Basic concept of Voice forms in English Grammar.

1. Active and Passive
Voice

2. Here are some sentences in Active Voice and
Passive Voice. Let us identify their characteristics.
Active Voice
• She bought a new dress.
• The teacher teaches English.
• We should respect elders.
• He has written a nice poem.
• They are playing cricket.
Passive Voice
• A new dress was bought by her.
• English is taught by the teacher.
• Elders should be respected.
• A nice poem has been written by
him.
• Cricket is being played by them.

3. Observe the sentences closely
• Active Voice
• She bought a new dress.
Here, the verb is – bought. It’s in the
Past Tense form of the main verb ‘buy’.
• Passive Voice
• A new dress was bought by her.
Here the verbs are – was and bought.
Here, was is an Auxiliary Verb and
bought is the Past Participle form of the
main verb ‘buy’.
What do we notice?
(1) Active Voice sentence has no Auxiliary Verb, but Passive Voice sentence has.
(2) Passive Voice sentence has Past Participle form of the main verb.
(3) “She” (becomes “her”) and “a new dress” changes position with each other.

4. Observe the sentences closely
• Active Voice
The teacher teaches English.
Here, the verb is – teaches. It’s in the
Present Tense form.
• Passive Voice
• English is taught by the teacher.
Here the verbs are – is and taught.
Here, is is an Auxiliary Verb and taught
is the Past Participle form of the main
verb ‘teach’.
What do we notice?
(1) Active Voice sentence has no Auxiliary Verb, but Passive Voice sentence has.
(2) Passive Voice sentence has Past Participle form of the main verb.
(3) “The teacher” and “English” changes position with each other.

5. Observe the sentences closely
• Active Voice
• We should respect elders.
Here, the verbs are – should and
respect . Should is an Auxiliary Verb and
respect is in the Present Tense form.
• Passive Voice
• Elders should be respected.
Here the verbs are – should and
respected. Here, should is an Auxiliary
Verb and respected is the Past Participle
form of the main verb ‘respect’.
What do we notice?
(1) Both Active Voice and Passive Voice sentences have Auxiliary Verbs.
(2) Passive Voice sentence has Past Participle form of the main verb.
(3) The word be is added in between the Auxiliary and Main Verb in Passive Voice.
(4) “elders” changes position, but “we” is missing.

6. Observe the sentences closely
• Active Voice
• He has written a nice poem.
Here, the verbs are – has and written.
Has is an Auxiliary Verb and written is
the Past Participle form of the main
verb ‘write’.
• Passive Voice
• A nice poem has been written by
him.
Here the verbs are – has and written.
Here, has is an Auxiliary Verb and
written is the Past Participle form of the
main verb ‘write’.
What do we notice?
(1) Both Active Voice and Passive Voice sentences have Auxiliary Verbs.
(2) Passive Voice sentence has Past Participle form of the main verb.
(3) The verb been is added in between the Auxiliary and Main Verb in Passive Voice.
(4) “He” (becomes “him”) and “A nice poem” changes position with each other.

7. Observe the sentences closely
• Active Voice
• They are playing cricket.
Here, the verbs are – are and
playing. Are is an Auxiliary Verb
and playing is the Present
Participle form of the verb “play”.
• Passive Voice
• Cricket is being played by them.
Here the verbs are – is and played.
Here, is is an Auxiliary Verb and played
is the Past Participle form of the main
verb ‘write’.
What do we notice?
(1) Both Active Voice and Passive Voice sentences have Auxiliary Verbs.
(2) Passive Voice sentence has Past Participle form of the main verb.
(3) The verb being is added in between the Auxiliary and Main Verb in Passive Voice.
(4) “They” (becomes “them”) and “cricket” changes position with each other.

8. Let us find out the properties of Active and
Passive Voice from those examples
(1) Active Voice sentences may or may not have an Auxiliary Verb ; but
Passive Voice sentences must have.
Active Voice
The teacher teaches English.
We should respect elders.
Passive Voice
A nice poem hasbeen written by him.
Cricket is being played by them.