In this article, we will learn about active sentences, passive sentences and how to change from active to passive sentences. This is a very important basic grammar part that appears a lot in English exercises and exams.
I. The concept of active and passive sentences
In this part we will learn about the concept of active and passive sentences.
1. What is an active sentence?
Active sentence is a type of sentence where the subject of the sentence is a person or thing that performs an action on its own, causing an impact on another person or thing. In other words, an active sentence is a sentence in which the subject plays the active role/subject.
Formula:
S(subject) + V (verb) ) + O (object)
Example:
Nam did his homework yesterday
Nam did his homework yesterday
She bought a book
She bought a book
We see that the subject mentioned in these two sentences is Nam and “she“, this subject itself. can do “do their homework” and “go buy a book”. So we use active sentences for these two sentences
2. Passive sentences
Passive sentences are sentences used when the subject in the sentence cannot perform the action by himself. In other words, a passive sentence is a sentence in which the subject is in the passive role.
Formula:
S + tobe + V- Past Participle + by + O
My bike was stolen yesterday
My bicycle was stolen yesterday
We see that the subject of this sentence is“ my bike” cannot self “< em>steal” but someone “robbed” so this sentence we need to use the passive voice.
——–
< p>A book was bought by her
The book was bought by her
In this sentence the subject is “the book” that cannot be “buy” but bought by a For other people, this sentence should also be used in the passive voice
Note:
In the passive sentence, the verb “tobe em>” will be divided by tense and by subject.
The meal has been cooked
The meal has just been cooked
In this sentence we see that “meal” cannot do the “cook >” which was cooked by someone, so we use the passive voice. The verb “tobe” in this sentence will be conjugated to the present perfect with the subject being 3rd person singular, so the form is “has been + cooked” (two participle verb)has been + cooked /p>
II How to change from active to passive voice
To change from active to passive we need to follow these steps:

Step 1: Change the object of the active sentence into the subject of the passive sentence.
Step 2 : Determine what tense the verb is conjugated in the active sentence, we will conjugate the verb tobe of that tense form for the passive sentence and then continue to change the verb in the active sentence to the V-3 or V-ed form. .
Step 3: Change the subject of the active sentence into the object of the passive sentence and add “by” in front as shown above.
They planted a tree in the garden
They planted a tree in the garden
Looking at this sentence we can identify the subject is “they“, the object is “< em>a tree“, so we change “a tree” to the subject of the passive sentence and “they” to the object of “them“. Next we see that the verb “planted” is conjugated in the simple past tense, the verb tobe will be ” was/were” + the verb conjugation in the V3 form of ” plant” is “planted“. Specifically as follows:
-> A tree was planted in the garden (by them)
A tree planted in the garden (by them)
Note: “By them” can be omitted in the sentence
Note:
If the subject in the active sentence is: “they”, “people”, “everyone”, “someone”, “anyone” “, …
Watching: What is Active English?
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when we change to the passive voice, we can omit it.
Someone stole my money last night
Someone stole my money last night
In this sentence, the verb “stole” is conjugated in the past simple, so when changing The passive sentence will be “was stolen” and the object of the passive sentence will be “someone“, then we can omit it, like this:
< p>>> My money was stolen last night
My money was stolen last night
In passive sentences, if it is a person or thing directly that causes the action, use “< strong>by“, but indirect causes action, use “with“< /p>
The bird was shot by the hunter
The bird was shot with a gun
The bird was shot with a gun
The bird was shot by a gun
Here is the division formula tenses in active and passive sentences, please refer.
Tense Active form V Passive form Simple Present Tense (Simple Present) S + V(s/es) + O S + am/is/are + V3 Past Simple S + V(ed/Ps) ) + O S + was/were + V3 Present Continuous Tense S + am/is/are + V-ing + OS S + am/is/are + being + V3 Past Continuous S + was/were + V-ing + O S + was/were + being + V3 Present Perfect Tense S + have/has + V3 + O S + have/has + been + V3 Past perfect (Past Perfect) S + had + V3 + O S + had + been + V3 Simple Future S + will + V-inf + O S + will + be + V3 Future Continuous S + will + be + V-ing + O S + will + be + being + V3 Future Perfect Tense S + will + have + V3+ O S + will + have been + V3 Future perfect continuous S + will + have been + V-ing + O S + will + have been + being + V3 Be + going to S + am/is/are going to + V-inf + O S + am/is/are going to + be + V3 Model verbs S + model verbs + V-infi + O
S + model verbs + have + V3 S + model verbs + be + V3
S + model verbs + have been + V3
Where:
S is the subject V is the verb V-ing is the verb with the ending ing O is the object V3 is the past participle (the verb adding “ed” or in column 3 of the irregular verbs table) V-inf is the infinitive without “to”
She reads books every day
She reads books every day
We find that this sentence is conjugated in the present simple, based on the table above, we change it to the passive voice as follows: p>
-> Books are read every day by her
Books read by her every day
——-
He was doing his homework
He has finished his homework
This sentence belongs to the past continuous, based on the table above, we change it to the passive voice as follows:
< p>
-> His homework was being done
His homework is done
——-
I have cooked lunch
I cook lunch
Identify that this sentence belongs to the present perfect tense, based on the table above, we convert it to a passive sentence as follows:
->The lunch has been cooked by me
Lunch cooked by me
III. Special types of passive voice and how to use it
Here are some common passive voice forms in English and how to use them.
