood that they were expected to do something, even if it is something that may seem very simple. However, it was the kind of instruction that left many young people slack, wondering why they were being given this task to begin with.

I also used the passive voice to do my homework. This is another form of instruction that may work in some situations, but not in others. If you want to help the student understand just what you are trying to say, you will have to switch from the active voice to the passive voice.

In order for this to be effective, the student must understand exactly what it is that you are asking him or her to do. You will need to give the student specific directions about what you want the student to do–in this case, do my homework. In order for this to be effective, you must also give the student a time limit.

When you use the active voice to do your homework, you are giving instructions to the student in the moment. This instruction is in the form of a request. In other words, “Do your homework on time.” However, when you use the passive voice to do your assignment, you are giving instructions and suggestions to the student at a later time. As you can see, the instructions you give the student while doing your assignment in the passive voice may be more effective than instructions the student receives in the active voice.

When you give the instructions “Do your homework on time,” you are encouraging the student to do exactly as you dictate. This may sound like a good idea, but often the instructions come to the student after they have already been doing the work. The student may not be fully prepared to do the work and as a result, you are wasting your time instructing the student incorrectly. In addition, when you give instructions in the active voice, you give the impression that you are in control of the situation. You are telling the student to do something because you say so rather than just assuming it is his or her responsibility to do it.

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English Notes

English notes latest questions, he has done the homework. “change into passive voice”.

Passive Voice : The homework has been done by him.

Explanation:

ACTIVE VOICE:  Subject + have/has + Verb[past participle/ v3] + object

PASSIVE VOICE:  Object + Have/Has + been + verb[past participle/ v3] + By/to/with + Subject

Course on Active-Passive Voice 

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