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Grade 6 | English | Passive Voice, Voices: Active and Passive, Olympiad, CBSE, ICSE, Maths Olympiad, Science Olympiad, English Olympiad
Dictionary meaning:
Voice is a form of a verb showing the relation of the subject to the action, or state.
In Simple words:
Voice has been derived from an old French word ‘VOIS’. Voice is the quality of a verb that describes whether its subject acts (active voice) or is acted upon (passive voice). The two ways of expressing the action of a subject are known as Voices.
We can say Voice is that form of a verb which shows whether what is denoted by the subject that does something or has something done to it.
In grammar, the voice of a verb, and the gender of a verb (rarely), describes the relationship between the action, or state that the verb expresses and participants identified by its arguments, i.e. either subject or object. When the subject is the agent or doer of the action, the verb is in Active Voice. When the subject is the patient, target or under goer of the action, the verb is said to be in Passive voice.
Example:
Active Voice | Passive Voice |
The cat ate the mouse. | The mouse was eaten by the cat. |
The hunter killed the bear. | The bear was killed by the hunter. |
Ali ate the potatoes. | The potatoes were eaten by Ali |
Guru changed the Flat tyre. | The flat tyre was changed by Guru. |
Explaining the Two Kinds of Voices:
ACTIVE VOICE:
Active Voice is a form or set of forms of a verb in which the subject is typically the person (the doer) or thing performing the action and which can take a direct object. Example: She loved him.
We can say that Active Voice describes a sentence where the subject performs the action stated by the verb, i.e. subject doing the verb’s action or subject does and acts upon the verb.
PASSIVE VOICE:
A verb in the passive voice takes the object or person affected by the action as its subject. Passive verbs are formed by placing a form of the auxiliary verb ‘Be’ in front of the past participle. Example: He was loved.
We can say that in the Passive Voice sentences, the subject is acted upon by the verb, i.e. he or she receives the action expressed by the verb. The agent performing the action may appear in a by the - phrase or may be omitted if it is not of so much importance.
Rules:
Subject Position | Object Position |
I | Me |
We | us |
You | You |
He/ She | His/ Her |
They | Them |
It | It |
Example: May buy- may be bought.
Formation of sentences in Passive Voice: The following Table explains the rules to be followed while forming the sentences under Passive Voice.
Forms of Tenses | Rules to be followed |
SIMPLE TENSE-> | Subject (Object of Active Voice) + To be verb + Past Participle (Main verb + ed or en) + by+ Object (Subject of Active Voice). |
Simple Present Tense | Subject + am/ is/ are + Past Participle + by + Object. |
Simple Past Tense | Subject + was/ were + Past Participle + by + Object. |
Simple Future Tense | Subject + shall be/ will be + Past Participle + by + object.
|
CONTINUOUS TENSE-> | Subject + To be verb + Being + Past Participle + by + Object.
|
Present Continuous Tense | Subject + am/ is/ are + being + Past participle + by + Object. |
Past Continuous Tense | Subject + was/ were + being + Past Participle + by + Object. |
Future Continuous Tense | It cannot be changed into Passive Voice.
|
PERFECT TENSE-> | Subject + To have verb + been + Past Participle + by + Object.
|
Present Perfect Tense | Subject + have/ has + been + Past Participle + by + Object. |
Past Perfect Tense | Subject + had + been + Past Participle + by + Object. |
Future Perfect Tense | Subject + Shall have/ will have + been + Past Participle + by + Object. |
Perfect Continuous Tense | It also cannot be changed into the Passive Voice. |
Changes shown as under in the sentences formed in Active or Passive Voice.
Voices -> | Active Voice | Passive Voice |
Tenses | ||
Simple Present Tense | I eat a mango. | A mango is eaten by me. |
Simple Past Tense | I ate a mango. | A mango was eaten by me. |
Simple Future Tense | I shall eat a mango. | A mango will be eaten by me. |
Present Continuous Tense | I am eating a mango. | A mango is being eaten by me. |
Past Continuous Tense | I was eating a mango. | A mango was being eaten by me. |
Present Perfect Tense | I have eaten a mango. | A mango has been eaten by me. |
Past Perfect Tense | I had eaten a mango. | A mango had been eaten by me. |
Future Perfect Tense | I shall have eaten a mango. | A mango will have been eaten by me. |
Note: Sentences written in Active Voices are easier to understand than the sentences written in the Passive Voice. Rest do as much practice as you can as Tenses and Voices can only be understood if you practice more of them, read newspapers, magazines, write down the sentences written in different forms of tenses. Identify the sentences written whether in Active or Passive form. This will increase your capabilities and for sure your grammar too.
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