1. Passive sentences in question form
Passive sentences in question form have 2 types: Yes/ no questions and wh – questions.
YES / NO QUESTIONS
For yes and no questions, when changing to the passive, we have to follow 3 steps as follows:
Step 1 : Change from question to statement
Did you borrow my book?
Did you borrow my book?
Switch to the affirmative:
You borrowed my book
You borrowed my book
Step 2: Change the above affirmative sentence into the passive voice
My book was borrowed by you
My book was borrowed by you
Step 3: Change the above passive sentence into the interrogative form by moving the auxiliary verb forward. subject.
Was my book borrowed by you?
Has my book been borrowed by you?
If you don’t use it in the above way, you can refer to the table of tenses in active and passive sentences. in the form of yes, no questions below:
Active form Active form Passive form Simple Present Do/does + S + V (bare) + O …? Am/ is/ are + O + V3/-ed + (by S)? Past Simple Did + S + V (bare) + O…? Was/were + S” + V3/-ed + by + …? Modal verbs (Modal verbs) Modal verbs + S + V (bare) + O + …? Modal verbs + S” + be + V3/-ed + by + O”? Other forms Have/has/had + S + V3/-ed + O + …? Have/ has/ had + S” + been + V3/-ed + by + O?
Can you move the table?
Can you move the table?
Based on the table above, we can change the passive voice as follows
>> Can the table be moved ?
Can I move the chair?
——-
Has she done her homework?
Did she finish her homework?
We change to the passive voice as follows:
-> Has her homework been done (by her)?
Has she finished her homework?
WH – QUESTIONS
Wh- questions are question words to begin with. with Wh it’s “what”, “where”, “when”, “who”, “which”, …
To convert from question word to start question Starting with WH into a passive sentence, we change it according to the following formula:
Active sentence: WH-question + do/does/did + S + V(bare) + O + …? Passive sentence: WH-question + tobe + S’+ V3/-ed + by + O’?
Where did you buy this book?
Where did you buy this book?
This question has the auxiliary verb “did” which means this is a simple past tense. so when we change to the passive sentence, we will add the verb “tobe” in the past simple as “was” and the verb “buy” will be converted to V3 form as “bought” will come after the object “this cake“, specifically as follows:
-> Where was this book bought?
Where can I buy this book?
Note:
All sentences Questions starting with WH when changing to passive sentences are converted according to the above formula, except “WHO”.
Passive sentences with question words are “ who” is converted to the following formula:
Active: Who + V-s/-es or V2/-ed + O + …? Passive: By whom + S’ + be + V3/-ed?
Who took Lan to school?
Who brought Lan to school?
-> By whom was Lan taken to school?
Who is taking Lan to school?
2. An active sentence has two objects
If there are two objects in an active sentence, both of those objects can become the subject of the passive sentence. Choosing which object depends on what we want to talk about, what object we want to talk about.
Formula:
Active Sentence: S + V + I.O + D.O Passive: S'(I.O) + tobe + V3/-ed + O’ (D.O) + by + S S'(D.O) + tobe + V3/-ed + (to) I.O + by + S
Where:
I.O is the indirect object D.O is the direct object S is the subject S” is the passive subject O is the object O” is the object passive
He sends his mother a letter
He sent his mother a letter
In this sentence we see that “his mother” is the direct object and “ a letter” is an indirect object, if we choose “his mother” as the subject of a passive sentence, we change it as follows:
-> His mother was sent a letter
Me he has been sent a letter
And when we choose “a letter” as the subject, we change to a moving sentence as follows
A letter was sent to his mother (by him)
The letter was sent to his mother ) by him)
Note:
When you switch to the wrong sentence, In this form, we must prepend the prepositional object pronoun “to” with the verbs “give”, “lend”, ” send”, “show” and “for” with the verbs “buy”, “make”, “get”, “do” …
He brought me a book
He bought me a book
-> A book was brought for me
The book he bought for me
3. The passive sentence of the active sentence has reporting verbs
The most common reporting verbs in English are: “believe”, “claim”, “consider”, “expect”. “, “know”, “report”, “say”, “think”, “understand”, …
For active sentences with reporting verbs, we change to passive sentences. Active sentence:
Formula:
Active sentence: S + V + THAT + S” + V” + … Passive sentence: It + be + V3/-ed + THAT + S” + V”
People say that his son study very good
-> It is said that his son study very good
It is said that his son is very good at school
4. Passive sentences with active sentences use sensory verbs
Sense verbs in English are verbs indicating human perception like “see” (look), “watch” (see), “hear” (listen), “look” (look), “ notice” (notice), “feel” (feel)….
