Voice in English Grammar (Recap for ESL/EFL Learners)

Voice in English Grammar (Recap for ESL/EFL Learners)

What is voice? 

Voice is a grammatical category, which refers to the form of a verb, and it shows whether the subject performs or receives an action. “Voice is the relationship between the subject of the verb and the action described by the verb, or the forms of a verb that show this relationship” 
(Cambridge Dictionary). 
This article will give an overview of both active and passive voice, and the respective structures with examples of the two. These are listed and discussed below.

1. Active Voice: When the subject performs an action of the verb and the object receives the action in a sentence, then it is called active voice. The active voice is easier to understand and simpler than the passive voice.

For example, The dog bit the boy. Here, the dog performs the action of the verb biting and the boy receives the action of the verb.

2. Passive Voice: When the object performs the action of the verb and the subject receives the action, it is called the passive voice. The passive voice is formulated using the auxiliary verbs followed by the past participle form of the main verb. In general, the performer of an action of the verb is identified following the preposition by but sometimes passive voice can be formed without any preposition.

For example, the boy was bitten by the dog. Here, the boy is the subject, but still he receives the action. On the other hand, the dog is now the object, although it is still performing the action of biting though. The preposition by refers to who or what performs the action: the dog. Moreover, in the passive voice, we say what happens to the subject, and in the active voice we say what the subject does.

Note: During the passive construction of the sentence, the pronominal subject of the active voice turns into an objective form. For example. I→ me; we → us; you → you;  he → him; she → her; they → them; it → it. The agent ( the subject that performs the action) is used in the passive voice to it give information. When the agent is unfamiliar or not obvious, it is omitted. 

For example,

Active: Martin Cooper invented the cellular mobile phone.

Passive: The cellular mobile phone was invented by Martin Cooper.

Someone broke the glass. Passive: The glass was broken.

From Active to Passive Voice in Tenses: Structures and examples:

Present Simple: structure: subject + am/is/are+ past participle form of the main verb + preposition (e.g. by, at, with) + object. For example,

Active: He makes a cake .

Passive: A cake is made by him.

Past Simple: structure: subject + was/were + past participle of the main verb + preposition + object. For example,

 Active: He wrote the poem.

Passive: The poem was written by him.

Future Simple: 
structure: subject + shall be/will be + past participle form of the main verb + preposition + object. For example,

Active: He will write the poem.

Passive: The poem will be written by him.

Present Continuous: 
structure: subject + is/are +being + past participle form of the main verb + preposition + object. For example,

 Active: He is writing the poem.

 Passive: The poem is being written by him. 

Past Continuous: 
structure: subject + was/were + being + past participle form of the main verb + preposition + object. For example,

Active: He was writing the poem.

Passive: The poem was being written by him.

Be going to: 
structure: subject + is/are + going to + be + past participle form of the main verb + preposition + object. For example,

 Active: He is going to write a poem.

Passive: A poem is going to be written (by him).

Present Perfect: 
structure: subject + have/has + been + past participle form of the main verb + preposition + object. For example,

Active: He has written two poems.

Passive: Two poems have been written by him.

Past Perfect: 
structure: subject + had + been + past participle form of the main verb + preposition + object. For example,

Active: He had written the poem.

Passive: the poem had been written by him.

Future Perfect: 
structure: subject + shall have/will have + been + past participle form of the main verb + preposition + object. For example,

Active: He will have written a poem.

Passive: A poem will have been written by him.

Modal Verb: 
will, shall, would, should, can, could, may, might, must, ought to: structure: subject + modal verb + be + past participle of  the main verb + preposition + object. For example,

Active: He might write a book.

Passive: a book might be written by him.

It is time: 
If the active voice begins with it is time, the structure is :  It is time for + object + to be + past participle form of the main verb. For example,

Active: It is time to start the work.

Passive: It is time for the work to be started.

Verb with preposition: 
When the verb in the active voice is used with a preposition, it is used just after the main verb in the passive voice.

For example,

Active: I will look after your cat.

Passive: Your cat will be looked after by me.

Wh and h-Questions 
( e.g. who, whom, why, how ) : When the wh-questions are in the active voice, they do not change their beginning position in the passive voice but who changes into by whom; and by whom changes into who.

For example,

Active: Who brought the mango?

Passive: By whom was the mango brought?

Active: Why did your mom scold you?

Passive: Why were you scolded by your mom?

Verbs (e.g. sell, give, send, bring, write, offer, teach) with double object: When we have verbs in the active voice with two objects, we can use the passive voice in two ways; we can use either the indirect/ animate object of the active voice  a subject for the passive voice or the direct/inanimate object for the subject of the passive voice. For example,

Active: Ana Rita gave me the chocolate.

Passive: I was given the chocolate by Ana Rita or the chocolate was given to me by Ana Rita. 

Note: 
If the indirect/animate object pops up after the verb in the passive sentence, the preposition to is used before the animate object.

Imperative Sentence: 
(request, command, advice, suggestions, prohibition):

a. Structure: Let + object + be + past participle of the main verb. For example, Active: Complete the exercise.

Passive: Let the exercise be completed.

b. Start with do not: 
If the imperative sentence starts with do not, structure: Let + object + not + be + past participle of the main verb. For example,

Active: Do not beat the cat.

Passive: Let the cat not be beaten.

c. Start with “you”: 
We can start the passive sentence with you if we want to emphasize the person addressed. For example,

Active: Help him.

Passive: Let him be helped or you are requested to help him.

d. Absence of the Object:
If the object is absent in the active voice, the passive voice starts with the pronominal subject you. For example,

Active: Work hard.

Passive: You are advised to work hard.

e. Let + Personal Object: 
When  the active sentence starts with let + personal object, the structure is: Let + inanimate object + be + past participle form of the main verb + by + personal object.

For example,

Active: Let me finish the work.

Passive: Let the work be finished by me.

          References:

ALEXANDER, L. G. (1992). Longman English Grammar Practice: for intermediate students. Harlow, Longman.

The British Council (n.d.)

Active and passive voice.

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/active-and-passive-voice

Murphy, R., & Hashemi, L. (2019). English grammar in use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Swan, M. (2016). Practical English usage. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Vorderman, C. (2013). Help your kids with English: a unique step-by-step visual guide. London: Dorling Kindersley.

Cambridge English Dictionary. (n.d.) Retrieved
from: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/voice?q=voice+.