T13 The Active and Passive Voice

Topic 13

Tenses:  The Active and Passive Voice

The Active Voice can be converted to the Passive Voice and vice versa.

The verb must be a transitive verb.  Only a transitive verb requires a direct object.  An intransitive verb does not need a direct object.

In the Active Voice, the Subject creates the action whereas in the Passive Voice, an action is done to the Subject.

The same rules of Subject-Verb Agreement in the Active Voice also apply in those in the Passive Voice.

Be +  F4  -----  Passive Voice

I.     Simple Tenses

     A.  Simple Present Tense      B.  Simple Past Tense      C.  Simple Future Tense      

     a)  The Active Voice

            [He/She/It]  F1 + s/es            [S]  F3                         [S] shall/ will F1

          [I/We/You/You/They] F1       

     b)  The Passive Voice

       A. [S] am/ is / are F4           B. [S] was / were F4      C.   [S] shall / will be F4

 II.  Continuous Tenses

     A.  Present Continuous Tense    B.  Past Continuous Tense

     a)  The Active Voice  

           [S] am/is/are F2                       [S] was /were F2     

         

     b)  The Passive Voice

 [S] am/ is/ are being F4            [S] was / were being F4                        

(The Future Continuous Tense doesn’t have the passive voice.)

III.  Perfect Tenses

    A.  Present Perfect Tense     B.  Past Perfect Tense    C. Future Perfect Tense

     a)  The Active Voice

          [S] have/has F4                   [S] had F4               [S] shall/will have F4

     b)  The Passive Voice

          have/has been F4                 [S] had been F4        [S] shall/will have been F4

          Be = am/is/are /was /were /being / been

I.  Simple Tenses

A.  Simple Present Tense

     a)  The Active Voice

  He/She/ It F1+ s/es

  I/We/You/You/They F1                                                                        27

     b)  The Passive Voice

  I am F4                                             We

  You are F4                                         You              are F4

  He /She /It is F4                                They                               

Example: 

The Active Voice  ----- The Passive Voice

1a).  [Rita] always brings (a bag) to town.

        The verb ----- brings ------- a transitive verb

        The object ----- a bag        

        The tense -----  Simple Present Tense

1b)     [A bag] is always brought by Rita to town.

         A bag ----- A direct object in the Active Voice becomes the Subject in

                        the Passive Voice.

          The verb is changed into the passive form ----- be + F4

           The subject [A bag] can be replaced by the Personal Pronoun (P1)

         [It], so the verb-to-be ‘is’ is used as it is a Simple Present Tense. 

The verb ‘brings’ in the Active Voice tells you, it is a Simple Present Tense.  When the verb in the Active Voice is in the Simple Present Tense, you change the verb into ‘am/is/are + F4’ in the Passive Voice

1.  [Tina] often helps (me) with the homework.

     [I] am often helped by Tina with the homework.

2.  [Henry] often pushes (you).

     [You] are often pushed by Henry.  

3.  [Miss Lee] often asks (Paul) to mark the attendance for her.

     [Paul] is often asked by (Miss Lee) to mark the attendance for her.

4.  [Jack] sometimes teases (Maria) for being fussy.

     [Maria] is sometimes teased by Jack for being fussy.

5.  [John] washes (the bicycle) every weekend.

     [The bicycle] is washed by John every weekend. 

6.   [Mr Rahman] always advises (us) to study hard.

     [We] are always advised by Mr Rahman to study hard.

7.  [Madam Wong] always treats (the children) kindly.

    [The children] are always treated kindly by Madam Wong.

B.  Simple Past Tense

     a)  The Active Voice

            [S] F3

     b)  The Passive Voice

           I /He/She/It was F4

           We You/You/ They were F4

Example:

1a)  [Peter] took (the dog) for a walk in the park yesterday evening. 

       The Subject -----  [Peter]

       The Verb     -----  took  ------- The Active Voice of Simple Past Tense (F3)   

        The Object  -----  the dog

1b)  [The dog] was taken by Peter for a walk in the park yesterday evening.

       The Subject -----  [The dog]

       The Verb     -----  was taken

C.  Simple Future Tense

     a)  The Active Voice    

          [S] shall / will F1                                                                                

     b)  The Passive Voice

          [S] shall/ will be F4

Example:

1a)  [Mr Song] will buy (a detached house) soon.

       The Subject     -----  Mr Song          

        The Verb        -----  will buy

        The Object     -----  a detached house

1b)  [A detached house] will be bought by Mr Song soon.

         

II.  Continuous Tenses

A.  Present Continuous Tense

     a)  The Active Voice

           [S] am/is/are F2                                                                                

     b)  The Passive Voice

           [S] am/is/are being F2

Example:

1.  [Wendy] is collecting (clothes) now.    

     [Clothes] are being collected by Wendy now.

2.  [Mark] is fixing (the bicycle) now.    [The bicycle] is being fixed by Mark now.

B.  Past Continuous Tense

     a)  The Active Voice

     b)  The Passive Voice

Example:

1.  [Hassan] was painting (the fence).

     [The fence] was being painted by Hassan.

2.  [Aminah] was weeding (the garden).

     [The garden] was being weeded by Aminah.

The Future Continuous Tense doesn’t have the Passive Voice.

III.  Perfect Tenses

A.  Present Perfect Tense

     a)  The Active Voice

           [S] have/ has F4

     b)  The Passive Voice

           [S] have / has been F4

Example:

1.  [Tom] has reported (the burglary) to the police.

     [The burglary] has been reported by Tom to the police.

2.  [I] have told (them) to come early.    [They] have been told by me to come early.                                                                                                 29

B.  Past Perfect Tense

     a)  The Active Voice

          [S] had F4

     b)  The Passive Voice

           [S] had been F4

1.  [Jack] had tidied up (the hall) before his friends arrived.

     [The hall] had been tidied up by Jack before his friends arrived.

2.  Oliver had done the experiment first before he wrote the report.

     [The experiment] had been done first by Oliver before he wrote the report.

C.  Future Perfect Tense

     a)  The Active Voice

           [S] shall/ will have F4 …………by a time in the future

     b)  The Passive Voice

           [S] shall/will have been F4 …….. by a time in the future

1.  [Luchia] will have caught (all the chickens on the farm) by noon tomorrow.

     [All the chickens on the farm] will have been caught by Luchia by noon   

     tomorrow.

2.  [Doris and her mother] will have bought (all the ingredients for cooking a ten-

     course  meal) by next Monday.

     [All the ingredients for cooking a ten-course meal] will have been bought by   

     Doris and her mother by next Monday.

Notes:

1.  The Active Voice:         [S]  V  (O)

     The  Passive Voice:      [O] be + F4 by (S) ..................................

      The Object in the Active Voice becomes the Subject in the Passive Voice.

      The Verb has to change according to the tense ‘be + F4’

          Be + F4  =    am / is/ are F4

                             was / were F4

                                      shall / will be F4

                             am/is/ are being F4

                                      was /were being F4

                                      have / has been F4

                                      had been F4

                                      shall/will have been F4