When changing sentences with these verbs into passive sentences, there are 2 the following cases:
TH1: Used when the statement is about someone witnessing what someone else does and seeing only part of the action or an action in progress. Another action comes in.
Formula:
Active: S + Vp + Sb + V-ing Passive: S(sb) + to be + V3(of Vp) + V-ing
Where:
S is the subject Vp is the verb indicating senses Sb being somebody means someone
He watched them playing volleyball
He saw them playing volleyball
This sentence says that “he” sees them playing volleyball, which means he only sees them playing. passed rather than him watching the action from start to finish, so this sentence we change to the passive as follows.
->They were watched playing volleyball
They are seen playing volleyball
TH2: Used when someone watches someone else do something from start to finish.
Formula:
Active: S + Vp + Sb + V Passive: S(sb) + to be + V3 (of Vp) + to + V
We heard him go to the cinema last night
I heard that he went to the cinema last night
When he changed to the passive voice like this:
-> He was heard to go to the cinema last night
He heard he went to the movies last night
5. Passive sentences with active sentences are imperative sentences
In the case of active sentences which are imperative sentences, when changing to passive sentences, we follow the following formula:
Affirmative:
Active: V + O + … Passive: Let O + be + V3/-ed
Put your book down
Put down your book
When changing to a passive sentence, we add “let” somewhere in the sentence and change it according to the following formula:
-> Let your book be put down
Put down your book
Negative:
Active: Do not + V + O + … Passive: Let + O + NOT + be + V3/-ed
Don’t take this bag
Don’t take this bag
Similar to the affirmative, add “let” at the beginning of the negative sentence and change it like this: p>
>> Let this bag not be taken
Do not take this bag
6. Active sentences with “need“/ “want“
For active sentences with verbs “need” , “want” when changing to a moving sentence we follow the following formula:
Active: S + need/want + to V + … Passive: S’ + need/want + V-ing or + to be + V3/-ed
Your nail needs to be cut
-> Your hair needs cutting
Your nails need to be cut
7. Active sentences with “make”, “help” and “let”
Here’s how to change active sentences with verbs “make”, “help” and ” let” into the passive voice.
For “MAKE” and “HELP“
We change to the passive voice according to the following formula:
Active: S + make/help + I.O + V(bare) + D.O + … Passive: I.O + tobe + made/helped + to V + D.O + …
She helps me clean the room.
She helped me clean the room
-> I am helped to clean the room
I got help cleaning the room
——–
Her boss make her work harder
-> Her boss was made to work harder
Her boss makes her work harder
For “LET“
When changing active sentences If you have the word “let” into a passive sentence, we must change it according to the following formula:
Active: S + let + I.O + V(bare) + D.O + … Passive: I.O + be + allowed + to V + D.O + …
My parents let me go out in the evening
My parents let me go out at night
-> I am allowed to go out in the evening
I am allowed to go out at night
8. Other forms of passive voice
Passive sentences with active sentence structure are “It’s one’s duty to V”
< p>‘It’s one’s duty to V’ means someone’s duty to do something
When changing to the passive sentence, we apply the following formula:
Active: It + be + one’s duty + to V + … Passive: S + to be + supposed + to V + …
It is your duty to make coffee
Your task is to make coffee
When changing to the passive voice, do the following:
-> You are supposed to make coffee
You have to make coffee
Passive sentences with active structure are “It’s impossible to V”< /p>
“It’s impossible to V” means impossible to do.
We apply the following formula to change to passive voice
Active: It is impossible + to V + … Passive: S + can’t + be + V3/-ed
It is impossible to close the door
Can’t close the door
-> The door can’t be closed
The door cannot be closed
Passive sentence with active sentence structure is “It’s necessary to V”
“It’s necessary to V” means what it is necessary for
When changing an active sentence with this phrase into a passive sentence, we apply the following formula :
Active: It is necessary + to V + … Passive: S + should/must + be + V3/-ed
It’s necessary to buy a fridge
Needed to buy a refrigerator
-> A fridge must/should be bought
Buying a refrigerator is essential
The above is a summary of all knowledge about active and passive sentences in English. Hopefully, through this article, you have mastered how to change from active to passive sentences. Good luck with your studies.